Originally published in 1948, The Medieval Foundations of England is a chronological framework of the history of ideas and action during the medieval period. The book discusses the fundamental problems of medieval life in England, examining the agricultural foundation of England, the impact of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian civilizations, the feudalization of society, and the interpenetration of Anglo-Saxon and Norman civilizations. The book also examines the issues faced by the ‘New Monarchy’ of Henry II and the development of Parliament, it also examines how the intellectual Renaissance of the twelfth century affected medieval society. The book critically examines the historical sources of information and provides a reading list for each chapter.
1. Britain of the Eve of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements
2. The Sources of History Before 871
3. The Conversion of England
4. The Movement Towards Political Unity
5. The Sources of History, 971-1066
6. The Invasion of the Northmen
7. The Salvation of Wessex
8. The Conversion of the Wessex Kingship into an English Monarchy
9. St Dunstan and the Revival of the Church
10. The Agricultural Foundation of England
11. The Structure of Anglo-Saxon Society
12. The Impact of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon Civilizations
13. The Last English Kings
14. The Administrative History of England, 899-1066
15. Church and Culture in the Eleventh Century
16. The Feudalization of Society Before the Norman Conquest
17. The Impact of the Normans Upon Anglo-Saxon Civilization
18. The Sources of History in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
19. Administration Under the Norman Monarchy
20. The Lessons of Anarchy
21. The New Monarchy
22. The Religious Revival and Intellectual Renaissance
23. Administration without the King
24. The Circumscription of Monarchy
25. The Striving Towards Constitutional Opposition
26. Social and Economic Developments in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
27. The Medieval Parliaments of England
Index
Biography
G.O. Sayles