Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Part I Chronology and Context
- Part II Kingship in Practice
- Part III The King and His Subjects
- 10 The Clergy
- 11 The Nobility
- 12 The Gentry
- 13 Citizens
- 14 The ‘Public’
- 15 The King’s Subjects beyond the Realm
- Part IV Representations
- Part V Reflection
- Index
- References
11 - The Nobility
from Part III - The King and His Subjects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Part I Chronology and Context
- Part II Kingship in Practice
- Part III The King and His Subjects
- 10 The Clergy
- 11 The Nobility
- 12 The Gentry
- 13 Citizens
- 14 The ‘Public’
- 15 The King’s Subjects beyond the Realm
- Part IV Representations
- Part V Reflection
- Index
- References
Summary
In every human relationship there is a tension, or perhaps better say a dynamic, between what is and what is desired by the parties involved, and in this the relations between medieval kings and the upper nobility were no different. When these factors coincided, the relationship tended to work well; when they did not, it could break down. To understand how this relationship played out between medieval English kings and their nobilities, we first need to understand how the structure of that relationship evolved. We can then examine how it manifested itself in areas such as the king’s role in maintaining the nobility, in service and cooperation between kings and his nobles, the interplay of ideas of wealth and power, favouritism, political instability and in some cases the removal of monarchs.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Late Medieval English Kingship , pp. 217 - 236Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Further Reading
Davies, R. R., Lords and Lordship in the British Isles in the Late Middle Ages (Oxford, 2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fletcher, C., Genet, J.-P. and Watts, J., eds., Government and Political Life in England and France 1300–1500 (Cambridge, 2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, B. and Watts, J., eds., Political Society in Later Medieval England: A Festschrift for Christine Carpenter (Woodbridge, 2015).Google Scholar
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