[Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures 06] • Medieval England, 500-1500

The new edition of *Medieval England, 500-1500* , edited by Emilie Amt and Katherine Allen Smith, spans several centuries in 102 documents that present the social and political history of England. The documents include constitutional highlights and records such as the Magna Carta and Froissart's *Chronicles* , as well as narrative sources describing the lived experiences of a range of historical actors. These narratives fit into thematic clusters covering topics such as the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, lay piety, later medieval commercial life, queenship, and Jewish communities.

Thirty-nine new sources discuss significant events like the conquest of Wales, the Gregorian mission, and the Viking invasions. They also allow for multiple examples of particular genres, such as wills and miracle collections, to facilitate comparative analysis. Introductions and questions situate each source in the historical landscape and facilitate engagement with the text, inspiring readers to delve into the medieval past. The book also features 40 illustrations, a map, and an index of topics. Additional resources, including essay questions, web resources, and a timeline, can be found on the History Matters website ([www.utphistorymatters.com](http://www.utphistorymatters.com)).

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A Note on Medieval English Money

Map of Medieval England and its Neighbors

Chapter One: The Anglo-Saxon World, ca 500–1066

1\. Gildas on the Coming of the Anglo-Saxons ( *)

2\. Letters on the Gregorian Mission (* )

3\. Laws of Æthelbert of Kent ( *)

4\. Bede on the Conversion of King Edwin of Northumbria (* )

5\. An Anglo-Saxon Burial: The Ely “Princess” ( *)

6\. Riddles from the Exeter Book (* )

7\. Slavery in Anglo-Saxon England ( *)

8\. Treaty between King Alfred the Great and Guthrum (* )

9\. Alfred the Great’s Preface to the Pastoral Care ( *)

10\. The Battle of Maldon (* )

11\. Labor and Daily Life from Ælfric of Eynsham’s Colloquy

12\. Anglo-Saxon Wills

13\. The Cotton Anglo-Saxon World Map ( *)

14\. The Wolf’s Sermon to the English (* )

15\. Laws of Cnut

16\. Cnut’s Letter to the English People

17\. Praise of Queen Emma

18\. The Life of King Edward Who Rests at Westminster

Chapter Two: The Norman Era, 1066–1154

19\. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle on the Norman Conquest

20\. The Text of the Bayeux Tapestry

21\. Doing Penance for the Norman Victory ( *)

22\. Castles in Norman England (* )

23\. Domesday Book

24\. Orderic Vitalis’s Account of His Life

25\. Anselm of Canterbury on His Feud with William Rufus ( *)

26\. Gilbert Crispin’s Disputation of a Jew with a Christian (* )

27\. Church Reform: The Council of Westminster ( *)

28\. Henry I’s Coronation Charter

29\. Eadmer’s Account of Queen Edith-Matilda

30\. The Founding of the Gilbertine Order (* )

31\. William of Malmesbury on the Civil War between Stephen and Matilda

32\. The Battle of the Standard (*)

Chapter Three: The Angevin Era, 1154–1216

33\. Gerald of Wales’s Description of Henry II

34\. The Constitutions of Clarendon

35\. The Murder and Miracles of Thomas Becket

36\. Glanville’s Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England

37\. Jocelin of Brakelond on the Misfortunes of Henry of Essex

38\. The Political Career of Eleanor of Aquitaine ( *)

39\. The Cult of King Arthur (* )

40\. Town Charters

41\. William fitzStephen’s Description of London

42\. Thomas of Monmouth’s Life of Saint William of Norwich

43\. Reginald of Durham’s Life of Saint Godric, Hermit of Finchale

44\. The History of William Marshal

45\. John of Salisbury’s Policraticus

46\. Richard of Devizes on the Third Crusade

47\. Enforcing the Forest Law (*)

48\. Letters of Innocent III and King John

49\. Roger of Wendover’s Account of the Rebellion against King John

50\. Magna Carta

Chapter Four: The Thirteenth Century, 1216–1299

51\. Letters of Queen Isabella of Angoulême

52\. Henry de Bracton’s Notebook: Cases from the Royal Courts

53\. Persecution and Expulsion of English Jews ( *)

54\. The Ancrene Wisse

55\. Thomas of Eccleston on the Coming of the Friars Minor to England

56\. The Baronial Cause: The Song of Lewes

57\. The Miracles of Simon de Montfort (* )

58\. The Household Roll of Countess Eleanor of Leicester ( *)

59\. Summonses to Parliament

60\. London Coroners’ Rolls

61\. Plan of the Village of Wharram Percy (* )

62\. Manorial Life, from the Hundred Rolls

63\. The Statutes of Merton College, Oxford

64\. Roger Bacon’s Account of His Academic Career

65\. The Conquest of Wales (*)

66\. Edward I’s Confirmation of Charters

Chapter Five: An Age of Disasters, 1300–1399

67\. Parish Life in the Diocese of Exeter ( *)

68\. Correspondence of the Queen with London

69\. The Manner of Holding Parliament

70\. A Chronicle of the Great Famine

71\. The Royal Response to the Famine

72\. Manor Court Rolls

73\. A Proof of Age Inquest (* )

74\. London Craft Guild Ordinances

75\. Urban Environmental Problems and Regulations

76\. Articles of Accusation against Edward II ( *)

77\. Dispute between an Englishman and a Frenchman (* )

78\. Jean Froissart on the Battle of Crécy

79\. Thomas Bradwardine’s Victory Sermon after Crécy ( *)

80\. The Black Death (* )

81\. Post-Plague Wage and Price Regulations

82\. Chronicle Accounts of the Peasants’ Revolt

83\. A Peasants’ Revolt Trial

84\. Ordinances of the Guild of Saint Katharine at Norwich

85\. Robert Manning of Brunne’s Handlyng Synne

86\. The Growth of Lollardy (*)

87\. The Deposition of Richard II

Chapter Six: The Fifteenth Century, 1399–1500

88\. Chronicle of the Reign of Henry V

89\. Statutes of the Order of the Garter ( *)

90\. Financing the Agincourt Campaign (* )

91\. Order of the Pageants of the York Corpus Christi Play

92\. Poems about Raising Children

93\. London Wills ( *)

94\. Apprenticeship Documents

95\. Visitations of Monasteries

96\. A London Chronicle on the Wars of the Roses

97\. The Cely Letters

98\. The Accession of Richard III (* )

99\. The Battle of Bosworth

100\. The Rediscovery of Richard III

101\. Polydore Vergil’s Account of Henry VII

102\. An Italian Relation of England

Sources

Index of Topics

(*) = New to this Edition