The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England

Content Warning: This section contains graphic violence, including depictions of war, mutilation, killing, and rape. Additionally, Jones uses language that reflects the attitudes of the historical figures in his work, including anti-Muslim, anti-foreigner, anti-LGBTQ+, antisemitic, and ableist sentiments.

Throughout his narrative, Jones highlights the different facets of the relationship between religion and politics.

He shows how religion was an underlying pillar of political governance, offering ideological foundations to a king’s rights and duties. This had two main forms of expression in this period: martial and cultural. Richard I and Edward I both went crusading, but the idea of crusading remained central to kings who did not go but publicly swore their commitment. They often aimed to raise money and settle local conflicts to direct their military strengths toward this purpose; it could create a shared goal to ease the tension between England and France. Less martial kings, such as Henry III and Richard II, meanwhile, infused their ceremonies with religious meaning, built cathedrals, and acquired relics; they nurtured the idea that kingship was a divine office and that their right to rule was backed by God. Crusading and culture were vehicles that emphasized that the kingship’s Christian aspect gave it weight.