IMC 2016: Sessions
Session 1327: 13th-Century England, IV: Minorities, Interregna, and Regencies - The Problems of Succession in the Middle Ages
Wednesday 6 July 2016, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | The National Archives, Kew / University of East Anglia |
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| Organiser: | Paul R. Dryburgh, The National Archives, London |
| Moderator/Chair: | Paul R. Dryburgh, The National Archives, London |
| Paper 1327-a | Royal Successions and Interregna before 1100 in Western Europe (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Historiography - Medieval, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History |
| Paper 1327-b | Minorities as Interregna: The Case of Henry III (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Political Thought, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Paper 1327-c | Interregna in the Welsh Lands in the 13th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History |
| Paper 1327-d | 'A wretched outcome': Queen Yolande after the Death of Alexander III of Scotland (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Abstract | At every level of lordship and family the smooth succession from one generation to the next was considered imperative in the Middle Ages to protect dynastic and personal rights and prevent dislocation and conflict. Within royal and aristocratic families in the British Isles, however, the effects of disease, warfare, and personal and legal conflict meant that kingdoms and comital and baronial dynasties often suffered dangerous breaks in the line of inheritance. This may have been in the form of an underage heir, female succession, and the ensuing regency governments. This session will explore in four papers the consequences of royal minorities and regencies from the personal and national perspectives, examining the issue globally within western Europe and locally within the contexts of 13th century Wales and Scotland, as well as analyse the challenges and opportunities they presented and the strategies royal and aristocratic houses employed to mitigate their worst effects. |