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What is the Constitutional importance of the reign of Richard I ?
'The history of England under Richard and John is a commentary upon the excellence of Henry II's handiwork.' Discuss.
Discuss the effects on English government of Richard's participation in the Third Crusade.
Examine the role of the royal council in England during the absence of Richard 1 on the Third Crusade.
Estimate the importance to France and England of the loss of Normandy by king John.
What were the effects of the loss of Normandy in 1204 ?
What effects did the break up of the Angevin Empire have upon English government and society ?
Is it correct to treat the "northerners" as a distinct group in the struggle of the barons against king John ?
'The loss of Normandy was no loss.' Discuss.
Inadequate finances were at the root of King John's failures. Is this an adequate judgment ?
What were the principal sources of income available to the English kings in the thirteenth century ?
What were the key post in English local government by 1216 ?
'The ablest of the Angevins.' Consider this verdict on King John.
Were interests more powerful than principles in the revolt against King John?
"Turbulent self seekers better equipped with ambitions than abilities." Is this a fair comment on the barons who framed Magna Carta?
Which element in the opposition to John was most instrumental in obtaining the king's submission in 1215 ?
'The incidents of John's career are the occasion, not the cause, of the movement that laid the foundations of English Liberties.' (McKechnie) Discuss.
'A tyrant rather than a king . A destroyer rather than a governor. An oppressor of his own people....an insatiable extorter of money, and invader and wrecker of the possessions of his subjects.' Would you agree with Matthew's Paris's judgment on King John ?
Estimate the role played by churchmen in the reign of king John.
Discuss the main features of papal policy towards England during the reigns of John and Henry III.
Why has the Great Charter of John's reign retained the interest of historians ?
How far was the power of the Crown affected by the granting of the Great Charter ?
How far did the Great Charter embody purely feudal ideas ?
'Mostly a statement of private law.' Discuss this view of Magna Carta.
Consider the content and structure of Magna Carta.
'The baronial conception of 'Communitas' is for the first time, and imperfectly, asserted in the Great Charter.' Discuss.
Of what real interest is Magna Carta to historians ?
'Essentially a reactionary document.' Is this a fair description of Magna Carta ?
"The Great Charter of 1215 was relevant only to the conditions of the time."Comment.
Was Magna Carta anything more than a definition and restoration of the established and customary order of the kingdom ?
"The whole of the Constitutional History of England is a commentary on this Charter." Consider Magna Carta in the light of this claim by Bishop Stubbs.
"No scutage or aid shall be imposed without the common counsel of the realm, etc." Comment on clause 12 of Magna Carta.
Does an analysis of Magna Carta show any advances in political ideas of methods during the period 1066-1215 ?
Why did complaints against the sheriffs figure so largely in political crises from the reign of Henry II to that of Edward II?
'To define feudal privilege is to limit it.' Consider this statement in the light of the history of the thirteenth century.
"From the reign of John to that of Edward II the basis of baronial complaint against the monarchy remained unchanged."Discuss.
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JSI/21/08/97
School of History and Welsh History - University of Wales Bangor