Reign of Henry VI

R. A. GRIFFITHS is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Wales, Swansea. He is an established authority on the later medieval period, and is also the author (with R. S. Thomas) of The Making of the Tudor Dynasty.

• Preface; Abbreviations; Some Important Dates; Acknowledgements; Introduction to Third Edition; Introduction: the making of a reputation; Part One: Collective Rule, 1422-1436; 1 The King's Accession; 2 The King's Councillors; The new council; The protector and his colleagues; The conciliar regime; 3 The King and his Household; Henry's early upbringing; The visit to France, 1430-32; Politics and the royal household, 1432-36; The queens-dowager; 4 Clients, Patrons, and Politics, 1422-1429; The new establishment; The appearance of faction, 1424-26; The months of crisis, 1425-26; A delicate political balance, 1427-29; Disposing of the king's patronage, 1422-29; 5 Clients, Patrons, and Politics, 1429-1436; Partisanship and patronage, 1429-33; Bedford in England, 1433-34; Conciliar patronage, 1434-36; 6 Financial Resources; Income and expenditure; The crown's creditors, 1422-29; France and a question of priorities; Loans in the 1430s; 7 Lawlessness and Violence; The nature of crime during the protectorate; Crime and law enforcement, 1422-29; The lollard rising of 1431; Continuing disorder; Parliamentary remedy, 1429-37; 8 Frontiers and Foreigners; The north; The Irish problem; Aliens in the realm; 9 England and the French Realm; England and France; Calais and Gascony during the protectorate; The war in northern France, 1422-29; Two coronations, 1429-32; Calais and the war strategy, 1433-34; The possibility of peace; The defence of Calais and Normandy-and the neglect of Gascony; The defence of England in the 1430s; 10 Propaganda and the Dual Monarchy; Part Two: Personal Rule, 1436-1453; 11 The King and his Queen; The ending of the king's minority; Contemporary observations; Education and foundations; The king's character; The new queen; 12 King Henry and his Council; The king's declaration of 1437; The councillors, 1437-45; The council's ordinances of 1444; Suffolk's faction, 1445-49; The crisis of 1449-50; Continued faction, 1450-53; 13 The King's Court and Household; Court and household; The formation of a household faction; The household under fire; The costs of the household; The unpopularity of the king's purveyors; 14 The King's Patronage and the Royal Household; The favoured servants; Patronage and the provinces; The English shires; The duchy of Lancaster; Wales and Cheshire; Bishops, lords, and king; The king's special agents; The grounds of criticism; 15 In Search of Money; The financial problem; Parliamentary taxation; Clerical taxation; Desperate expedients; Resumption; Loans; 16 Scotland, Ireland, and the Defence of the Realm; Anglo-Scottish relations; Lordship in Ireland; The coasts and seas; 17 The Fall of Lancastrian France-I; The duke of Orleans and the search for peace, 1437-40; Keeping up the guard, 1437-40; Defeats and disasters, 1440-44; 18 The Fall of Lancastrian France-II; The king's marriage, 1444-45; The elusive peace, 1445-49; The collapse of peace; Holding Calais, losing Gascony; 19 The Aliens in the Realm; 20 Lawlessness and Aristocratic Violence; Country and town; Noble lawlessness; The law's effectiveness; 21 Cade's Rebellion, 1450; A chronology; The rebel leader; The rebel host; The king's men; The Londoners' attitude; The rebel grievances and proposals; Conciliation, turmoil, and retribution; 22 The Political Education of Richard, Duke of York; Upbringing and early experience; The duke's counsellors; The indictment of the duke of Suffolk; Popular agitation; The return to England; The Dartford incident; Part Three: The Approach of Civil War, 1453-1461; 23 York's Opportunity, 1453-1456; The king's illness; The birth of a prince; The struggle for power; The first protectorate; Recovery and reaction; St Albans; The second protectorate; 24 The Royalist Reaction, 1456-1460; A change of regime; The king and the queen; Coventry: government from the provinces; Financing a provincial regime; London and the crown; The aristocracy and the court; The court and the Yorkist lords; The international dimension; The Lancastrian triumph; 25 Lancastrian King and Yorkist Rule, 1460-1461; Yorkist plans, Lancastrian precautions; The Yorkist victory; The question of the throne; Epilogue: The Destruction of a Dynasty; Genealogical Tables; Maps; List of Authorities; Index.

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