Welsh Journals

'The Political Framework' is the least satisfactory section. When divorced from government, politics become a superficial succession of personalities: the affable, then senile Edward III, the heroic Henry V, the ghoulish Margaret of Anjou. The account of the French war is oddly old-fashioned: it appears in patriotic garb as a calculated domestic solvent. The conflict's impact on England is dealt with simply. Although Docs. 21, 113 and 309 indicate a real fear for the consequences for England should Edward Ill's and Henry V's adventures be successful, this is not reflected in the introduction. The later stages of the Beaufort- Gloucester rivalry need more careful reconstruction. To be fair to Beaufort, his desire for peace did not envisage English surrender, and papal example might be added to his financial motive; whereas the 'jingoistic' Gloucester could hardly be without influence when his opponents took such extreme steps to discredit him. The reputation of Henry VI's queen is further besmirched; but far from being disliked when she arrived in England, Margaret was well received, and a friendless, sixteen-year-old girl could hardly dominate Henry VI so completely that she dictated policy. Nor is it just to see her as the irreconcilable royalist working for a decisive conflict after St. Albans (1455); her efforts to force a stubborn cathedral chapter to accept her chancellor as dean (Doc. 157) hardly prove this. And the incredible slanders of the queen in the English Chronicle need editorial qualification. Perhaps Professor Myers attempted too much: it might have been better to highlight those political problems which provoke debate among historians (one of Professor Douglas's declared aims for the series) and to shun the attractions of a comprehensive narrative. At £ 10-50 this volume will not be bought by the general reader; at 51 lbs. it will not be carried in student brief-cases. But as a work of reference and a mine of illustrative material for schools and universities, the more it is used the more valuable will it prove. RALPH A. GRIFFITHS Swansea THE TUDOR COMMONWEALTH, 1529-1559. By Whitney R. D. Jones. University of London, The Athlone Press, 1970. Pp. 253. £2· 75. The early Tudor period saw a remarkable extension of attempts by government to interfere in the day-to-day life of its subjects, most notably in religious and economic affairs. Government activity on this scale was inevitably accompanied by a ferment of social theorizing. This, in turn, has attracted a good many academic studies, most notably the works of Baumer, Helen White, Zeefeld, Caspari, McConica and A. B. Ferguson. Mr. Jones therefore follows a distinguished line of scholars. His book is welcome for the comprehensiveness of its coverage and for its success in relating his theorists to their economic context and to the general development of social theory.