Richard II
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 11, 1999
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 416
ISBN-13: 9780300078756
Subjects: Biography: general; British & Irish history: c 1000 to c 1500; c 1000 CE to c 1500; Biography & Autobiography; Biography / Autobiography; Biography/Autobiography; England; Historical - British; History / General; Europe - Great Britain - General; Historical - General; Royalty
First sentence: Richard II is one of the most powerful of Shakespeare's history plays.
Description: Nigel Saul paints a picture of Richard as a highly assertive and determined ruler, one whose key aim was to exalt and dignify the crown. In Richard's view, the crown was threatened by the factiousness of the nobility and the assertiveness of the common people. The king met these challenges by exacting obedience, encouraging lofty new forms of address and constructing an elaborate system of rule by bonds and oaths.

Saul traces the sources of Richard's political ideas and finds that he was influenced by a deeply felt orthodox piety and by the ideas of the civil lawyers. He shows that, although Richard's kingship resembled that of other rulers of the period, unlike theirs, his reign ended in failure because of tactical errors and contradictions in his policies. For all that he promoted the image of a distant, all-powerful monarch, Richard II's rule was in practice characterised by faction and feud.

The king was obsessed by the search for personal security: in his subjects, however, he bred only insecurity and fear.
Notes: The English Monarchs Series