England in the Reign of Edward III

The reign of Edward III is usually remembered for his stirring victories over the French and Scots. Yet these triumphs occurred against a backdrop of economic upheaval, crime, high taxation, and the Black Death. In this incisive account Scott Waugh examines the strains on English life in this remarkable era, and reveals an interlocking network of hierarchies at the local level enabling Edward to achieve his ends. The compliance of his subjects was only achieved after much contention, and Professor Waugh shows how for the first time Parliament, and in particular the House of Commons, became the focal point of national politics. This latest addition to the highly successful series of Cambridge Medieval Textbooks contains an extensive guide to further reading, in addition to a glossary of some of the more abstruse medieval terms.