The Honour of Wallingford, 1066-1300

The honour of Wallingford was the great lordship centred on the castle of Wallingford on the bank of the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire that dominated the southern midland region as an important centre of power. Famous in English constitutional history for its unique mention in King Henry II’s Assize of Clarendon of 1166, and as one of the only baronial lordships mentioned by name in Magna Carta, this thesis is the first full study of this important institution, and explores the reasons for its prominence primarily through English royal records preserved in the Public Record Office, and private charters that survive in the cartularies of religious houses, but also drawing on narrative, topographical and archaeological evidence. The thesis contributes to current scholarship in a number of areas. The model of the ’feudal honour’ has long been central to historians’ understanding of English political history, and the honour of Wallingford was in many ways a perfect representation of ’feudal society’. In light of important recent challenges to the concepts of ’feudalism’ and ’feudal society’, as well as work on the origins of ’bastard feudalism’, this study allows a re-examination of the ways in which post-Conquest political, social, legal and tenurial relations actually operated in society. This allows for a fresh perspective on the impact of the Norman Conquest, the nature and significance of tenurial ties to the social and political organisation of England, the changing ways in which power was mediated in the localities over the period, and the development of the English state. Related to this, the study also focuses on the knightly tenants of the honour, building up a picture of the social, political, economic and cultural circumstances of families over a long period, which were part of a social group of great historical significance.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral Thesis

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

King's College London

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Tilley, Christopher

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Baxter, Stephen
• Carpenter, David Arscott

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/9fa35434-f316-468a-9626-97b4cb4f9a4e

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/9fa35434-f316-468a-9626-97b4cb4f9a4e