Draft on British Feudal Monarchy: From the Norman Conquest to the Magna Carta

Author: Meng Guanglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: This book provides an in-depth and systematic examination of important issues concerning the British feudal monarchy during the period from the Norman Conquest to the Magna Carta, including the formation and development of the monarchy, its relationships with secular nobles, the Church, and cities, as well as the political system, nature, and status of the monarchy. It argues that after the Norman Conquest, the British monarch leveraged their dual political identity and status as both the ruler of the nation and a feudal overlord to continuously overcome feudal centrifugal tendencies, gradually establishing a centralized political system under the king. Although the British feudal monarchy still bore the imprint of feudal overlordship, it had in fact become the highest public political authority in the kingdom. While there were conflicts and struggles between the British feudal monarchy and the nobility and the Church, close political cooperation and alliances were the mainstream of their relationship, with the nobility and the Church rather than the urban populace forming the political foundation of the feudal monarchy. It challenges and refutes traditional Western mainstream viewpoints, demonstrating strong academic innovation.