This work investigates the political, social, and institutional evolution of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the end of the Plantagenet era in 1485. Sir Frederick Maurice Powicke, a distinguished medievalist and Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, utilizes his deep expertise in administrative and constitutional history to trace the development of the English state. The text provides a structured analysis of the shifting power dynamics between the monarchy, the nobility, and the emerging parliamentary structures during this transformative period.

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as a reliable, concise survey of medieval English governance and political history. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which assumes a foundational knowledge of the period's primary political figures and institutional shifts.