The reigns of the kings and queens in this book cover more than six hundred years, from the accession of the Saxon King Alfred to the death of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth.

It would require a large history book to tell in detail all the things that happened in England during these six hundred years: wars, revolutions, struggles between king and parliament, treaties and alliances all affected the course of history. More than once England was in danger; more than once English armies occupied large areas in Europe.

However, these happenings did not always affect greatly the lives of the ordinary people of England. Most of them were farmers, living far from such little towns as then existed. Here and there some village lad would come back with stories of the French wars, or some wandering pedlar or friar brought news of far-away happenings.

This was all the people living in the wide spaces of the countryside knew of the world beyond. Age after age the countryman was content with the life of his ancestors. Kings and queens came and went, but the ploughing and the harvesting went on.