Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485

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Simon and Schuster, Mar 13, 2001 - History - 432 pages
In a sparkling, fast-paced narrative, esteemed historian John Julius Norwich chronicles the turbulent events of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century England that inspired Shakespeare's history plays. It was a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare, a time during which the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, and peasants and townsmen alike arose in revolt. This was the raw material of Shakespeare's dramas, and Norwich holds up his work to the light of history to ask: Who was the real Falstaff? How accurate a historian was the playwright? Shakespeare's Kings is a marvelous study of the Bard's method of spinning history into art, and a captivating portrait of the Middle Ages.
 

Contents

io King Henry 14141420
1
Edward III and the Black Prince 13 3713
13
Opening of Edward III Acts I and II
21
Crecy in Edward III
33
Calais and Poitiers in Edward III End of play
39
The Young Richard 137713 81
49
Rebels advance Their depredations Confrontations at Mile End
64
Latimer incident Scottish expedition Departure of John of Gaunt
77
Henrys birth Bedford Gloucester Beaufort Hopelessness of the war
221
Authorship Fidelity to truth Sources Telescoping of time FalstafF Joan
235
The Gathering Storm 14451455
251
Henrys illness and insanity Birth of his son Arrest of Somerset York
265
Yorks return from Ireland Telescoping time Yorks behaviour
278
His liberation Welles rebellion Battle of Losecoat Field Warwick
294
Crimes of Lancaster expiated after Tewkesbury Opening inaccuracies
307
French expedition of 1475 Rivalry between Clarence and Gloucester Their
321

Richard assumes personal responsibiHty for government John of Gaunt Results
95
The Triumph of Bolingbroke 13981400
109
Shakespeares interpretation Richard sent to Pontefract Plot to reinstate him
124
FalstaffOldcastle Hals riotous living His military record Percy rebellion
139
The Kings sickness Growing responsibilities of Prince of Wales
155
Kings final seizure and death His tomb
161
Harfleur and Agincourt 14131415
171
Henrys claim to throne of France Beauforts mission Huge and unfulfillable
178
The march to Agincourt
184
The End of die Adventure 14151422
193
Defeat and death of Clarence at Beauge Henrys last campaign His inhumanity
200
Chronological limitation of play Assistance of Chorus in dating Tennis balls
207
The Final Reckoning 14831485
337
After Bosworth Fate of Richards body
351
King Richard III 147114
353
The two legends Dating of the play
355
and II Chronologies Clarences death Queens lamentations Undramatic treatment of Richards coup
357
and IV Richards progress to the throne His murder of the Princes
361
Bosworth
365
Epilogue
369
Chronological Table
375
Bibliography
379
Index
383
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About the author (2001)

John Julius Norwich is the author of A History of Venice and the renowned Byzantium trilogy. He is chairman of the World Monuments Fund in Britain and lives in London.

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