Welsh Journals

THE MINORITY OF HENRY III. By D. A. Carpenter. Methuen, 1990. Pp. xxiv, 472. £ 25.00. It was in 1912 that Kate Norgate published her volume on Henry Ill's minority. Historical fashion has changed much since then, yet no other book has been devoted to this subject, although of course there have been profound considerations of it in books of wider range, notably F. M. Powicke's. Now David Carpenter has presented us with a book of virtually 500 pages (very reasonably priced) on this brief chunk of English history. Such a volume is justified not only in terms of the time since the subject was last examined, but also in that Carpenter introduces much evidence from unprinted sources as well as from the printed sources largely quarried hitherto. His book also makes a strong claim for the intrinsic importance of this period. To take one example: the circumstances of King John's nine-year-old heir, coming to the throne with supporters fighting a civil war on his behalf, made it a crucial period for the initial growth of the king's council, the institution that was to be so important in the government of England for the rest of the middle ages and beyond. And, indeed, it was the actions of these supporters in the early months of Henry Ill's minority that prevented England from becoming a province of a Capetian empire. Some of these supporters, such as William Marshal, are well known, but others are more obscure, and many readers will find useful the list of principal characters (under such headings and subheadings as 'supporters', 'foreigners', and 'rebels') which precedes the text, after an equally useful list of principal dates. The book is also equipped with helpful maps and genealogical tables, a substantial bibliography and a splendid index. The index's entry for Magna Carta, for example, analysed into its various versions and its various clauses, takes up two-thirds of a page, while that for Hubert de Burgh, the justiciar, occupies two pages. In form, the text is a detailed narrative of the first decade of Henry Ill's reign, 1216-25. But, only occasionally does it risk descent into the 'one damned thing after another' variety. The narrative is interspersed with analytical passages which evoke the significance of many of the events and developments described. There are various themes to be followed in the politics of the minority, such as-in connection with a major argument of the book, the crown's poverty at this time-the government's efforts to recover, respectively, royal demesne, shrievalties, and castles, both from its enemies and from its supporters. Writing in chronological sections, Carpenter faces the difficult task of switching from one theme to another and not only showing the effect of one on another but also pointing out the continuities or discontinuities with earlier and later episodes of each theme. In doing the latter, he is not afraid to repeat ideas several times in order to ensure the reader's awareness of the significance of the most recently discussed episode. The summary analysis of John's reign with which the text begins omits reference to the political repercussions of inflation and other economic developments. Nonetheless, those who are primarily interested in John's reign should not give up at this point. From Carpenter's discussion of the early years of Henry Ill's minority, some insights into the Magna Carta crises of 1215 can be derived, notably those