“It is pleasant to turn from dreary annals of political contest to a thing more vital, the rise among the English of an indigenous Protestantism”

This is the first sentence from Chapter VIII of Trevelyan’s history/text book and it does a pretty good job of explaining the major theme of his book. It was originally published in 1899 and reprinted in several new editions since then, however the text has hardly been updated since its first Victorian publishing date. In a preface to the 1909 edition Trevelyan says that he has abandoned study of this period and so only feels competent to remove one or two positive errors. This is therefore a Victorian author’s history with the predilections of that era; a textbook written for English students. On page three his use of Our instead of England seems rather quaint today:

“Our importance in the Councils of Europe, the prosperity of our commerce and our military hold over France”

Trevelyan tackles the period from 1368 to 1395: a period when England was is decline for want of good leadership and reform of it’s institutions. Edward III was in his dotage and English military might was losing ground in France and at sea. Edward lingered on coming more and more under the influence of a self serving clique of courtiers and his mistress and witnessed the death of his son The Black Prince. He was eventually succeeded by Richard II a minor of 14 years (the son of the Black Prince), which resulted in the most powerful men of the realm jockeying for position around the guardians of the young king. Richard II proved not to be the strong leader that England needed and a worsening political and social climate led to the Peasants Uprising of 1381. This was eventually crushed, but lessons were not learned and England‘s political and social life continued to decline.

Trevelyan writes well and his narrative story flows on very effectively. He is good on describing the political situation particularly the relationship between the fledgling Commons, the Lords and the King and his court. The intrigues of the powerful nobles and the declining military situation are all woven into the narrative to give a fairly accurate account of the history. His bias is against the Catholic Church and while there is little doubt that it was not on the side of progress, Trevelyan uses his most emotive language in describing its effect on society:

“The Papal Inquisition was not a mere name, but a terrible and active instrument of evil”

“The fate which Wycliffe feared for his country actually overtook in later years Italy, Spain, and to some degree France, where the clergy seized the helm of government and crushed underfoot political life and individual liberty”

Trevelyan is very good at describing the religious institutions in England and the power they were able to wield; he also gives a good account of the Peasants Uprising of 1481. He is at his best when telling the story of Wycliffe and the Lollards with his theme being that they were the precursors to the glorious Protestant movement that would sweep through England during the Tudor period. Trevelyan even carries their story beyond the time span of the book well into the sixteenth century.

Trevelyan’s book was written for the University student: my used copy comes from the University of Cambridge Board of Extramural studies, but it so well written that it avoids any dryness and provides today a very good read. I wanted to know more about Wycliffe and the Lollards and this book fulfilled that need. No doubt there is some bias and perhaps a few inaccuracies but I think Trevelyan’s take on this period is pretty near the mark. He has a downer on one or two of the major players; John of Gaunt for example, seems to get the blame for much of what goes wrong politically and of course the influence of the Lollard movement is probably overstressed, however I would not hesitate to recommend this. I gobbled it up 4 stars. ( )

An old history book, but a goody. Yes, some of Trevelyan's facts are now disputed, as are some of his conclusions. And, yes, his outlook can be a bit Victorian (not always a bad thing). But despite these caveats, I learned some new things, and as an introduction to a period in which I am interested, it served its purpose.

This was Trevelyan's first book, based on his thesis. As the title indicates, it mostly covers English history of the second half of the fourteenth century, though Trevelyan does extend his coverage of the Lollard movement up to the Reformation. Trevelyan addresses most aspects of the history of this age, from the political machinations to the social milieu. Again, the title makes clear that his main focus is on Wycliffe and his contribution to the religious turmoil of the age, but Trevelyan contextualises this very well.

Trevelyan is always accessible and engaging, though he can be biased towards Wycliffe. As his Wikipedia page makes clear 'Trevelyan's history is engaged and partisan. Of his Garibaldi trilogy, "reeking with bias", he remarked in his essay "Bias in History", "Without bias, I should never have written them at all. For I was moved to write them by a poetical sympathy with the passions of the Italian patriots of the period, which I retrospectively shared."' This may not be the preferred way to write history books anymore, but it certainly makes them interesting. I should note that the edition of England in the Age of Wycliffe I read was published in the 1970s, and has a valuable introduction which makes clear where Trevelyan is inaccurate or mistaken.

I especially enjoyed Trevelyan's recounting of the peasant uprising of 1381, though I am sure there are more comprehensive treatments of this event (I seem to remember baswood reviewing a book about this). So, despite its flaws and age, a well-writtten chronicle that whetted my appetite. ( )

CHAPTER NOTES; INDEX; NOTES; MAPS; APPENDIX