The Hollow Crown: A History of Britain in the Late Middle Ages

Contemporary Review, July, 2005

The Hollow Crown: A History of Britain in the Late Middle Ages. Miri Rubin. Allen Lane. [pounds sterling]25.00. xx + 380 pages. ISBN 0-713-99066-X. This latest volume in the Penguin History of Britain takes the story from the Great Famine of 1315-1322 to the defeat of Richard III in 1485 and is designed for the general reader.

The author follows a chronological approach and discusses the now usual range of famines, wars, insurrections and dynastic struggles that marked this period. Where she excels is on the 'social history' side, in portraying the 'efforts at consolidation and association' at the local level and in delineating the network of ties, loyalties and obligations that criss-crossed people's lives whether in England. Scotland, Normandy, or Picardy. All these were based on an assumption of ordered government (both secular and religious) that ultimately were based on a strong monarchy. The dynastic struggles of the Wars of the Roses were in part attempts to secure strong government, to fill the 'hollow crown'. She is concerned with the growth of the law and with its impact on the accumulated customs and daily lives of individuals and also with how great events affected average people. This is good history and should be read by anyone convinced that either Henry VII or the Reformation began a 'new' era in our long history. (E.B.)