Thirteenth Century England Ii

'Thirteenth-Century England II' continues the series which began in 1986 with the publication of the first volume of the biannual Newcastle upon Tyne conferences on thirteenth-century England. Important studies of aspects of English society and politics open up new areas of research and re-examine standard interpretations

First comprehensive survey of how kinship rules were discussed and applied in medieval England. Two separate legal jurisdictions concerned with family relations held sway in England during the high middle ages: canon law and common law. In thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Europe, kinship rules dominated the lives of laymenand laywomen. They determined whom they might marry (decided in the canon law courts) and they determined from whom they might inherit (decided in the common law courts). This book seeks to uncover the association between the two, exploring the ways in which the two legal systems shared ideas about family relationship, where the one jurisdiction - the common law - was concerned about ties of consanguinity and where the other - canon law - was concerned toadd to the kinship mix of affinity. It also demonstrates how the theories of kinship were practically applied in the courtrooms of medieval England.

Essays looking at the links between England and Europe in the long thirteenth century.

`An indispensable series for anyone who wishes to keep abreast of recent work in the field'. WELSH HISTORY REVIEW

Homicide was a frequent occurrence in medieval England. Indeed, violence was regarded as an acceptable, and often necessary, part of life. These are the conclusions reached by the author in his study of homicide patterns in London, Bristol, and five English counties from 1202 to 1276. Using quantitative methods, the author analyzes murder as a social relationship that can tell us much about medieval life and its social organization, much that would otherwise remain unknown. Given investigates murder rates, violent conflicts between family members, masters, servants, and neighbors, and the collaboration between these same groups in assaulting others. He also explores the socio-economic status of killers and victims, the treatment of killers in court, including what attitudes toward violence can be gleaned from judicial verdicts, the effects of urbanization of patterns of homicide, and social factors that impeded or encouraged recourse to violence.

The essays brought together in this volume examine the conduct of war by the Angevin kings of England during the long thirteenth century (1189-1307). Drawing upon a wide range of unpublished administrative records that have been largely ignored by previous scholarship, David S. Bachrach offers new insights into the military technology of the period, including the types of artillery and missile weapons produced by the royal government. The studies in this volume also highlight the administrative sophistication of the Angevin kings in military affairs, showing how they produced and maintained huge arsenals, mobilized vast quantities of supplies for their armies in the field, and provided for the pastoral care of their men. Bachrach also challenges the knight-centric focus of much of the scholarship on this period, demonstrating that the militarization of the English population penetrated to men in the lower social and economic strata, who volunteered in large numbers for military service, and even made careers as professional soldiers. (CS1088).

Examines how thirteenth-century clergymen used pastoral care - preaching, sacraments and confession - to increase their parishioners' religious knowledge, devotion and expectations.