Magna Carta, imposed on King John by his barons in 1215, is widely regarded as the foundation of the British constitution. This is the classic study of the origins of the rebellion which culminated in the events at Runnymede. Holt investigates the causes of the baronial revolt and explores the social and administrative setting of the northern shires and their landed families. Drawing on recent research on border societies, Holt's introduction to the paperback offers new insights into the organization of the northern barons.

The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John (Clarendon Paperbacks)

Biographies & Memoirs

Holt, J.C.

Historical

Clarendon Press

In the many volumes of the British Dictionary of National Biography one figure enjoys a unique distinction: the article on Robin Hood is devoted entirely to arguing that he never existed. Now Professor James Holt, one of Britain's premier historians and author of the standard work on Magna Carta, unravels pure invention from real possibility and brings us closer than ever before to the significance -- and centuries-long appeal -- of the Robin Hood legend. He roundly assesses the evidence for the historical "Robin Hood," but sees the origins as lying with the yeomen and hangers-on of the households of noblemen and gentry of the later Middle Ages, living in a society never far from violence and expressing through Robin Hood their love of adventure, their discontent, and their readiness to idealize lawlessness. From there the tale was carried from tavern to marketplace and beyond, sustaining Robin's popularity -- in many different guises -- to the present day.

Robin Hood (with 51 Illustrations and 5 Maps)

History

THAMES HUDSON LTD

"Highly recommended to all armchair swashbucklers."―Fresno Bee The legend of Robin Hood began more than 600 years ago. The man, if he existed at all, lived even earlier. In this definitive work, Professor Sir James Holt, one of Britain’s premier historians and author of the standard work on the Magna Carta, unravels pure invention from real possibility and offers the results of some thirty years of research. He assesses the evidence for the historical Robin Hood and finds that the tale originated with the yeomen and hangers-on of the households of noblemen and gentry in the later Middle Ages. Parts of the story that we now take for granted―Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Robin as robber of the rich and giver to the poor, even Sherwood Forest―played little or no part in the original tales, and were added as the centuries passed and the legends grew. The legend of Robin Hood has enthralled people from the first ballads to contemporary movies. Holt reconstructs the historical basis of the stories but never loses sight of the human imagination that sustained them. This edition includes new illustrations and The Gest of Robyn Hood, one of the oldest surviving tales. 16 color and 9 black-and-white illustrations

Robin Hood

Reference

Thames&Hudson

Published to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Jersey's unique relationship with the English crown, this book sets out to answer the question, 'Why are the Channel Islands, and Jersey in particular, subject to the English crown?'. The extraordinary political relationship between England and the Channel Islands had its origins in the year 1204, when King John lost possession of Normandy. This book, written by two of Britain's most distinguished historians, examines the history of Jersey before that fateful year and for the fifty years after in search of the answer.

Jersey 1204: The Forging of an Island Community

Everard, J. A.

Europe

Thames and Hudson

Magna Carta

Cambridge University Press

This is a fully revised and extended edition of Sir James Holt's classic study of Magna Carta, the Great Charter, which sets the events of 1215 and the Charter itself in the context of the law, politics and administration of England and Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The book is now published with many corrections and additions, including a new chapter on justice and jurisdiction that provides a fresh approach to the legal provisions of the Charter that were to prove so enduring, along with new appendices on matters as varied as vernacular translations of the Charter and grants of liberties in perpetuity.

Magna Carta (Then and There Series)

Religion & Spirituality

Longman

THE UNIVERSITY OF READING: THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS

Reading University Press

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