must've read a different book than others because, while it is certainly not without flaws, it is a good read about an important historical figure.
Full review to come.
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Rating:,Stars
While this book is not without its flaws, I feel like other readers and I must have read a completely different book.
I found it to be a good read about a highly important historical figure who sometimes is forgotten though I am not sure how.
it so happened that a publisher had offered me a copy of another book about John of Gaunt so I read them around the same time and recommend both, as each has kind of a different focus.
While they are both at the core biographies of John of Gaunt, the subtitle is important for this one.
it is much more about the time period and the great changes taking place, as it is about the Duke of Lancaster.
Norman Cantor is still a wellknown medieval author, despite him having passed away in, I enjoy his works, have read some and have many more on my toread list, So, I know that he has the knowledge necessary to write about his topics, Even wellversed authors are not completely immune to suppositions, and there were quite a few, but I couldn't not keep reading the book.
One reason for all those suppositions is that, despite the fact that we have pages and pages, roughlyor so, of Gaunt's business letters and documents,there is not one single personal letter of his that has survived to come down to us through the centuries.
The author also makes the point on pagethat, "There is no evidence from late medieval England that aristocrats wrote personal letters at that time.
" It doesn't mean they didn't, it just means that so far none have been found, Such a shame that if they did so, we will never have these personal letters to read, to better understand the people we admire or disdain from afar Believe me what I would not give for an authentic cache of letters to be discovered somewhere in England or Aquitaine penned by Eleanor herself, detailing events in her life that took her from Louis' side as Queen Consort of France to Henry's side as Queen Consort of England!
FYI: I am almost embarrassed to admit this, and maybe it is just because my head is so full of Henrys and Edwards and such, that I can't keep all the family trees straight especially when they overlap multiple times, but I don't know how it never occurred to me before that Prince Henry the Navigator was Gaunt's grandson.
I don't know why it took so long for me to make the connection, Yikes.
The book is not organized in a way that some readers might enjoy, Instead of being a straight biography of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, his life story is told by topic.
So, yes the book jumps around in time quite a bit, but you also have to keep in mind that subtitle I mentioned.
It is about Lancaster, but also about the world he grew up in and the changes that took place to begin ushering in the modern world.
Topics include the broad 'Old Europe', then the great families of the age, women, warriors, peasants, politics, and eve a whole chapter revolving around Chaucer.
I liked the organization, because one chapter you get a sense of general life in that time, as well as
how Lancaster fit into the world and how the various topics impacted him, and he them.
That background information is especially important for those who have little knowledge to begin with, while still focusing on the subject of the book.
As I said before, the book is not without its flaws, There is a lot of supposition throughout, It is his final book published before his death both occurred ina book about Alexander the Great was published posthumously inand I still found it to be adequate.
I don't know that I would call it his best book, but Cantor had the ability to make even uninteresting aspects of the Middle Ages engaging.
There is one quote though that I had a good chuckle at, not because it was haha funny, but because it was just kind of a silly statement: "Undoubtedly Gaunt would have loved to wear the crown.
But that was outside the realm of possibility, Above all Gaunt was a Plantagenet who wanted to maintain the dignity of the bloodlines of his family" page.
I mean, I seriously almost snorted at that line, While it is likely true that the Duke of Lancaster secretly coveted the throne of England and really, he was already the richest man in the country and wielded about the same control, he would never have really overthrown his nephew Richard II, son of his elder brother, Edward the Black Prince.
In all honesty he probably should have, because Richard II was not the greatest of kings, but that part might be true.
The second part is what had me chortling, the 'dignity' of the Plantagenets, Just look at what Eleanor and Henry II's sons did in the many years their father was on the throne! They rebelled against him how many times twice guided by Eleanor herself in order to get more power.
Richard practically hounded his father to death for the crown after Henry the Young King older brother and Geoffrey younger brother both died, and John was easily one of the worst kings in the history of England.
Even with that quote, I can still say that I would recommend this volume, Cantor has written numerous texts about the Middle Ages and knows what he is talking about, It is fairly short, the hardcover volume I discovered at halfPrice Books is onlypages, Give it a go and see what you think! When we think of knights, we often think of shining armor, King Arthur and his fabulous court, fair maidens, and of course chivalry.
These are considered to be literary ideals, almost too fantastic to be real, However, knights did live in the Middle Ages into theth century where some of the greatest knights lived.
One is known as The Black Prince the other was John of Gaunt, Both were brothers, sons of Edward III, the one who helped launch the Hundred Years War with France.
The Black Prince might have a pretty cool nickname, but the one who really stole the show was John of Gaunt.
The subject of Norman F, Cantors book “The Last Knight: The Twilight of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern Era” is none other than the third son of Edward III, John of Gaunt.
Now I know what you are thinking, why do a book review for about someone who lived in thes when this blog is focused on the Wars of the Roses and the Tudors.
The answer is simple. It is because John of Gaunt and his children with his third wife and mistress Catherine Swynford would create the Beaufort line, the same family of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, the founder of the Tudor Dynasty.
It was also with Johns first wife Blanche of Lancaster, that the line of Lancaster was formed, He may have only been a third son but he became one of the wealthiest men in Europe and his family would shape the future of England forever.
Cantor, in this book, explores the world that John of Gaunt called home, What was it like in not just in England but in all of the medieval world What about religion and literature What was life like for women and knights in court All of these aspects are explored throughout this book as well as elements in John of Gaunts life that made him unique, including his wealth and becoming King of Castile after he married his second wife Constance.
Through wars and plagues, politics and rebellions, exploration and the beginning of the Renaissance, John of Gaunt navigated through it all.
It sounds like a very complex time, however, Cantor has a way of explaining it all in such a way that is both engaging and educational.
Cantor through his writing style makes it easy to understand John of Gaunts legacy, not only is his time but how his legacy affected even our time.
It was through his patronage that men like Chaucer and John Wyclif were able to complete their best works.
Shakespeare gave John of Gaunt a very patriotic speech, “this sceptred isleThis other Eden, demiparadise”, Shakespeare was speaking as though John of Gaunt was an old man, reminiscing about the good times as the younger generation was taking over like Henry Bolingbroke and Henry the Navigator.
Cantor brings to life the legend of John of Gaunt, Towards the end of his book, Cantor nicely sums up John of Gaunts life:
Above all, Gaunts taste for war, his frenetic energy, and his physical strength, as well as his love of women and his wealth and lifestyle, set the model for European aristocratic behavior, which went unchallenged until the nineteenth century and is still the pattern for all effective and durable social elites.
Cantor,.
John of Gaunt was a Renaissance man of his times, He wasnt just some old man of Shakespearean lore, Cantor makes John of Gaunt and his world of the Middle Ages come alive, If you want to learn more about John of Gaunt, his family, and his world, Norman F, Cantors book “The Last Knight” is the book for you, .