John of Gaunt: The Exercise of Princely Power in Fourteenth-Century England
- Author / Editor
- Goodman, Anthony.
John of Gaunt: The Exercise of Princely Power in Fourteenth-Century England
- Published
- New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
- Physical Description
- xiii, 421 pp.; 5 maps; 4 tables; calendar of documents.
- Description
- Historical biography that emphasizes John of Gaunt's reverence for royal authority and his consistent service to the English Crown. Unlike many magnates, Gaunt pursued personal ambitions within a royalist ideology, foreshadowing Tudor ideals of nobility.
- Six chapters reconstruct events of Gaunt's life. Individual chapters treat his historical reputation; his personality; and his attitudes toward Continental affairs, Lancastrian interests, the church, warfare, the peerage, etc. Goodman claims that Gaunt was a patron of Chaucer and Gower and considers BD for what it reveals about a contemporary view of Gaunt.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Background and General Criticism.
- Book of the Duchess.
- Chaucer's Life.