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The life in England has never been more difficult and uncertain then in the Middle Ages. The constant changes and ruffles created by the urge of different powers to seize the throne left the society in a state of continuous turbulence. However, as much as these power struggles had disastrous consequences they also helped establish practices implemented in similar future events. One such practice, defined in the medieval period, was the one dealing with the situation of abdication and its outcome on the transference of power between rulers. English King Richard II was the catalyst for ratifying how one should proceed in dealing with such a condition. To help present the problem this book describes three events connected to the last days of Richard IIs reign. By combining the analysis on the moment of abdication, death and subsequent two funerals of the King it is possible to demonstrate how each separate aspect influenced the matter of the transmission of government. The analysis is based solely on the accounts coming from the primary sources and tries to present as clearly as possible the view of the contemporary people on the events occurring before their eyes.

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Kosana Jovanovi , MA in Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (specialization in Religious Studies). Assistant at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Rijeka, Croatia. Fields of interest: English medieval history, kingship, ceremonials, issues regarding the transmission of power.

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