Dimensions
156 x 232 x 25mm
Peace and Conflict in 15th Century England.
A dazzling account of peace and conflict in 15th Century England which emphasises the military over the political history of the Wars of the Roses.
Frequently remembered as a period of military history which both saw the French beat the English and then the English fight amongst themselves, traditional military historians have tended to pass over the period hastily, regarding it as a period that wrecked England's military greatness.
John Gillingham's highly readable history separates the myth from the reality. He argues that, paradoxically, the Wars of the Roses demonstrate how peaceful England in fact was. From the accession of the infant Henry VI to the thrones of England and France in 1422 to the accession of Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Gillingham uses his gift for graphic description (particularly with his exciting account of the 1471 campaign) to great effect. He is also good at placing the warfare within its European context, especially in showing the problems encountered in conducting a civil war within a normally peaceful country.
This book is an irresistible account of a fascinating period of history that makes available to a much wider audience the work of historians in recent decades.
