Sir John Fortescue's Governance of England
Sir John Fortescue's Governance of England

Summary/Abstract: Sir John Fortescue lived through the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses, when England was torn apart by the factional strife between the royal houses of Lancaster and York. His political and legal treatises have been looked at, so far, from the point of view of the impact they had on later developments during the Tudor rule under Henry VII, who put an end to the political instability in England. There is another dimension to Fortescue’s tracts, especially his Governance of England, which has not been considered: the influence it may have had on the political formation of the gentry, with whom Fortescue had close connections. The Governance of England found its way into the composite manuscript put together by John Vale (edited under the title of John Vale’s Book), alongside other political documents, a short chronicle, and documents from the house of Sir Thomas Cook, alderman and Mayor of London during King Edwards IV’s reign.

• Details
• Contents