Lancaster and York, Vol. 1

Excerpt from Lancaster and York, Vol. 1: A Century of English History (A. D. 1399-1485) No apology need be offered for an attempt to supply a verified connected narrative of the first 1500 years of the history of England. The last fifty years have seen masses of historical material brought to light, with corresponding developments in the standards of historical criticism. The. earlier ages of our history are those that have profited most by these discoveries and this progress. Of high-class works dealing with portions of this period we have no lack, with Mr. Freeman's History of the Norman Conquest to head the list. Nor are continuous Histories of a popular and attractive character wanting, such as those of the late Mr. J. R. Green or Dr. Franck Bright. But these latter works do not give specific references to the original authorities, and therefore do not supply a foundation upon which after-comers and specialists can build. In the Constitutional History of the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Stubbs) we have a truly monumental work, not likely to be ever displaced. But the writer of a Constitutional History is somewhat cramped by the necessity of regarding all things from the constitutional point of view; nor can he without transgressing the proper limits of his subject do justice to all sides of the national story. He cannot enter fully into military events, nor into foreign affairs, nor into the financial history of the kingdom. Literature and art are equally beyond his purview. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.