Richard II

Informationen zum Autor Nigel Saul is reader in Medieval History at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Klappentext Nigel Saul paints a picture of Richard as a highly assertive and determined ruler, one whose key aim was to exalt and dignify the crown. In Richard's view, the crown was threatened by the factiousness of the nobility and the assertiveness of the common people. The king met these challenges by exacting obedience, encouraging lofty new forms of address and constructing an elaborate system of rule by bonds and oaths. Saul traces the sources of Richard's political ideas and finds that he was influenced by a deeply felt orthodox piety and by the ideas of the civil lawyers. He shows that, although Richard's kingship resembled that of other rulers of the period, unlike theirs, his reign ended in failure because of tactical errors and contradictions in his policies. For all that he promoted the image of a distant, all-powerful monarch, Richard II's rule was in practice characterised by faction and feud. The king was obsessed by the search for personal security: in his subjects, however, he bred only insecurity and fear. Zusammenfassung A biography of Richard II. It offers a radical reinterpretation of a complex king whose reign was characterized by a mixture of high principle and despotic legislation.

Product details

• Authors: Nigel Saul, Saul Nigel
• Publisher: Yale University Press Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 11.05.1999
• EAN: 9780300078756
• ISBN: 978-0-300-07875-6
• No. of pages: 544
• Series: The English Monarchs Series; The Yale English Monarchs Series; The English Monarchs Series; English Monarchs (YUP)
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Biographies, autobiographies; England, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, Biography: historical, political & military, CE period up to c 1500, British & Irish history, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Biography: historical, political and military, European history: medieval period, middle ages, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval