The Problem of Tyranny in Fifteenth Century England

Abstract

Was tyranny a crucial political problem in late medieval England? To answer this question, we examine which political texts were most widely read at that time. It is then possible to survey these texts and this reveals the two main meanings of tyranny: the king becomes a tyrant when he is unfair or/and when he is a predator. This second meaning is related to the development of royal taxation. However, the tyrants who are usually described by English authors are those of the ancient times. Tyranny is generally close to cruelty, and rarely referred to in a political context. The immediate preoccupations of the members of the political society in 15th century England were centred upon the problems of disorder and of legitimacy.