The Household Knights of King John

by S. D. Church

Overview

If the medieval king was the helmsman of the ship of state, the royal household was the ship's engine. It comprised men from most ranks of society, from the great magnates of the realm to simple servants who looked after the day-to-day needs of the king and his court. This is the first full-length study of the most important group of the court household, the king's knights: socially élite, militarily preeminent, and indispensable for the workings of English medieval government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521553193
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/22/1999
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series , #44
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.63(d)
Lexile:	1850L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Recruitment into the royal military household; 3. Monarchy in action: the functions of the king's household knights; 4. The rewards of royal service; 5. Loyalty, civil war, and the household knights; 6. John's household knights during the minority of Henry III; 7. Some case histories; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...[Church] has presented a book that is exceptionally well organized; thus, his line of arguement is easily followed." Boyd Breslow, History

"Church...is the first to offer an in-depth examination of this group of men." Heather Tanner, The Medieval Review

"Church...helps to answer...important questions in this tightly focused and efficiently presented study of the household knights of King John." Choice

"...illuminating and useful study..." Comitatus

"Church's skillful research in and explication of the sources results in an important monograph that illuminates the workings of King John's government as the careers of this special set of knights...assessment of the circumstances at work in the recruitment, responsibilities, rewards, and loyalties of King John's household knights adds another level of actuality to our understanding" Speculum-a Jrnl Of Medieval Studies Oct 2001

From the Publisher