The Fifteenth Century, 1399-1485

The failure of the Lancastrian dynasty, after its early struggles and its apparent consolidation, tends here to be attributed, in large measure, to improvident commitments abroad and a financial and administrative technique inadequate for its responsibilities; and the contest--at least in its earlier stages--between Lancaster and York is viewed not so much as a unique struggle between defined parties, as typical of the efforts of noble houses to maintain and improve their position by the exercise of patronage and influence in a society that was rapidly undergoing change. At the center of, and integral to, the story are chapters on the orders of men, upon economic life and governmental administration. There are revised portraits of Henry V and Edward IV, the latter regarded as a more practical administrator than his royal predecessors. A special feature is the sections devoted to Anglo-French relations, with the damnosa hereditas of the Treaty of Troyes particularly emphasized. The last chapter, a pacific epilogue to the tale of violence preceding it, deals with notable English achievements in the life of the spirit.