The Household Knights of King John [Paperback]

The first full-length study of the elite group which surrounded King John, his household knights.If the medieval king was the helmsman of the ship of state, the royal household was the ship's engine. It comprised men from most ranks of society, from the great magnates of the realm to simple servants who looked after the day-to-day needs of the king and his court. This is the first full-length study of the most important group of the court household, the king's knights: socially élite, militarily preeminent, and indispensable for the workings of English medieval government.If the medieval king was the helmsman of the ship of state, the royal household was the ship's engine. It comprised men from most ranks of society, from the great magnates of the realm to simple servants who looked after the day-to-day needs of the king and his court. This is the first full-length study of the most important group of the court household, the king's knights: socially élite, militarily preeminent, and indispensable for the workings of English medieval government.If the medieval king was the helmsman of the ship of state, the royal household was the ship's engine. It comprised men from most ranks of society, from the great magnates of the realm to simple servants who looked after the day-to-day needs of the king and his court. This is the first full-length study of the most important group of the court household, the king's knights: socially élite, militarily preeminent, and indispensable for the workings of English medieval government.Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Recruitment into the royal military household; 3. Monarchy in action: the functions of the king's household knights; 4. The rewards of royal service; 5. Loyalty, civil war, and the household knights; 6. John's household knights during the minority of Henry III; 7. Some case histories; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index. ...[Church] has presented a book that is exceptionl3,