Customer Reviews

Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461 (New Oxford History of England)

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The 3rd volume in the New Oxford History of England, this fine survey covers the period from the end of Edward the III's reign to the accession of Edward IV. This includes the Black Death, the loss of the Plantagenet conquests in Northern France, their recovery under Henry V, the subsequent erosion of the Lancastrian conquests in France, and the early phase of the Wars of the Roses. Harriss is particularly good on the important changes in English society, particularly the social and economic order of the countryside that emerged in the aftermath of the Black Death, and the consolidation of the important role of Parliament as an govening institution.

Harriss deals with the problem of balancing analysis and narrative by dividing the book into 2 parts. The first part is largely analytic. Starting with the organization of political society and its apex of the Crown, Harriss discusses the machinery of government and justice, the roles of nobility and the gentry, and how governance operated at a local level. This is the story of basic institutions that would last well in the 19th century. The role of Parliament as a key feature of political life, and the dominance of local government by the gentry and nobility with the parish as the key unit, are well established by the end of this period. Harriss stresses the key role of the King and the constant tension between a concept of divinely ordained royal power with authority flowing downwards and a competing view of the Crown as the agent of common good and the broader political community.

Harriss has a particularly interesting analysis of the social and economic changes that followed the Black Death and the stagnation of population. The relative abundance of land and drop in available laborers resulted in the end of serfdom. Initial efforts by the nobility to enforce feudal ties foundered on economic realities and fear of mass uprisings like the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. The end of feudalsim transformed English society. Harriss also lays out well the social and economic changes in towns and the English economy generally. The important role of the Church, changes in the Church, the growth of lay piety, and the challenges of Lollardry are discussed very well.

The analytic sections are followed by a series of narrative chapters which generally lay out very well the often dramatic events of this period. Harriss generally does very well with the complex dynastic politics of the period. One possible defect is that he has separated domestic politics and foreign affairs like the wars in France into separate chapters. I'm sure that this made these topics more tractable to write of, but tends to impair the integrity of the narrative. Harriss is very good on why the English succeeded and failed in France, on the experience of the colonial adventures in Ireland and Wales, and is an astute analyst of the characters of the different English Kings. The markedly differing capacities of the different English monarchs and the consequences of their differing capacities is a major feature of these narrative sections.

A few features would have improved the book. There is a royal geneology appended but geneologies of the major noble families would have been useful. Much of the domestic conflict was dynastic in nature and sometimes following the cast of characters among the often intermarrying noble families is a bit difficult. Harriss dicusses trade and demongraphy but a few simple charts and tables would get the important infomation across more readily than the narrative.

This book is my third purchase from a series and was sent in a timely manner and in the described shape - ie new.
Would happily recommend the supplier