The Reign of King Henry VI

The Exercise of Royal Authority, 1422–1461

Ralph A. Griffiths

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9780520308381
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520312920
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

'Anyone who wishes to study the reign of Henry VI will need to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides' A.J. Pollard, Parliamentary History Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king to have been acknowledges by the French as rightfully King of France. His reign was the third longest since the Norman conquest and he came close to being declared a saint. This masterly study, unparalleled in its informative detail, examines the entire span of the king's reign, from the death of Henry V in 1422, when Henry was only nine months old, to the period of his insanity at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses and his dethronement in 1461, preceding his murder ten years later. This classic re-assessment of the third Lancastrian king is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of fifteenth-century England.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• Contents
• Illustrations and maps
• Abbreviations
• Some Important Dates
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: the Making of a Reputation
• 1 The King’s Accession
• 2 The King’s Councillors
• 3 The King and his Household
• 4 Clients, Patrons, and Politics, 1422-1429
• 5 Clients, Patrons, and Politics, 1429-1436
• 6 Financial Resources
• 7 Lawlessness and Violence
• 8 Frontiers and Foreigners
• 9 England and the French Realm
• 10 Propaganda and the Dual Monarchy
• 11 The King and his Queen
• 12 King Henry and his Council
• 13 The King’s Court and Household
• 14 The King’s Patronage and the Royal Household
• 15 In Search of Money
• 16 Scotland, Ireland, and the Defence of the Realm
• 17 The Fall of Lancastrian France — I
• 18 The Fall of Lancastrian France — II
• 19 The Aliens in the Realm
• 20 Lawlessness and Aristocratic Violence
• 21 Cade’s Rebellion, 1450
• 22 The Political Education of Richard, Duke of York
• 23 York’s Opportunity, 1453-1456
• 24 The Royalist Reaction, 1456-1460
• 25 Lancastrian King and Yorkist Rule, 1460-1461
• EPILOGUE THE DESTRUCTION OF A DYNASTY
• List of Authorities
• Index