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Reviews 229 Dunn, Diana, ed., War and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Britain, Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 2000; paper; pp. vii, 213; R R P £14.95; ISBN 0853238855. This is in no way a general study of the topic of war and society in 'Britain' focused as it is on England, with glances at Wales and the Celticfringe.In all it is an interesting but somewhat eclectic collection of nine chapters which were originally papers presented at a colloquium held in Chester College in association with the University of Liverpool. This m a y explain the apparent randomness of the topics covered. Most contributors are locally based scholars and not surprisingly several chapters tend to be focused on the north western region ofEngland and the Welsh border areas, or relatedfields.Wars not fought on English soil are largely ignored, so Tudor era conflicts, such as Henry VHI's 'Rough Wooing' of Scotland, and Elizabeth's forces in Ireland or the Netherlands, are excluded. Similarly there is silence on naval matters, and economic aspects of supplying campaigns are not dealt with. There appears to be an unstated leaning towards cultural studies, but judging by some chapters there is simply too little in the sources for much satisfying work to appear. A s for any traditional military fare, that is eschewed. A specialist seeking a discussion of campaigns, hardware, and specific tactical or strategic issues will be disappointed. The book covers various aspects of some conflicts within England from the 1100s to the 1640s. However the claim that it 'focuses on three English civil wars' is misleading. It is clearly medieval with two thematic chapters on general issues and three chapters on the civil war between Stephen and Matilda (113843 approximately), and one on the Hundred Years War in France (1420s). The Wars of the Roses chapter (to 1471) is followed by a temporal jump over the entire Tudor period, bringing us to a rearguard oftwo chapters on the 1640s Civil War, a token Early M o d e m inclusion. There is no attempt at comparative analysis trfthese 'three civil wars'; they are treated in isolation. Thefirstthematic chapter deals with medieval accounts of wars, relating reports to attitudes about warfare from the 1100s to 1415 (Agincourt), noting a change from an emphasis on individual heroism and chivalric values to an awareness of an army as a whole, implicitly leading in to the Early M o d e m era of the 'military revolution'. Next comes an analysis of the process of naming battlefields (950-1450s approximately). Covering five centuries in 14 pages, this 230 Reviews is rather scrappy with its 'Typology of Battlefield Names' promising more than it delivers. Lacking a systematic framework, it fails in creating a useful typology. Parts ofthis chapter seem motivated by antiquarianism rather than analytic rigour. The issue of foreign mercenaries is an important part of warfare but the chapter on this issue in the reign of King Stephen is not tightly focused. In c o m m o n with several other chapters an excessive amount of space (almost half) is given over to summarising the general background of events in this war. In a work of scholarship, knowledge of this basic material might be assumed and space given over to more useful original analysis and presentation of research findings. The grand strategic issue of forging internal alliances is the only link of the theme of war and society with the chapter on King Stephen's creation of an unusual number of Earls. But the relation to the war is not so clear as there were some recent precedents for this and the process was abandoned before the war ended. Indeed the issue appears of more direct relevance to the history of the peerage or of local administration and its relation to royal government. The dynamic figure of Queen Margaret ofAnjou in the Wars of the Roses receives an interesting treatment. Her 'unwomanly' image, one magnified by Shakespeare for dramatic purposes, is set against five other Queens with absent or otherwise weak husbands. It is argued that the failings of Henry VI were blamed on Margaret as a means to avoid the political...

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