Generations of revolt: Reform, rebellion, and political society in later medieval England, 1258-1415

In the period from 1258 to 1415, four kings of England faced serious rebellion and threats of deposition, while another encountered sustained demands for reform. These dramatic episodes capture our imagination and were crucial moments in the development of English political society. My thesis is the first modern comparative study of these moments. Recent historians of individual revolts have stressed personal relations and conflicts over patronage; in contrast, I attempt to reintroduce discussion of public law and governance into the study of medieval English politics. My study argues for a close linkage of peaceful reform and violent revolt. A sophisticated English political society not only repeatedly sought to influence royal government but understood and limited the use of force in obtaining their goals. As that political society changed, however, both reform and revolt evolved into more personal conflicts. The turning point for this evolution was the reign of Edward II. The source base which underlies my conclusions includes many previously unexploited legal sources, chiefly the prosecutions of failed rebels and their supporters.;Chapter two sets out the basic relation between reform and revolt throughout the period. Chapters three and four discuss changes in the problems perceived in royal government and the methods used to correct them, positing a decline in baronial commitment to institutional reform and a growth in personal attacks and partisan demands. Chapter five discusses how revolt gradually became detached from reform, as well as becoming more radical in its ultimate goal, deposition. Chapter six analyzes participation in revolt statistically; such participation increasingly reflected the influence of particular lords rather than the appeal of shared political goals.;The conclusion seeks to explain the evolution of reform and revolt by placing it within the context of changes in royal government, the effects of repeated conflict, and the growth of "bastard feudalism," of the reviving dominance of lordship in English political society. Finally, the epilogue considers how these political and social developments resulted in new trends in revolt, specifically peasant revolt and dynastic conflict, the latter culminating eventually in the Wars of the Roses.