England in the Reign of Edward IIIThe reign of Edward III is usually remembered for his stirring victories over the French and Scots. Yet these triumphs occurred against a domestic backdrop of economic upheaval, crime, high taxation and the Black Death. Edward's ability to pursue his ambitions amid such challenges shows the effectiveness of his leadership and the resilience of English institutions. This book examines the strains on English life in this remarkable era, and shows how an interlocking network of hierarchies at each level enabled Edward to reach into local communities to get what he needed. Compliance, however, required hard bargaining as subjects chafed under incessant taxes and royal demands and, during Edward's reign, parliament became the primary arena for negotiations between the king and the community. Professor Waugh's incisive account of these tumultuous events also contains an extensive guide to further reading, in addition to a glossary of the more abstruse medieval terms. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
Survey of events 13071377 | 6 |
Economic challenges | 21 |
The peasant family and village society | 29 |
Markets and towns | 40 |
wool and taxes | 58 |
Economic change | 77 |
Government and communities | 115 |
The church and clergy | 136 |
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Common terms and phrases
2nd series abbey acres administration appointed barons BIHR bishop bishop of Worcester Black Death Cambridge Canterbury cathedral cent church clergy cloth commons council court crown customs demands demesne earl early fourteenth century EcHR economic Edward III Edward III's Edward's reign elite English example exchequer exports Flanders forces fourteenth century fourteenth-century England France Gascony gentry grain Halesowen heir household Hundred Years War important income inquests John John of Gaunt justices king king's knights labour Lancaster land landlords later middle ages leasing Lincolnshire London lords lordship magnates manor manorial medieval England ment merchants middle ages nobility officials Oxford papal provisions parish parliament parliamentary peace peasantry peasants peers petitions plague political population producers profits purveyance realm rents royal sacks seigneurial sheriffs social society statute Stratford taxation tenants thirteenth century towns trailbaston unfree village villeins wages wealth William wool trade