Henry of Lancaster’s Revolt (1328–29): Conflict, the Politics of Kingship, and the Political Public in Fourteenth-Century England

Abstract

Abstract The late medieval period was an important phase in the history of political communication in England, as more people than ever before became involved in debates about royal governance. The first half of the fourteenth century, however, has been relatively under-studied in this regard. This article analyses a set of arguments put forward during a revolt led by Henry, earl of Lancaster, in 1328–29. After outlining the revolt’s historical and historiographical context, the article reveals how three key themes—the provision of advice; the moral responsibilities attached to royal finance; and the state of the king’s peace—were contested in 1328–29. It then turns to the public orientation of these arguments to suggest that this contest reveals a growing need to engage a political public in order to acquire legitimacy when seeking to reform, or to defend, the direction of royal government. In turn, this helped to set out what the most legitimate paths of political action were and what terms needed to be taken up to describe them by those who wished to involve themselves in the politics of kingship. It is argued that Lancaster’s revolt held a significant position in a much broader history of political communication in England, in which political legitimacy in the exercise of royal authority was claimed before, evaluated by, and generated through a critical body of public opinion which interacted with Plantagenet rule.