Medieval Ages

Journeying alongside scholars, spies and saints, from western Europe to the Far East and the Antipodes, this is no ordinary travel guide. From profane pilgrim badges and Venetian laxatives to encounters with bandits and trysts with mysterious medieval witches, this book mixes fact and folklore to offer an entertaining encyclopaedia of wondrous stories and peoples. Offering a vivid and unforgettable insight into how medieval people understood their world, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages blurs the distinction between real and imagined places.

1442. Vlad Dracula is shattered. His life falls apart when he’s exiled from Wallachia’s court. Taken hostage by the Ottomans as a token of his father’s fealty, the child hostage vows to flee or die. A prisoner at the Ottoman Court, Vlad resolves to kill the sultan and escape. But with no one he can trust, not even his brother, Vlad knows his attempt might be his undoing. Can Vlad slay the sultan and liberate Wallachia? Or will his daring undertaking take his life? Den Of Spies is the thrilling first book in The Curse of The Dracula Brothers series of medieval historical fiction with a...

Endelienta, the daughter of King Brychan, is touched by the spirits, along with her beloved brother, Nectan. When her Godfather, King Arthur the War Duke of Prydain, grants her lands in sea-girt Belerion, she accepts them gladly. With her magical White Cow, whose milk sustains her, she dwells in the wilds at one with nature--until the malevolent Lord of Trentinny comes to call... Then Endelienta must reveal her latent powers... Some call her a saint, some think she was an ancient goddess. A mystical, alternative tale of one of Cornwall's mysterious Dark Age Saints. Short story 15,000 words ...

She owns the night. He only survives it. Zara Vale lives in neon and venom. She’s the reigning queen of Club Nocturne, a secret underworld haven for shifters, sirens and every other teenage monster trying to claw their way free. With her bite and her stilettos, she rules the dance floor and the back alley deals—until Jace arrives with scars that don’t heal and eyes that don’t flinch. He’s not part of her world. He’s a street rat with nothing to lose and too much to hide. But when a new drug starts turning shifters into soulless predators, Zara needs help from someone who ...

Caution: Dragons ahead. Prepare to delve into fiery worlds full of dragons. From hatchlings to ancients. From tame to wild. Many have their own goals, and most want to see the world reduced to ash. To reshape the world in their own reptilian image. Others struggle to survive, but heroes rise among them. Which side will you choose? 18 stories by the following authors: Deborah Brown, Zachary Vincent, Eric Tobiason, Bruno Lombardi, Joel Realubit, Katie Kent, Barend Nieuwstraten III, E.B. Hunter, Dylan Roche, Lucy A. McLaren, Aaron H. Arm, Jennifer Strassel, Natascha Eschweiler, A.E. Lowan, Ash...

Whispers of the Gate Keeper's return have sprung up everywhere, raging across Tarmerria like a blazing forest fire. Could it be true? Has this mystical figure really returned to the world of men? Some have embraced the idea as a symbol of hope. Others will do whatever it takes to see Eric dead. Lines have been drawn, sides have been taken. There is only one way to discover the truth. Tarmerria must go to war. This book is intended for mature audiences. The Legend of the Gate Keeper Series Reading Order: The Shadow: (A standalone prequel: Book 0) Land of Shadows: (Book 1) Siege of Night: (...

To this day, I see it in my nightmares – the decrepit amalgamation of stone and metal looming in the middle of a barren waste – the place that was supposed to be my tomb. Elian's carefree childhood ends after his older brother gets recruited to serve in one of the five watchtowers overlooking the hostile lands. A grim realization dawns on him of the perils the last human Kingdom has to face. The wild hillfolk of the west, the ferocious beasts of the east, and the vast waters of the southern sea that no ship could ever pass. However, these threats pale compared to the evil looming in the...

In the time period between the fall of Rome and the spread of the Renaissance across the European continent, many of today's European nations were formed, the Catholic Church rose to great prominence, some of history's most famous wars occurred, and a social class system was instituted that lasted over 1,000 years.

Step back into the forgotten world of medieval Ireland, to uncover intriguing stories from the world of our distant ancestors. Beyond well-known figures such as Strongbow, the Norman invader, lies a tapestry of untold stories of ordinary men and women—those who held no titles, owned no lands, and whose voices have faded into obscurity. In Life in Medieval Ireland, Fin Dwyer—creator of the Irish History Podcast—breathes life into an era often overshadowed by conquest and chaos.

Sixteen hundred years ago, Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the Vikings.

