Customer Reviews

Edward the Black Prince: Power in Medieval Europe

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This book attempts to place the life of the Black Prince in context with the rapid changes in Continental politics.The book is a success and is very readable,interpretive,(and short).There is also a chapter on the Black Prince's wife which was very interesting.She may have had as much influence as her husband Edward,although she is scarcely mentioned in other works on the Black Prince."The hand that rocks the cradle"?.
There's also a chapter on the different types of plague which reduced Europe's population by as much as a third during this period.It would seem that the plaque actually gave the laborer/artisans more political clout,so possibly the plague was if not a good thing then maybe not a totally bad one.
Also included is the Black Prince involvement in Parlaimentary shennanigans.Often royalty would side with the Commons against the Lords,and this took courage because a wrong move could send one to the block.
A great chapter on the evolution of new weapons and their uses which put an end to chivalry somewhat.The author defines chivalry as a "code of violence",when and to whom to apply it.The long bow made the armored stampede cavalry charge obsolete.Joe the Butcher develops his muscle strength to "draw to the ear",by chopping meats.He overcomes the noble night Jean de(put your French surnames here),who has never been defeated in tournament.Jeans exquisite manners are overcome by Joe's creature noises.the world's turned upside down.

In Leeds City Square in West Yorkshire there is a magnificent statue of the Black Prince, erected in 1903 when the British Empire was at its height, and patriotism was a simple business. Displaying an intense pride in his life and achievements, the inscription proclaims that the Prince was `the victor of Crécy and Poitiers, the Flower of English Chivalry and the Upholder of the Rights of the People in the Good Parliament'. One would not expect a book written in 2007 to make the same grandiose claims, and Dr Green does not even intend this book as a conventional biography - he has written one of those already (The Black Prince, Tempus 2001). Instead, he tells us openly that he is concerned with themes, and not the person. The common thread is contained in the subtitle - the exercise of power in medieval Europe.

For this reviewer, the most interesting parts of this book remain the personal details. We learn that, as a child, the Prince owned a tent and full suit of armour with a spare helmet; and that he played dice and had pets, since there was a page with responsibility for his hares. We also learn that the Prince married for love - Joan of Kent being a highly unsuitable match, in the eyes of his parents, compared with a foreign princess. Like Wallis Simpson in 1936, she had been married twice already, and had a reputation for loose living as well as or beauty. Yet the Black Prince married his Joan in Windsor, where Prince Charles married Camilla a few years ago.

But, on the whole, this book does not stir the emotions, as a more straightforward rendering of the Black Prince's story might, and undoubtedly would have done in 1903.

Stephen Cooper

Why would he title the book "Edward the Black Prince" if it's not really about the Black Prince? It's really about, in the author's own words "Changes in theories and structures of power, especially in its application and manifestation." (from pg 2) Does that sound like nonsense to you, cause it does to me. Just another one of those books that rambles on about theoretical drivel yet teaches nothing about actual history. I was very disappointed.

Quality of the binding is extremely poor. The first 20
pages are already loose. For the price paid pages should stay in place