Medieval English

16 years of peace and prosperity have passed since Lord Otori Takeo united the Three Countries. Takeo and his beloved consort, Kaede, have three daughters and a happy family life. Their success has attracted the attention of the distant Emperor and his general, the warlord Saga Hideki, who covet the wealth of the Countries. Meanwhile, the violent acts and betrayals of the past will not lie buried, and other secrets will not stay hidden. Everything that Takeo and Kaede have achieved is threatened.

“I knew when I saw you amongst the people that I wanted you for my own, little lamb.” When the small town Christine Michaels lives in is sieged by magic-wielding Vikings, she does what she can to protect herself and her sister Michelle. The Vikings use the townspeople as their own personal servants, turning their world upside down. There is talk about rebellion against them, but Christine can’t help but be intrigued by the Lord of the Vikings, even as she fears him. So when he chooses her to be his captive bedmate, Christine feels both terrified and drawn to him. Aleifir Biorsson ...

1236. Beautiful Ailenor of Provence, cultured and intelligent, is only 13 when she marries Henry III. Aware of the desperate importance of providing heirs to secure the throne from those who would snatch it away, she is ruthless in her dealings with Henry's barons. As conflict escalates between them, Ailenor's shrewd and clever Savoyard uncles come to support her, but her growing political power is threatened when Henry's half-siblings also arrive at court. Henry and Ailenor become embroiled in an unpopular war to protect Gascony, the last English territory on the continent.

March 1147. Assassination, espionage, betrayal. King Owain has ridden east to confront King Madog of Powys with the attempt on the life of his son. Rhys, now abbot of St. Kentigern's monastery, hopes for peace and calls both Madog and Owain to the negotiating table. Peace, however, is the last thing on Madog's mind. Recalcitrant, self-righteous, and angry, he sees King Owain's recent weakness as his opportunity and knows that Owain's own barons are circling like wolves, waiting for the chance to overthrow him.

The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome tells the stories of the people who built their political and literary careers around promises of Roman renewal as well as those of the victims they blamed for causing Rome's decline. The story begins during the Roman Republic just after 200 BC. It proceeds through the empire of Augustus and his successors, traces the Roman loss of much of western Europe in the fifth century AD, and follows Roman history until its fall in 1453.

Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin, and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira.

When sleep was at its deepest, night at its blackest, up from the mist-filled marsh came Grendel stalking. Thus begins the battle between good and evil, for lying in wait and anxious to challenge the ogre Grendel is a young man, strong-willed and fire-hearted. This man is Beowulf, whose heroic dragon-slaying deeds were sung in the courts of Anglo-Saxon England more than a thousand years ago.

C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?

A boundary dispute between two farmers leads to digging that uncovers an ancient settlement...with a recent corpse buried in it. Ela Longespée must find the killer and restore peace between warring neighbors, all while negotiating her hard-won new role as High sheriff of Wiltshire.

Clan Ross of Skye is under attack. Cynden Ross must travel to see The Lion, laird of the largest clan on the Hebrides, and ask for help. He has a secret weapon that he hopes not to have to use. However he may be forced to reveal the truth about his birth in order to save his clan from perishing. When he crosses paths with a beautiful woman, things becomes even more complicated. When Ainslie MacNeil is sent to her aunt’s home in an effort to cure her melancholy, she ends up meeting a man who has an uncanny resemblance to her recently deceased betrothed. To make matters worse, he is heading...

The auburned-haired O'Connor women share a bond far deeper than their striking physical appearance: These courageous, high-spirited women all push against societal limits in this exciting historical, romantic novel that spans generations and countries. It is said that as Cahira, daughter of the great Irish king Rory O'Connor, lay dying of a wound from a Norman blade, she beseeched God that others would follow her calling. To Kathleen O'Connor, Cahira's story was nothing more than a fable--until research divulged that the tale was true. As a stunned Kathleen realizes that she herself bears ...

1588. When Rafael de Silva’s ship is smashed on the rocks off the coast of Ireland, he must find a way to get by without access to any resources or help from the locals, since being apprehended will result in certain death for a soldier of the ill-fated Spanish Armada. Terrified and half starved, Rafael gets help from an unexpected source, but safety is just an illusion, and love is a liability when Rafael’s very survival depends on keeping the secret of his birth from being discovered by those closest to him.

For more than 1,000 years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious period of conflict between the two religions. Depending on who you ask, the fall of the holy city was either an inspiring legend or the greatest of horrors. In Crusaders, Dan Jones interrogates the many sides of the larger story, charting a deeply human and avowedly pluralist path through the crusading era.

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

At its height, the Order of the Knights Templar rivaled the kingdoms of Europe in military might, economic power, and political influence. For 700 years the tragic demise of this society of warrior-monks amid accusations of heresy has been plagued by controversy, in part because the transcript of their trial by the Inquisition - which held the key to the truth - had vanished.Templar historian Barbara Frale happened to be studying a document at the Vatican Secret Archives when she suddenly realized that it was none other than the long-lost transcript!

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.

In the heat of the Trojan War, the Greek army’s greatest warrior, Achilles, withdraws from battle after a bitter dispute with King Agamemnon. As the war spirals into chaos, heroes rise and fall, divine forces meddle in mortal affairs, and honor is tested on every side. But when tragedy strikes, Achilles must confront his rage—and his destiny.

Eager to return to his native Norway, Thorgrim agrees to participate in one last raid under the command of a man he does not trust. But the Northmen, he finds, are no longer simply invaders on foreign soil. They have become a part of the Irish kings' ongoing struggle for power, and, far from securing a means to return home, Thorgrim and his men are plunged into a battle for the throne of Tara - a battle that will test their strength and loyalty as none has before.

Pursued by her enemies, flattered and courted for her lands, a powerful, devious princess is desperate to reach refuge. Haunted by the shadow of the young assassin set upon her, Princess Melanthe knows that an ice cold countenance is her only protection. To succumb to love is the greatest danger of all. She can trust only one man amid the lies, the mysterious Green Knight - a true knight who never wavers once he gives his heart; a man who cannot comprehend deceit.

Life in a Medieval Village, by respected historians Joseph and Frances Gies, paints a lively, convincing portrait of rural people at work and at play in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the village of Elton, in the English East Midlands, the Gieses detail the agricultural advances that made communal living possible, explain what domestic life was like for serf and lord alike, and describe the central role of the church in maintaining social harmony.