This work investigates how Tudor-era scholars and chroniclers interpreted, utilized, and reconstructed the medieval past to serve the political and religious needs of their own time. May McKisack, a distinguished historian of the English Middle Ages, examines the intellectual climate of the sixteenth century to determine how the transition from medieval to early modern thought influenced the recording of history. She analyzes the shift from monastic chronicles to the more secular, nationalistic historical narratives that emerged during the Tudor dynasty. The text provides a rigorous look at the historiographical methods employed by writers of the period as they grappled with the legacy of the preceding centuries.

Historians and scholars of the Tudor period frequently cite this text as a foundational study on the development of English historical consciousness. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a comprehensive look at the intersection of medieval legacy and early modern political identity.