The Reign Of Richard II

by Gwilym Dodd

When Richard II began his reign in 1377, aged ten, there was every chance for success. Yet twenty-one years later, following a series of revolts and rebellions, the reign ended in deposition and murder. A conference was held at the Centre for Medieval Studies in the University of York to mark the 600th anniversary of the usurpation. Although this book comprises conference papers, they have been presented in an accessible manner, illustrated with notes confined to the closing pages. They paint a portrait of the man Richard, prone to fits of anger and theatrical gesture, his war with France, his relations with Parliament, his inner citadel' of Cheshire, his household, his sense of history, his downfall and, finally, his reputation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Medieval

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reign of Richard II is an edited collection of nine essays about Richard II and his reign by a diverse array of authors. These essays were all engaging and informative, covering a diverse range of topics. I appreciated that quite a few seemed to be pushing close to trying to understand Richard as an individual, whether it was the “personal portrait” by A. K. McHardy, W.M. Ormrod’s essay on Richard’s sense of English history, or explorations of his policies towards France, parliament, and Cheshire by Anne Curry, Gwilym Dodd (who edited the collection) and Tim Thornton, which tended towards debunking or at least exploring some long held myths about Richard and his policies.

It is worth noting that this was published in 2000, and so the authors could not and do not refer to more recent developments in understanding Richard’s reign – but there was little that stuck out to me as being particularly dated. The preface states that one of the aims of the book (and the conference that preceded it) is to be accessible to anyone interested in Richard II, within academia or not. I’d say that it generally achieves this goal, though some essays are drier than others and some quotes have not been translated from Middle English into modern English. This, however, should not be taken to mean that this book is friendly to a reader who knows nothing at all about Richard II. There is no general overview of Richard’s life and the reader is expected to be familiar with aspects of his reign, such as his deposition and the Appellant Crisis.

All up, this is a great collection of essays.

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of collected essays from different historians that I found to be most useful in my continued research on Richard II. Like most of these types of books, many of these articles presuppose a pretty thorough background and take us to the next level. They do help us delve into the fine details of the subject. Here are the chapters:
1. Richard II: a personal portrait
2. Richard II and the war with France
3. The chivalry of Richard II: 1381 and 1389
4. The Appellant and the clerk: the assault on Richard II’s friends in government, 1387-89
5. Richard II and the transformation of Parliament
6. Cheshire: the inner citadel of Richard II’s Kingdom?
7. Richard II’s sense of English history
8. The Road to Richard II’s downfall: a visual journey
9. Richard II’s reputation