Chepizhenko V. Richard II Plantagenet: political practices and concept of authority

The dissertation research is a comprehensive reconstruction of political practices and the concept of authority of the English medieval monarch Richard II Plantagenet. The dissertation student conducted a discursive analysis of a wide array of sources and determined the historiographic situation on the topic. A historical portrait of Richard II was created against the background of the era. The scientific relevance of the topic is associated with two aspects. The first of these is the need to fill the existing gaps in the construction of the image of Richard II as a medieval English sovereign. The second one is the insufficient amount of research that would thoroughly approach the study of the political concept of the monarch. The dissertation proposes a new approach to the definition of “personal” monarchy on the example of the Richard II’s reign. For the first time was made a prosopography portrait of the Knights of the Order of the Garter of 1348–1413, members of the Royal Council of 1377–1399 and factions of the Lollard Knights was compiled; demonstrated the role of the Order of the Garter in patronage, representative and other practices of the monarch; the term “political Wyclifism” was introduced into scientific circulation; proposed to single out the iconographic types of the “beardless” and “bearded” king in the context of gender studies. The main components of the “Irish” and “imperial” projects of the monarch are systematized and generalized. The same applies to the reading range of Richard II and his influence on the formation of the concept of the king's rule, as well as range and constituents of “political language” during the reign of Richard II. Clarified the influence of creations and patronage systems on the political practices of the monarch; the place of the royal household and the affinity of the monarch in patronage structures; the Richard II’s role in peacekeeping negotiations during the Hundred Years War; visual strategies for representing the power of Richard II; the question of “political theology” (religious patronage, political prophecies, etc.) in the construction of the image of the monarch. The idea of the existence of the English “composite monarchy” was further developed. Parliamentary, baronial and urban conflicts with the crown were studied. Searches from late medieval political symbolism and potestary imagology were made. As well as studies of the problems of femininity and masculinity in the construction of the image of the monarch and study of English political history of the second half of the 14th c. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of using the main conclusions, provisions and results of the study in the preparation of normative and special courses on the history of the Middle Ages. As well as in the writing of sections of monographs, textbooks, textbooks devoted to the history of England in the second half of the 14th c., political theology, intellectual history and the like. In addition, the results of the dissertation work can become the basis for further research on related problems.