English Medieval History

People have always been afraid of the dead. Since the dawn of humanity, people have both cared for those who are deceased yet also tried to keep them away. There are a myriad of legends and beliefs about the dead coming back, and one of the more persistent ones is of the vampire.

August 22, 1485, Bosworth, Leicestershire. By noon the King of England, Richard III, will be dead and his naked body will be on route to Leicester. This is the story of Richard's final 24 hours, told in a compelling minute-by-minute countdown, which ends with this final heroic battle charge and his death on the field at Bosworth.

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today. On visits to the great cities of Europe, Thomas Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world.

GLYNDŴR 4 When Warriors Go To Die is the sequel to GLYNDŴR 1 The Foretold son, GLYNDŴR 2 Glorious Shall Their Dragon Be, GLYNDŴR 3 My Child's Child to weep ‘As you and Mortimer said. Those within the garrison will be safe.’ ‘Unless the English break through and if they do God help them.’ Glyndŵr looked inward on a world of violence he drew on from memory and Ieuan could only guess at. Ieuan was almost afraid to ask. ‘Will you stay in Harlech?’ ‘No. I received reports this morning that Prince Hal has commissioned bands of his troops to raid the countryside, strip it bare ...

John Lackland was born to King Henry II and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitane in December, 1166; he was the youngest of five sons. However, he unexpectedly became the favored heir to his father after a failed rebellion by his older brothers in 1173. He became king in 1199, though his reign was tumultuous and short. After a brief peace with Phillip II of France, war broke out again in 1202 and King John lost most of his holdings on the continent. This led to conflict upon his return from battle. Buffeted from all sides, King John was pushed in 1215 to sign the Magna Carta.

Another fascinating journey from best-selling travel writer - David Gardner. Follow David and Wendy as they explore the less-traveled hilltop towns of Tuscany and Umbria. In this journey, they seek an Italy beyond the tourist loop, taking a deep-dive into two distinct and historic regions where life slows and community thrives. These are places that have survived and flourished throughout millennia, maintaining their traditional roots. Travel with this couple as they move beyond the sanitised snapshots to uncover what it means to be Italian in these small, close-knit communities. It is in ...

The famous conqueror from the European continent came ashore with thousands of men, ready to set up a new kingdom in England. The Britons had resisted the amphibious invasion from the moment his forces landed, but he was able to push forward. In a large winter battle, the Britons’ large army attacked the invaders, but was eventually routed, and the conqueror was able to set up a new kingdom.

In 1119, the people of the Near East came together in an epic clash of horses, swords, sand, and blood that would decide the fate of the city of the Aleppo - and the eastern Crusader states. Fought between tribal Turkish warriors on steppe ponies, Arab foot soldiers, Armenian bowmen, and European knights, the battlefield was the amphitheater into which the people of the Near East poured their full gladiatorial might. Carrying a piece of the true cross before them, the Frankish army advanced, anticipating a victory that would secure their dominance over the entire region.

From William Shakespeare’s series of history dramas, to Sir Walter Scott, and George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire—not to mention the smash-hit TV show Game of Thrones—the British civil war of 1455 to 1485 has inspired writers for centuries. Ed West’s My Kingdom for a Horse illuminates the bloody war fought for thirty long years between the descendants of King Edward III in a battle for the throne.

Warrior. Ruler. Patron of the arts and language. Terrorist. Brutal oppressor. Protector of the good. Guardian of Christendom. Father of Europe. There are so many different ways in which Charlemagne can be described, and yet, the man himself is often seen as an enigma. Depending on the viewpoint of history, he could have been either a monster or a guardian angel. Yet, as with most men, the truth lies somewhere in between. The truth is that he was human.

Beginning with the death of Edward I in 1307 and ending with the deposition of Richard II in 1399, Sceptred Isle follows the experiences of the last Plantagenets, uncovering lesser-known voices and untold stories along the way. Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of the Black Death, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, we encounter a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.

Who were the Cathars, and why was the Catholic Church so committed to getting rid of them? The Cathars: The History and Legacy of the Gnostic Christian Sect During the Middle Ages examines the origins of the cult, their fascinating belief system, their gradual development over the years, and the events that contributed to their epic downfall.

There are very few national relationships quite as complicated and enigmatic as the one that exists between the English and the Irish. For two peoples so interconnected by geography and history, the depth of animosity that is often expressed is difficult at times to understand. At the same time, historic links of family and clan, and common Gaelic roots, have at times fostered a degree of mutual regard, interdependence, and cooperation that is also occasionally hard to fathom. During World War I, for example, Ireland fought for the British Empire as part of that empire.

The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France. The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels, and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, siblings, husbands, and children all across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Knights Templar has established itself as the most popular military organization of medieval times. Everyone has heard of the order, and everyone is familiar with the image of a medieval Crusader knight with a red cross on their white uniform. But who exactly were the Templars? What was their purpose? And are the rumors about their secretive nature true?

Young Duncan M'Kethe finds himself caught in the web of Sir James Turner, the former Covenanter turned military leader of the persecutors. Duncan is torn by his hatred of Turner's dragoons, who have treated his friends cruelly, and his father's instructions to love them. He must be true to Jesus Christ while attempting to rescue his father from enemy hands.

Fourteen centuries ago, Irish saints brought the Word of God to the Hebrides and Scotland's Atlantic shore. These "white martyrs" sought solitude, remoteness, even harshness, in places apart from the world where they could fast, pray, and move closer to an understanding of God: places where they could see angels. Columba, who founded the famous monastery at Iona, was the most well-known of these courageous men who rowed their curraghs towards danger and uncertainty in a pagan land, but the many others are now largely forgotten by history.

Much has been written about Western intervention during the breakup of Yugoslavia, and whether it made matters worse, prevented worse atrocities, or was simply ineffective. In early 1992, however, what was clear was that Europe was hopelessly divided over the best course of action to take towards Yugoslavia, and after several years of fighting, the Bosnian War was one of the most violent conflagrations in Europe since the end of World War II.

The Sudkan Trilogy - a story of destiny,love and duty set in the Middle Ages of Utopia's history. Book Two – Blood Brothers For her services to him, Iohn has made Margarita his secret blood friend, and in public, the official Sudkan Ambassador. To further preserve her reputation, Iohn marries Margarita and at first all is well. But the arrival of Consort Cely changes everything and after a terrible row, Iohn sends Margarita into exile at Castle Roc until she is willing to give a public apology. Determined not to show her distress and to survive the privation of Castle Roc, Margarita ...

The history of Ukraine is a fascinating story of how cultures, political systems, religions, and power have met, intersected, morphed, and expanded. The region was relatively sparsely populated for much of ancient history, a wilderness of rivers, forests, and steppes, but that does not detract from the rich historical development of the region.