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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 850: 14th-Century England, IV: The Late Medieval English Crown - Correspondence and Service

Tuesday 7 July 2020, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Society for 14th-Century Studies
Organiser:Gwilym Dodd, Department of History, University of Nottingham
Moderator/Chair:W. Mark Ormrod, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Paper 850-aInternational Relations in Late 14th-Century England: The Geographical Reach of the Royal Letter Book (Edinburgh University Library, MS 183)
(Language: English)
Louise Gardiner, Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh
Index terms: Archives and Sources, Economics - Trade, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 850-bEdmund of Lancaster and Henry de Lacy in Service to King and Country
(Language: English)
Jeffrey S. Hamilton, Department of History, Baylor University, Texas
Index terms: Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 850-c'For the good service he has given': Service to the Crown and the Right to Reward in Henry VI's Minority, 1422-c. 1437
(Language: English)
Jennifer Caddick, Department of History, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Political Thought, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History
Abstract

This session offers new insights into royal correspondence and service to the crown within the long 14th century. The first paper is a detailed treatment of a Royal Letter Book containing almost 370 letters, mostly from the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. Particular attention is given to the geographical reach of these letters. The second paper explores the service given by Edmund of Lancaster, younger brother of Edward I, and Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, to the crown. The third paper examines the service due to the crown during the period of Henry VI’s minority, but also questions the extent to which contemporaries believe the crown owed them reward. In so doing, the discussion moves away from the dominant transactional model of patronage, to a more symbiotic understanding of the interaction between rulers and ruled.