
Justice and Grace
Private Petitioning and the English Parliament in the Late Middle Ages
Gwilym Dodd(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 26. July 2007
Book
Hardback
388 pages
978-0-19-920280-5 (ISBN)
Description
Focussing on the key role of the English medieval parliament in hearing and determining the requests of the king's subjects, this ground-breaking new study examines the private petition and its place in the late medieval English parliament (c.1270-1450). Until now, historians have focussed on the political and financial significance of the English medieval parliament; this book offers an important re-evaluation placing the emphasis on parliament as a crucial element in the provision of royal government and justice. It looks at the nature of medieval petitioning, how requests were written and how and why petitioners sought redress specifically in parliament. It also sheds new light on the concept of royal grace and its practical application to parliamentary petitions that required the king's personal intervention.
The book traces the development of private petitioning over a period of almost two hundred years, from a point when parliament was essentially an instrument of royal administration, to one where it was self-consciously dispatching petitions as the highest court of the land. Gwilym Dodd considers not only the detail of the petitionary process, but also broader questions about the government of late medieval England. His conclusions contribute to our understanding of the nature of medieval monarchy, and its ability (or willingness) to address local difficulties, as well as the nature of local society, and the problems that faced individuals and communities in medieval society.
The book traces the development of private petitioning over a period of almost two hundred years, from a point when parliament was essentially an instrument of royal administration, to one where it was self-consciously dispatching petitions as the highest court of the land. Gwilym Dodd considers not only the detail of the petitionary process, but also broader questions about the government of late medieval England. His conclusions contribute to our understanding of the nature of medieval monarchy, and its ability (or willingness) to address local difficulties, as well as the nature of local society, and the problems that faced individuals and communities in medieval society.
Reviews / Votes
...an exceptionally thorough and satisfying book. Both clever and learned, it makes a weighty contribution to the history od the English state and of English society in general. * J.R. Maddicott, The English Historical Review * ..detailed study ...[a] fine book ... with careful scholarship. * Michael Prestwich, TLS * Throughout the book, and resulting from Dr Dodd's diligent research in petitions and other govenment records, there are significant conclusions on the outcomes for petitioners. * Christine Carpenter, Parliamentary History * thoughtful and wide-ranging... an interesting book which in many respects sheds welcome light on an often neglected aspect of the work of the medieval English parliament * Hannes Kleineke, Reviews in History *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
13 in-text charts and graphs
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
618 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-920280-5 (9780199202805)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2007
OUP eBook
€63.49
Available for download
Person
Content
1. Introduction ; PART I - PRIVATE PETITIONS IN PARLIAMENT ; 2. The Emergence of private Petitions ; 3. 'High Noon' - Private Petitions: c. 1290 - c. 1330 ; 4. Decline and Consolidation: Private Petitions in Reign of Edward III ; 5. 'Common' Petitions in the Fourteenth Century ; 6. Private Petitions in the Fifteenth Century ; PART II - PRIVATE PETITIONS AND PRIVATE PETITIONERS ; 7. Individual Petitioners ; 8. Petitions from Communities ; 9. Writing and Presenting Private Petitions ; Conclusion ; Appendix 1: Rolls and Files ; Appendix 2: The Evolution of the Petitionary Form