Nigel Saul portrays Richard II as an imaginative but politically hazardous ruler whose elevated conception of monarchy brought him into conflict with the conventions of aristocratic government. The biography traces his childhood accession, response to the Peasants’ Revolt and prolonged struggle with the Lords Appellant.
Saul examines Richard’s court culture, patronage, religion and efforts to establish a more personal kingship after 1389. The retaliatory politics of 1397–1399, the seizure of Lancastrian lands and Henry Bolingbroke’s return are analysed as the culmination of choices that transformed a gifted king into a deposed monarch.
A. W. Boardman
2 books
Laura Ashe
Dan Jones
4 books
Alison Weir
35 books
Michael Livingston
4 books