Whose Middle Ages? is an interdisciplinary collection of short, accessible essays intended for the nonspecialist listener and ideal for teaching at an undergraduate level. Each of 22 essays takes up an area where digging for meaning in the medieval past has brought something distorted back into the present: in our popular entertainment; in our news, our politics, and our propaganda; and in subtler ways that inform how we think about our histories, our countries, and ourselves. Each author looks to a history that has refused to remain past and uses the tools of the academy to read and re-read familiar stories, objects, symbols, and myths.

Compilation of short fiction featuring Richard III and his family. Originally published as three separate volumes: Tales of the White Boar, Loyaulte, and Sons of York. 10 tales of historical fiction set in the era of the Wars of the Roses, mostly featuring a younger Richard, as a child and as the Duke of Gloucester. Now listed in chronological order to capture the sweep of the period...from Richard's traumatic birth to Duchess Cecily in 1452, to the sack of Ludlow and the death at Wakefield of the Duke of York and Edmund of Rutland, to the joys of a pilgrimage to Walsingham and subsequent ...

Viking Age Norway’s greatest king Harald Fairhair has unified the northern districts into a kingdom, but as he ages and his body weakens, so does his realm. To keep the kingdom from fracturing, Harald abdicates his high seat to the one son he believes capable enough - and vicious enough - to rule: Erik Bloodaxe. There is one problem. The other sons hate their brother and will not accept his kingship.

The Emperor Henry of the Holy Roman Empire is dying, and his wife, the Empress Matilda, is in danger from those who would use her to gain the title and the power. King Henry of England sends Alfraed of Norton to rescue her and avoid a war. With enemies from France, Flanders and the empire, as well as Norman traitors, the handful of Northern Knights have to fight across Europe and back. A fast-moving novel that moves from Germany to the Scottish borders in the turbulent times of the early 12th century, when friends could become foes overnight.

The dead whisper. The trees remember. And the boy with the cursed blade walks deeper into darkness. Wielding Lightbearer was meant to give Erikson Gray strength. Instead, it shackled him to blood and memory. The blade’s voice grows louder, feeding on doubt, pulling him toward the Sacred Grove—a forgotten land where the veil between life and death wears thin, and the roots run red with secrets. But what waits beneath the boughs is not salvation. As the past claws its way to the surface, Erik finds only betrayal, buried truths, and the shadow of what he is becoming. Friends blur into foes...

King Arthur, known to all fans of the genre, is the most well-known fictional monarch in history. THE KINGS OF CAMELOT begins with the story of the first man to unify and conquer Britain, Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon. After winning a civil war with the help of his trusted advisors and the wizard Merlin, he finds ruling a kingdom to be more difficult than winning the throne. Uther’s reign is quickly burdened by conflict, betrayal, prophecy, and succession. THE KINGS OF CAMELOT is the first in a six-part series that chronicles the Pendragon family.

We tend to think about the Middle Ages as a dark and backward time, characterised by violence, ignorance and superstition. We believe that life was unchanging over the period, so if a peasant fell asleep in in the year 1000 and woke up six hundred years later, he would return to a world that was instantly recognisable. We hold that change is facilitated by science and technological innovation, and that it was the inventions of recent centuries, from the steam engine to the Internet, that created the modern world. We couldn't be more wrong.

Can Thaddeus wrest an understanding of the Sorcererous Arts from his Master before he is branded and expelled for life? The three Brother Apprentices have arrived at the College of Sorcerers only to face new challenges and tribulations set upon them by both the senior students and the Faculty. Hindering their advancement at College are a collection of obstacles including a half-mad Centaur, a Green Goblin, the last living Father of Man, drug-seeking Sprites, sentient warrior statues, the Guardian of the Temple of Time, murderous attacks by Excelsior-Class brigands, Graecolian Slavers, the ...

"I will never forget what you did to me. Hide from me if you must, but sooner or later I will have your blood, dear brother." ~ Viola Betrayed by her own brother, forgotten by her friends, Viola has lost everything dear to her. Held captive by the king, she is forced to fight for her life as her brother once did. Is this a life even worth living? Probably not. Is surviving long enough to have your revenge? Most definitely... Graphic-content warning: This book is intended only for mature audiences.

There can be no doubt that military conflict between France and England dominated European history in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Hundred Years War is of considerable interest both because of its duration and the number of theatres in which it was fought. Drawing on the latest research for this new edition, Hundred Years War expert Professor Anne Curry examines how the war can reveal much about the changing nature of warfare: the rise of infantry and the demise of the knight; the impact of increased use of gunpowder and the effect of the war on generations of people.