St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Mediaeval History
  • Mediaeval History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Mediaeval History
  • Mediaeval History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Mediaeval History
  • Mediaeval History Theses
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The court and household of Edward III, 1360-1377

Thumbnail
View/Open
ChrisGiven-WilsonPhDThesis.pdf (27.21Mb)
Date
1976
Author
Given-Wilson, Chris
Supervisor
Prestwich, K. C.
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Abstract
This thesis is written in two parts. The first part contains an examination of the household functionings as an institution. Although the household was an establishment of declining national importance in the years 1360-1377, due to the fact that Edward III was increasingly separated from it and thus it lost much of its political significance, nevertheless his subjects were on the whole satisfied with the way in which the king ran his household. What complaints there were about its activities were not generalised condemnations but specific complaints aimed at either the jurisdictional competence of the court of the [indecipherable] or the way in which the kings purveyors abused their positions. The numbers of household staff declined steadily during this period, from over 550 in 1359-60 to less than 350 in 1377, the most radical drop being in the early 1360s and probably being due to the fact that the household was no longer involved in the war. Despite the merger of the King’s and Queen’s households in 1360, wardrobe turnover was much reduced by this drop in numbers and by the household's non-involvement in the war; moreover real attempts at economy were made in the household throughout this period. The chamber too had its official income reduced but in actuality its unofficial income probably made it a vary wealthy department in the 1360s although after 1369 most of its wealth was ploughed into the exchequer, by now very much a controlling organ of the national finances, to help to finance the renewed French war. The second part of the thesis examines the part which the royal domestic establishments played in the political upheavals of 1376-77. The Good parliament was not an attack on a system of government, still less an attack on the household. It was a highly personalised attack on a group of courtiers and their associates who had come increasingly to dominate both the kings policies and his patronage in the 1360s and 1370s. Yet with notable exceptions these courtiers were much more than mere idle royal favourites; the commons in the Good Parliament were quick to forget the services which men such as William Latinor, John Yovill and Richard Lyons had done to the state, and while it is true that these men had personally benefitted considerably from their association with the court, nevertheless the charges brought against them in the Good Parliament were in many cases most unfair. Finally, the part played by the lords in the events of 1376-77 in investigated and it is argued that although there was some opposition from the prelates to the government (now virtually ran by John of Gaunt although this was far from being the case before 1376), there really is very little evidence to suggest that the lay magnates either led the opposition in the Good Parliament or seriously opposed government policies in the last year of the reign.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
  • Mediaeval History Theses
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2733

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter