The theme running through this volume is that of “England in Europe”, with contributions tackling aspects of political, religious, cultural and urban history, placing England in a European context, exploring connections between the insular world and continental Europe, and using England as a case study of broader patterns of change in the long thirteenth century. A number of authors consider the long-term response of the English crown and polity to the Angevin empire's demise, examining kingship, historical memory, dynastic relationships and the influx of ideas and people to England from overseas. They look not only at connections between England and western Europe but also at others extending to northern Europe too. Many engage with larger trends that are European in scale, whether in the institutional life of the Church or in patterns of religious practice and belief, whilst others examine more confinedgeographical spaces, reminding us of distinctive political structures and identities lodged at the regional level.
ANDREW SPENCER is Senior Tutor at Gonville & Caius College and an Associate Lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge; CARL WATKINS is Reader in British History at cambridge University and a Fellow of Magdalene College.
Contributors: Rodolphe Billaud, Lars Kjær, Philippa Mesiano, Amicie Pélissié du Rausas, Antonia Shacklock, Thomas W. Smith, Andrew M. Spencer, Rebecca Springer, Ian Stone, Anaïs Waag
