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Bezig met laden... A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain (2008)door Marc Morris
Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. So this was a very intense book: marriages, deaths, wars, crusades, etc. I personally really enjoyed it, but afterward, my brain was a little dead. I actually hadn’t watched the movie “Braveheart” before reading this book, but when I did watch it afterward, I couldn’t bring myself to hate Edward I since this book really humanized him for me. I read a lot of biographies, my theory being that history is best studied by looking at the people who make it. In this case, the subject is Edward I of England, nicknamed “Longshanks”. I would venture to say that most people best know Edward I through his portrayal in the movie “Braveheart”. As the movie is told through the eyes of the Scottish freedom fighters, Edward is not treated charitably, though by earning the nickname, “Hammer of the Scots”, it is likely he would likely not have been terribly unhappy with his portrayal. Edward I is a subject deserving of study, as his reign was long and eventful. Unfortunately, I found this treatment to be extremely dry and uninteresting. While it lays out the important facts and events, the narrative does not flow well and fails to engage the reader. I would think that a better biography of Edward would be available.
Morris tells Edward's story fluently and conveys a compelling sense of the reality, and the contingency, of personal rule; but we rarely see the king in intimate close-up. Erelijsten
Biography & Autobiography.
History.
Nonfiction.
Edward I is familiar to millions as "Longshanks," conqueror of Scotland and nemesis of Sir William Wallace (in Braveheart). Yet this story forms only the final chapter of the king's action-packed life. Earlier, Edward had defeated and killed the famous Simon de Montfort, traveled to the Holy Land, and conquered Wales. He raised the greatest armies of the Middle Ages and summoned the largest parliaments. Notoriously, he expelled all the Jews from his kingdom. In this book, Marc Morris examines afresh the forces that drove Edward throughout his relentless career: his character, his Christian faith, and his sense of England's destiny-a sense shaped in particular by the tales of the legendary King Arthur. He also explores the competing reasons that led Edward's opponents (including Robert Bruce) to resist him. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)942.035092History and Geography Europe England and Wales England Plantagenet 1154-1399 Edward I 1272-1307LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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Early on though, through conflicts with his parents, the fight with the party of Simon de Montfort, the wars with the Welsh, and the conflicts Edward had with his own nominal overlord, the King of France, Morris is essentially tracing two key characteristics of Edward's personality. One, a strong sense of having to fight for his entitlements as King of England; particularly when it came to control of land and wealth. Two, Edward's feeling that there were "final solutions" available to his problems; though the latter tendency seems to have moderated for a bit in the man's prime, Edwards displaying a knack for diplomacy when it mattered.
Still, though Morris has to conclude that Edward was a man of his age, and that most of his acts likely would have been committed by any English king, particularly in regards to the expulsion and expropriation of the Jews, the grand play for Scotland was the start of nothing but trouble which led to Edward's long-term legacy of violence for the British Isles.
As for my other main thought having finished this biography, I particularly like the way Morris uses fiscal matters as a backbone for his narrative. Let's just say that Edward would have agreed with the modern quip that the answer to all your questions is money. ( )