Henry VI

Description

In this widely acclaimed biography, Bertram Wolffe challenges the traditional view of Henry VI as an unworldly, innocent, and saintly monarch and offers instead a finely drawn but critical portrait of an ineffectual ruler. Drawing on widespread contemporary evidence, Wolffe describes the failures of Henry’s long reign from 1422 to 1471, which included the collapse of justice, the loss of the French territories, and the final disintegration of his government. He argues that the posthumous cult of Henry was promoted by Henry VII as a way of excusing his uncle’s political failures while enhancing the image of the dynasty. This edition includes a new foreword by John Watts that discusses the book and its place in the evolving literature. Reviews of the earlier edition: “A brilliant biography that brings us as near as we are ever likely to come to this elusive personality.”—Sunday Times (London) “A powerful, compulsively readable portrait.”—Observer  “Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.”—R.L. Storey, Times Literary Supplement CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATIONS FOREWORD TO THE YALE EDITION PART I. THE MYTH OF THE ROYAL SAINT 1. The Myth of the Royal Saint Part II. THE MINORITY 2. An Infant King 3. Coronations 4. Royal Adolescence Part III. MAJORITY RULE 5. The Attainment of Power 6. The Royal Entourage 7. Patronage, Faction and Injustice in England, 1437-1450 8. The Founder of Eton and King’s 9. War and Peace: the Problems of Normandy and Gascony, 143 7“1443 10. Marriage and Truce, 1443-1445 11. Surrender and Defeat, 1445-1450 Part IV. THE AFTERMATH OF DEFEAT 12. Parliamentary Opposition and Popular Risings, 1449-1450 13. The Frustration of Richard duke of York, 1450—1453 14. Madness, 1453-1455 Part V. CIVIL WAR 15. The First Battle of St Albans and its Consequences 16. The Loss of the Throne 17. The Last Ten Years Part VI. APOTHEOSIS APOTHEOSIS Appendix: Itinerary of Henry VI, 1436-1461 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX