1215 : the year of Magna Carta / Danny Danziger & John Gillingham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danziger, Danny.

Contributor:

Gillingham, John.

Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magna Carta.

Great Britain--History--John, 1199-1216.

Great Britain.

History.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1154-1399.

Politics and government.

England--Social conditions--1066-1485.

England.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

xxi, 312 pages : illustrations, map ; 19 cm

Edition:

First Touchstone edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Summary:

Surveying a broad landscape through a narrow lens, 1215 sweeps readers back eight centuries in an absorbing portrait of life during a time of global upheaval, the ripples of which can still be felt today. At the center of this fascinating period is the document that has become the root of modern freedom: the Magna Carta. Never before had royal authority been challenged so fundamentally. The Great Charter would become the foundation of the U.S. government and legal system, and nearly eight hundred years later, two of Magna Carta's sixty-three clauses are still a ringing expression of freedom for mankind. But it was also a time of political revolution and domestic change that saw the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart, King John, and -- in legend -- Robin Hood all make their marks on history.

The events leading up to King John's setting his seal to the famous document at Runnymede in June 1215 form this rich and riveting narrative that vividly describes everyday life from castle to countryside, from school to church, and from hunting in the forest to trial by ordeal. For instance, women wore no underwear (though men did), the average temperatures were actually higher than they are now, the austere kitchen at Westminster Abbey allowed each monk two pounds of meat and a gallon of ale per day, and it was possible to travel from Windsor to the Hampshire coast without once leaving the forest. Broad in scope and rich in detail, 1215 ingeniously illuminates what may have been the most important year of our history.

Contents:

1 The Englishman's Castle 1

2 The Countryside 19

3 Town 37

4 School 57

5 Family Strife 77

6 Tournaments and Battles 95

7 Hunting in the Forest 111

8 The Church 125

9 King John 141

10 The King's Men 159

11 Trial by Ordeal 175

12 A Christian Country 191

13 The English and the Celts 207

14 The Wider World 223

15 The Great Charter 245

16 The Myth 267

The Text of Magna Carta 275.

Notes:

Originally published: London : Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.

"A Touchstone book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [291]-296) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

ISBN:

0743257731

OCLC:

53880217