Four Gothic Kings.

New York:: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987.. Book of the Month Club Edition.. Hardbound . BINDING/CONDITION: cream boards with ivory cloth at the spine; a Near Fine book, with a Very Good dust jacket.. 4to (about 12 inches tall) . Glossary, bibliography, index. Decorated endpapers. Description: Lavishly illustrated in black and white and color. The subtitle reads: ''The Turbulent History of Medieval England and the Plantagenet Kings (1216-1377), Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III Seen Through the Eyes of Their Contemporaries''. Preface by Hugh Trevor-Roper. From the jacket blurb: ''After the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 and the death of King John the following year, England went forward into the 13trh century with great hope. But this hope was soon destroyed. As recorded by contemporary chroniclers, the reigns of the next four Plantagenet monarchs were marked by a series of continuing horrors, of famine and war, disorder and cruelty, culminating with the Black Death. These chroniclers of the age -- who included Roger of Wendover, the talented Barnwell annalist, the illustrator Matthew Paris, the inventive Geoffrey le Baker and the Flemish writer Jean Froissart -- reported all these events as they happened. But their records reflect much more than just the horrors of the time. Through their eyes are seen the birth of the Age of Chivalry, the founding of the Order of the Garter, and the courts of love. The book and the chronicles focus on the lives of the four monarchs who reigned from 1216 to 1377. Also included are contemporary European monarchs such as Louis IX of France, a kinsman and rival of Henry III, and Frederick II, whose exploits in turn shocked, stupefied and dazzled the men of his age.''