Fourteenth Century England has quickly established for itself a deserved reputation for its scope and scholarship and for admirably filling a gap in the publication of medieval studies. HISTORYThe essays collected here present the fruits of the most recent research on aspects of the history, politics and culture of England during the `long' fourteenth century - roughly speaking from the reign of Edward I to the reign ofHenry V. Based on a range of primary sources, they are both original and challenging in their conclusions. Several of the articles touch in one way or another upon the subject of warfare, but the approaches which they adopt are significantly different, ranging from an analysis of the medieval theory of self-defence to an investigation of the relative utility of narrative and documentary sources for a specific campaign. Literary texts such as Barbour's Bruce are also discussed, and a re-evaluation of one particular set of records indicates that, in this case at least, the impact of the Black Death of 1348-9 may have been even more devastating than is usually thought.Chris Given-Wilson is Professor of Late Mediaeval History at the University of St Andrews. Contributors: Susan Foran, Penny Lawne, Paula Arthur, Graham E. St John, Diana Tyson, David Green, Jessica Lutkin, Rory Cox, Adrian R. Bell

PrefaceA Great Romance: Chivalry and War in Barbour's Bruce - Susan ForanEdmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent [1301-1330]: A Study of Personal Loyalty - Penny LawneThe Black Death and Mortality: A Reassessment - Paula ArthurWar, the Church, and English Men-at-arms - Graham E. St JohnPower Corrupts! An Anglo-Norman Poem on the Abuse of Power - Diana TysonNational Identities and the Hundred Years War - David GreenIsabella de Coucy, daughter of Edward III: The Exception who Proves the Rule - Jessica LutkinNatural Law and the Right of Self-Defence according to John of Legnano and John Wyclif - Rory CoxMedieval Chroniclers as War Correspondents during the Hundred Years War: The Earl of Arundel's Naval Campaign of 1387 - Adrian R. Bell