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England in the Late Middle Ages (1307-1536)

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This is a study of period 1307 to 1536 , the Late Middle Ages in England. This is an age which has suffered relative neglect in study because of the more prominent Age of Faith which preceded it and Elizabethan Age which followed. Myers say that he chose the date 1536 as terminus because this is the decisive moment in the switch away from ecclesiastical and towards monarchial power. He places great emphasis in this work on the political history of England though also tracing its social, intellectual, and artistic history.
This period was one of war and violence, including the Hundred Years War. But it also was a time in which there were important developments in Parliament and common law, and in the rise to political importance of the middle class. Most importantly it was also a time of increasing formation of an English national identity, with stress on the English language, English modes of life and nationality. It is time when Perpendicular churches , unsurpassed wood- carvings were created. Perhaps however the most distinguished artistic creation of the Age was a literary one, 'The Canterbury Tales'.
Myers does an excellent job giving a sense of diversity and richness of Age often wrongly dismissed as uniformly bleak and barren.