This study is an examination of landed society in the/ar North-West of England between the outbreak of Edward Ill's wars with Scotland in 1332 and the end of the first stage of the Wars of the Roses in 1461. Although violence within regional society both in terms of involvement in Anglo-Scottish relations of the period and domestic violence in the form of gentry feuds and - at a larger scale - magnate feuds during the Wars of the Roses, constitutes a major part of this thesis, rather more peaceful concepts are also explored. Firstly, it is necessary to define the extent of the region as a whole, debating whether there are any boundaries more meaningful than those political and administrative boundaries provided by county units; this is followed by a prosopographical reconstruction of the composition of landed society: the significant peerage and greater gentry families. It will be argued that in the far North-West the topographical patterns created by physical geography are of far greater significance than shire units for the greater gentry families of local landed society. This point is demonstrated by an analysis of gentry identity in terms of attendance at the county court, and - more importantly - in property and marriage settlements, which indicate the importance of sub-county units, especially in the small 'mini-county' of Lancashire North of the Sands (the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas). Examination of the construction and composition of magnate retinues and affinities - the Lucy, Percy, Neville, Clifford and Lancastrian affinities in particular - also suggests a similar conclusion. The theme of the final two chapters - Anglo-Scottish relations - tackles the supra-county level, in terms of how far south the Border mattered in the far North- West and considers the cultural and architectural phenomenon ofpele towers in the region. At both sub-county and supra-county level, the importance of physical geography over the 'longue duree' is very clear indeed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:247271 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Marsh, John Patrick |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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