--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern historians have suggested that in…" description: "\"Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but that is only a modern view of the malfunct..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png" --- # Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he… ![“Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but that is only a modern view of the malfunction common to 14th century rulers: inability to inhibit impulse.” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png) > “Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but that is only a modern view of the malfunction common to 14th century rulers: inability to inhibit impulse.” [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rulers in the 14th century often struggled to control impulses, a trait now seen as a mental disorder. **In simple terms:** Leaders lacked impulse control, seen today as illness. Key Takeaway Recognize impulse control as a timeless leadership challenge. Themes leadership history psychology Mood reflective analytical Type historical psychological When to use this quote - political decision‑making - modern leadership training - historical analysis Key Concepts impulse regulation mental health medieval politics Questions to Reflect On - How does impulse control affect leadership outcomes? - Can we separate personal pathology from systemic pressures? A Different Perspective Modern diagnostics may oversimplify complex historical behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Mental Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-disease/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) ## Related quotes > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ While husbands and lovers in the stories \[of the 14th century\] are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-of-the-14th-century-are-of/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ To ensure that no one gained an advantage over anyone else, commercial law \[in the 14th century\] prohibited innovation in tools or techniques, underselling… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-ensure-that-no-one-gained-an-advantage-over-anyone-else-commercial-2/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The social damage was not in the failure but in the undertaking, which was expensive. The cost of war was the poison running through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-social-damage-was-not-in-the-failure-but-in-the-undertaking-which/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ No female iniquity was more severely condemned \[in the 14th century\] than the habit of plucking eyebrows and the hairline to heighten the forehead. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/no-female-iniquity-was-more-severely-condemned-in-the-14th-century/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ No economic activity was more irrepressible \[in the 14th century\] than the investment and lending at interest of money; it was the basis for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/no-economic-activity-was-more-irrepressible-in-the-14th-century-than/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The Church \[in the 14th century\] gave ceremony and dignity to lives that had little of either. It was the source of beauty and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-church-in-the-14th-century-gave-ceremony-and-dignity-to-lives/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The nastiness of women \[in the 14th century\] was generally perceived at the close of life when a man began to worry about hell,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-nastiness-of-women-in-the-14th-century-was-generally-perceived-at/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ Woman \[in the 14th century\] was the Church's rival, the temptress, the distraction, the obstacle to holiness, the Devil's decoy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/woman-in-the-14th-century-was-the-church-s-rival-the-temptress-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The ills and disorders of the 14th century could not be without consequence. Times were to grow worse over the next fifty-odd years until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-ills-and-disorders-of-the-14th-century-could-not-be-without/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Now, father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century! -Prince Phillip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sleeping-beauty/now-father-you-re-living-in-the-past-this-is-the-14th-century-prince/) [Sleeping Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sleeping-beauty/) > [Health, money. That's what people worried about in the 14th century as much as today. I find it so much more interesting than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/health-money-that-s-what-people-worried-about-in-the-14th-century-as/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [The 500 years following the fall of the Western Roman Empire were dubbed by the poet Petrarch 'dark.' Although the 14th-century Italian was referring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-500-years-following-the-fall-of-the-western-roman-empire-were/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [“Crop rotation in the 14th century was considerably more widespread after John?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rik-mayall/crop-rotation-in-the-14th-century-was-considerably-more-widespread/) [Rik Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rik-mayall/) ## More by Barbara Tuchman > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/learning-from-experience-is-a-faculty-almost-never-practiced/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [War is the unfolding of miscalculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/war-is-the-unfolding-of-miscalculations/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) [Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but that is only a modern view of the malfunction common to 14th century rulers: inability to inhibit impulse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Tuchman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in-his-last-years-he-richard-ii/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in-his-last-years-he-richard-ii/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/barbara-tuchman-3945_century_modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in_521307.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Modern historians have suggested that in his last years he (Richard II) was overtaken by mental disease, but…” — Barbara Tuchman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Tuchman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Modern historians have suggested that in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in-his-last-years-he-richard-ii/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/modern-historians-have-suggested-that-in-his-last-years-he-richard-ii/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```