Notes

• "There may be no more fascinating historical period than the late fourteenth century in Europe. It was a world in transition, soon to be replaced by the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration - and John of Gaunt was its central figure. Norman F. Cantor, the best known and most popular historian of the Middle Ages, brings Gaunt to life in his newest work, The Last Knight." "John of Gaunt was the richest man in Europe, apart from its monarchs, and he epitomized and surpassed the ideals of the late Middle Ages. From chivalry - he was taught at a young age to fight on horseback like the knights of old - to courtly love - his three marriages included two romantic love- matches - he was an ideal leader. He created lavish courts, sponsoring Chaucer and proto-Protestant religious thinkers, and he survived the dramatic Peasants’ Revolt, during which his sumptuous London residence was burned to the ground."–BOOK JACKET