Medieval Foundations of England, The

London: Methuen. Very Good/Good. 1952. Hard Cover. 8vo 1952 reprint of 1948 edition. Dust jacket in a clear protective sleeve, some loss to edges, unclipped. Original blue cloth boards with bright gilt titling on spine, mark on front boards. Neat name on ffep. 482 pages clean and tight. This book has been written for the express purpose of bridging the gap between the monograph and the ordinary text-book. Though it is set in a chronological framework, the stress is laid not upon the statement of facts so much as upon their interpretation: it is essentially a history of ideas in action. The fundamental problems of medieval life in England have been discussed on the level of the most recent research: among them may be noted the agricultural foundation of England; the impact of the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavian civilizations; the feudalization of society; the interpenetration of Anglo-Saxon and Norman civilizations; the `New Monarchy' of Henry II; the intellectual renaissance of the twelfth century; the strivings towards constitutional opposition; the development of parliament. Great care has been taken to place the evolution of the English way of life against the continental background, without which it is largely devoid of meaning. Three chapters are given to a critical examination of the historical sources of information. Every chapter ends with a reading-list, which includes in the main recent publicatio` only and indicates precisely what is considered to be the most valuable part of each hook mentioned. For the second edition, now reprinted, the author corrected various minor errors and misprints and added a new introductory chapter. .