England's Empty Throne: Usurpation and the Language of Legitimation, 1399-1422 (Hardcover)

~ Professor Paul Strohm (Author)
Key Phrases: haeretico comburendo, material bread, empty throne, Adam of Usk, John of Gaunt, John Oldcastle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Confirms . . . Strohm's extraordinary ability to . . . interpret elements of social and political contestation in texts produced in late medieval England. . . ." -- Arthuriana, Vol.9, no.3, fall 1999

"Strohm's powerfully argued book . . . explores the unpredictable and often fantastical forms in which the Lancastrian repressed staged its return." -- Times Literary Supplement, March 12, 1999

"[Strohm's] analysis of Lancastrian texts and imagination will undoubtedly prove immensely energizing in medieval English literary and cultural studies. . . ." -- Review of English Studies, Vol.50, no.200, 1999 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

After the dethronement and subsequent murder of Richard II, the usurping Lancastrian dynasty faced a challenge. Interrupting a long period of Plantagenet rule, Henry IV and Henry V needed not only to establish physical possesion of the English throne, but to occupy it symbolically as well. In this revisionary book, Paul Strohm provides an account of the Lancastrian revolution and its aftermath. Integrating techniques of literary and historical analysis, he explores the new dynasty's quest for legistimacy and the importance of symbolic activity to the making of kingship. Strohm reveals the Lancastrian monarchs as masters of outward display, persuasively "performing" their kingship in a variety of novel ceremonies. Henry IV is crowned with a newly discovered coronation oil. The murdered Richard II is reburied. Opinion is courted and deceived with invented chronicles, false prophecies, and bogus genealogies. Strohm's account of the Lancastrian quest for legitimacy and the uses of symbolic power aims to illuminate our understanding of a period of unprecedented political upheaval.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300075448
• ISBN-13: 978-0300075441
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,294,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)