Sceptred Isle: a new history of the fourteenth century

In Sceptred Isle, historian Helen Carr has written an overview of fourteenth century English history. The book covers the reigns of Edward II, Edward III and Richard II with the many challenges that occurred including wars with Scotland, France and Spain, plagues, unrest between the king and his advisors, disputes with the church and peasants' rebellions.

The fourteenth century was therefore a time of unrest and change. Each king also discovered the difficulties of working with others who often saw opportunities for gaining power and riches for themselves. The king also had to contend with the power held by the church though, during the fourteenth century, the teachings and control of the congregations by church leaders were beginning to be challenged by people such as John Wycliffe.

Since the Norman invasion, England had been ruled as a feudal entity, however with so many of the population dying due to waves of the plague as well as soldiers being killed in battles, the peasants began to assert their power to gain more control over their lives and certainly better pay and conditions.  

The fourteenth century saw the beginning of the Hundred Years War and accounts are provided of some of the many battles occurring at this time. Battles with Scotland also continued for many years.

Helen Carr, in Sceptred Isle, has provided a readable introduction to the end of the rule of the Plantagenets in England.

The Red Prince: the life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III, was never a king, however he played an important role supporting the kingship of his nephew, Richard II, as Richard struggled to be a leader. John was known as a good mediator in disputes at home and overseas. However he had many enemies who plotted against him. Despite these challenges his family was influential in the leadership of England for many years.

Historian, Helen Carr has written  the book, The Red Prince, to provide an account of England during the life of John of Gaunt and also clarify some of the misconceptions about his life as well as his achievements and failures. 

This is an excellent book providing an introduction to a dramatic period of English history. As the author writes there are huge gaps in the available information about these historic times. Much of the information that is available is written by individuals promoting a viewpoint that would receive approval from those currently close to the king. It is therefore a challenge for historians to sift through the information that is available and attempt to discover what really was happening in the second part of the fourteenth century.

John of Gaunt: father of England's Medieval Monarchy and self styled Spanish king - History Extra 

The restless kings

The sub-title for The Restless Kings by Nick Barratt is Henry II, his sons and the wars for the Plantagenet Crown. They were certainly members of a dysfunctional family living in what could only be described as chaotic times.

When William the Conqueror took over the governing of England he and his family were also responsible for Normandy and other parts of France. The Restless Kings examines the constant conflicts in keeping controls of these lands and acquiring additional lands through marriage. There were constant differences with kings in France with subsequent battles. There was also conflict with the church not to mention the barons vying for power.

Henry II had tried to bring in powers for the organisation of the governance of Britain with mixed results. He also tried to provide his sons with land and some power. However the four sons - Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John - had their own visions and desires for power. Henry and Geoffrey died before their father leaving Richard as king when their father died. 

In reality however, Richard was more interested in military campaigns including involvement in one of the Crusades than ruling England. When he became king he spent three months in England including his coronation and organising finances for his crusading ventures. He later spent another week or two before returning overseas to other interests. Meanwhile the country was in financial crisis. 

When John became king he was left with disputes across the channel which ending up in England losing control of Normandy. Back in England there was rebellion from the barons and constant disputes with the church. There was growing resentment of the assumed total power of kings over their subjects and eventually the Magna Carta was drawn up shortly before John died.

During these years of chaos structures began to be implemented regarding organisation of England's finances and general laws. Unfortunately there were times when kings such as John did not behave rationally resulting in unfortunate decisions for the country. For all his faults, and there were many, John was the first of the Plantagenet kings to make ruling England his prime concern.

Reading this book in October 2023 you can't help but conclude past events involving the search for power at all costs by governments and parliamentary parties and also religious groups still exists in the world today.

The Mystery of King John's Treasure

The story goes that in October 1216 King John's treasure disappeared in the fens in East Anglia near Lynn (now Kings Lynn). In The Mystery of King John's Treasure, Shirley Charters investigates the various stories surrounding this mystery as well as recounting the last few weeks of King John's life. 

The book also provides the history of significant events in King John's reign. Themes discussed include King John's conflict with the Church, the need to raise money to cover the costs of wars with France plus his brother's earlier involvement with Crusades and of course the on-going disagreements with his barons leading to civil war.  King John's relationship with the Knights Templar is also discussed. The Mystery of King John's Treasure presents an interesting account of the world of the Plantagenets in the early thirteenth century.

The women of the cousins' war

This non-fiction book contains sections by Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin and Michael Jones about three of the women prominent in the Wars of the Roses - the Duchess (Jacquetta of Luxembourg), the Queen ( Elizabeth Woodville) and the King's Mother ( Margaret Beaufort).

In the introduction Phillipa Gregory writes about her love of history plus the writing of historical fiction. She then relies on original documents, plus some site visits and archaeology, to write a short biography of Jacquetta of Luxembourg. David Baldwin then writes about Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Edward IV while Michael Jones writes about the mother of Henry VII, Margaret Beaufort. The Woodville and Beaufort families figure prominently in the story of the Wars of the Roses.This book provides interesting background to attempting for understand events in English history from 1455-1485.