The Reign of Edward III

Rating:
Summary: Terrible, boring book
Review: As a collector of medieval books, I found this book to be wanting. You really don't get to know what this king's life was like. There is no detailed history of some of his greatest battles in France (Crecy and Poitiers), and nothing that tells you who he was. His son, the Black Prince, perhaps the greatest Prince of Wales there ever was, is hardly mentioned. I'm just glad I got this book at a discount. If you want to know more about Edward III, Froissart's Chronicles goes into more detail.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible, boring book
Review: I assume that this book receives some praise only because of a lack of modern histories on Edward III. Unfortunately, the book is totally inadequate to its task - barely scratching the surface of Edward and the impact of activity in both England and France. Its complete lack of primary sources from France (except Frossiart so one should say reliable sources) and the lowlands is startling in a text that claims to study Edward III. It is excessively anglophobic in its view of Edward's reign and so cannot help but present a skewed and incomplete picture. Its organization makes the presentation even worse - by considering each estate separately, it makes a tricky history because of the time scale even more disjointed and trivial in scope and coverage. I could go on about the flaws and inaccuracies (such as lack of consideration of low land promised subsidies, etc.), but will not.

Rating:
Summary: A Sketch - Not a History
Review: I assume that this book receives some praise only because of a lack of modern histories on Edward III. Unfortunately, the book is totally inadequate to its task - barely scratching the surface of Edward and the impact of activity in both England and France. Its complete lack of primary sources from France (except Frossiart so one should say reliable sources) and the lowlands is startling in a text that claims to study Edward III. It is excessively anglophobic in its view of Edward's reign and so cannot help but present a skewed and incomplete picture. Its organization makes the presentation even worse - by considering each estate separately, it makes a tricky history because of the time scale even more disjointed and trivial in scope and coverage. I could go on about the flaws and inaccuracies (such as lack of consideration of low land promised subsidies, etc.), but will not.

Rating:
Summary: distinct impression of viewing Edward III through a screen
Review: I have started reading some of the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb and since my background in English history consists of a simple survey course taken some years ago, I decided to do a little research. One of the books I selected was W. M. Omrod's The Reign of Edward III.

The intriguing face of the young Edward on the front cover (listed as an effigy of Edward III from Westminster Abbey) and the more venerable countenance from his tomb (also in Westminster Abbey) shown in plate 6 would lead one to expect a life rich with events and detail. To some extent this is true, but somehow the book is disappointing in this respect. There is little human dimension to Ormrod's Edward III. One has the distinct impression of viewing him through a screen or veil. Much of this is the product of the types of information left from the era in which he ruled (14th Century). Although the English were keeping a variety of records at this time, they were mostly economic, political, religious, and military in nature. Little of what might be called personal is left from the period.

An artifact of this filter is that the work tends to be a catalogue of individuals given benefices or noble titles, at what time and for what reason. It is also the history of the political and legal relationships between the king and his nobles, the king and the commons, and the king and the clergy. Much of this is conducted in the arena of international politics and war, the latter carried out predominantly over the English held French provinces and over Edward's claim on the title of King of France. The author has a good sense of the social and constitutional changes of this reign, and analyzes their significance well. He seems to be an unbiased judge of the king and his reign, neither condemning nor apologizing for Edward's decisions. His discussion of the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock, is more down to earth and less emotional than some authors, and his appraisal of the king's brother, John of Gaunt, is less condemnatory than some.

If one is interested in the rich texture of this king's life and times, one will probably be disappointed. If one is interested in social and constitutional changes in England at this time and their ramifications, then this is probably a good place to start. For further reading, the bibliography has a number of titles listed, mostly from the 1970s and '80s. Also included, although not by particular article or notation, is a list of abbreviations for journals, standard reference works, and primary sources which might interest the more serious student of the period.