Kings, Knights and Bankers: The Collected Articles of Richard W. Kaeuper (Later Medieval Europe, 13)

Edited by Christopher Guyol. In 'Kings, Knights, and Bankers', Richard Kaeuper presents a lifetime of medieval research on Italian financiers, English kingship, chivalric violence, and knightly piety. His foundational work on public finance connects Italian merchant banking with the growth of state power at the turn of the fourteenth century. Subsequent articles on law and order offer measured contributions to the continuing debate over the growth of governance and its relationship with contemporary disorder. He also convincingly proves that knights, the foremost military professionals of the medieval world, considered their prowess as both a source of honor and of sanctification. All interested in the history of medieval chivalry, governance, piety, and public finance can learn from this impressive collection of articles. Abbreviations vii Introduction viii Part 1. The English Crown and Italian Financiers Introduction to Part 1 3 1. The Societas Riccardorum and Economic Change 6 2. The Role of Italian Financiers in the Edwardian Conquest of Wales 19 3. Royal Finance and the Crisis of 1297 35 4. The Frescobaldi of Florence and the English Crown 43 Part 2. Law and Disorder Introduction to Part 2 95 5. Law and Order in Fourteenth-Century England: The Evidence of Special Commissions of Oyer and Terminer 98 6. An Historian’s Reading of 'The Tale of Gamelyn' 157 7. Debating Law, Justice, and Constitutionalism 171 8. The King and the Fox: Reaction to the Role of Kingship in Tales of Reynard the Fox 184 Part 3. Chivalry and Literature Introduction to Part 3 201 9. Literature as Essential Evidence for Understanding Chivalry 204 10. William Marshal, Lancelot, and the Issue of Chivalric Identity 221 11. Chivalry in Barbour’s Bruce 243 12. Baudoin De Conde, Violence, and War 254 13. Chivalry: Fantasy and Fear 269 14. Chivalry and the ‘Civilizing Process’ 280 15. The Societal Role of Chivalry in Romance: Northwestern Europe 296 16. Telling it Like it Was? Mark Twain’s Rereading of Chivalry in Malory’s 'Morte Darthur' 315 Part 4. Holy Warriors Introduction to Part 4 329 17. Piety and Independence in Chivalric Religion 331 18. Chivalric Violence and Religious Valorization 342 19. John Ruskin, the Medieval Ordines, and Meritorious Suffering 361 20. Vengeance and Mercy in Chivalric 'Mentalité' 377 Index 389