Unlike most previous studies of English feudalism, which have concentrated on the problems of military service, this book is devoted to the legal and financial consequences of feudal tenure, The author investigates the complex changes of the three centuries which followed the Great Charter, distinguishing between the interests of the Crown, mesne lords and tenants. The period is revealed as one of decline in all items of feudal revenue....This is a work of fundamental importance for all students of English landownership in the later Middle Ages. But the interest of its conclusions extends beyond these limits. New light is thrown on the mortmain legislation of the thirteenth century, the relations of Crown and baronage in the last years of Edward I, and the activities of the Reformation Parliament.--Book jacket.