The Age of Chivalry, the story of England, by Sir Arthur Bryant.

Hardcover book, 1965, with dust jacket, 576 pages, includes index and footnotes.

In good condition, although the dust jacket has a few minor tears which do not detract.

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Soon after assuming the throne, Edward the first set about restoring order and re-establishing royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father. To accomplish this, he immediately ordered an extensive change of administrative personnel. The most important of these was the appointment of Robert Burnell as chancellor, a man who would remain in the post until 1292 as one of the King's closest associates. Edward then replaced most local officials, such as the escheators and sheriffs. This last measure was done in preparation for an extensive inquest covering all of England, that would hear complaints about abuse of power by royal officers. The inquest produced the set of so-called Hundred Rolls, from the administrative subdivision of the hundred.

The second purpose of the inquest was to establish what land and rights the crown had lost during the reign of Henry III.

By enacting the Statute of Gloucester in 1278 the King challenged baronial rights through a revival of the system of general eyres (royal justices to go on tour throughout the land) and through a significant increase in the number of pleas of quo warranto to be heard by such eyres.

This caused great consternation among the aristocracy, who insisted that long use in itself constituted licence. A compromise was eventually reached in 1290, whereby a liberty was considered legitimate as long as it could be shown to have been exercised since the coronation of King Richard I, in 1189.

The Statute of Marlborough (1267) contained elements both of the Provisions of Oxford and the Dictum of Kenilworth.The age of the great statutes largely ended with the death of Robert Burnell in 1292.

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