Matthew Strickland

This first modern study of Henry the Young King, eldest son of Henry II but the least known Plantagenet monarch, explores the brief but eventful life of the only English ruler after the Norman Conquest to be created co-ruler in his father’s lifetime. Crowned at fifteen to secure an undisputed succession, Henry played a central role in the politics of Henry II’s great empire and was hailed as the embodiment of chivalry. Yet, consistently denied direct rule, the Young King was provoked first into heading a major rebellion against his father, then to waging a bitter war against his brother Richard for control of Aquitaine, dying before reaching the age of thirty having never assumed actual power. In this remarkable history, Matthew Strickland provides a richly colored portrait of an all-but-forgotten royal figure tutored by Thomas Becket, trained in arms by the great knight William Marshal, and incited to rebellion by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, while using his career to explore the nature of kingship, succession, dynastic politics, and rebellion in twelfth-century England and France.

This is the first large-scale study of conduct in warfare and the nature of chivalry in the Anglo-Norman period. The extent to which the knighthood consciously sought to limit the extent of fatalities among its members is explored through a study of notions of a 'brotherhood in arms', the actualities of combat and the effectiveness of armour, the treatment of prisoners, and the workings of ransom. Were there 'laws of war' in operation in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and, if so, were they binding? How far did notions of honour affect knights' actions in war itself? Conduct in war against an opposing suzerain such as the Capetian king is contrasted to behaviour in situations of rebellion and of civil war. An overall context is provided by an examination of the behaviour in war of the Scots and the mercenary routiers, both accused of perpetrating 'atrocities'.

An exploration of the bow and arrow as weapons of war, this study takes us on a journey through history from before the Domesday Book, through Anglo-Saxon England, medieval Wales and Ireland, the crusades, until the time of the Tudors. Tactics, myths, origins, defence and armour are all discussed; as are the different types of bow.

This is the first, large-scale study of conduct in warfare and the nature of chivalry in the Anglo-Norman period. The extent to which the knighthood consciously sought to limit the extent of fatalities among its members is explored through a study of notions of a ‘brotherhood in arms’, the actualities of combat and the effectiveness of armour, the treatment of prisoners, and the workings of ransom. Were there ‘laws of war’ in operation in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and, if so, were they binding? How far did notions of honour affect knights’ actions in war itself? Conduct in war against an opposing suzerain such as the Capetian king is contrasted to behaviour in situations of rebellion and of civil war. An overall context is provided by an examination of the behaviour in war of the Scots and the mercenary routiers, both accused of perpetrating ‘atrocities’.