Medieval sense of humour
The passions of a violent society spill over into the sense of humour you will encounter. Yes, there is humour,...
20/04/2014
Medieval history
Hammering the Celts, 1272 – 1330
Henry’s heir was a swarthy giant of 6ft 2in, as Provencal (through his mother) as he was Plantagenet. Edward I...
02/04/2014
London homes in Shakespeare’s time
Thanks to decades of peace, English houses are no longer made for defence but for comfort. The newly rich may...
09/12/2013
Food and drink in the Middle Ages
The production, processing, and consumption of foodstuffs were a primary preoccupation of the medieval population. In the earlier unsettled period,...
17/11/2013
John Hawkwood: An English Captain in Italy
The way in which armies and garrisons were recruited during the Hundred Years War ensured that when peace broke out...
29/10/2013
When the peasants revolted
Medieval English peasants had a lot to be angry about. They weren’t slaves in the conventional sense of the word,...
19/09/2013
Nostradamus: The Renaissance man
History remembers Nostradamus mostly for his uncanny gift of prophecy. This famous talent never dominated his attention. Along with being...
11/09/2013
Shop till you drop in Tudor’s time
Elizabethans witnessed many improvements in daily life. One of those is the stockings knitting machine invented in 1589 by William...
17/08/2013
Magyars, Saracens and Vikings in 9th and 10th century Europe
Three main groups – Magyars, Saracens and Vikings – launched raids on Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries, as...
15/08/2013
Fighting for love: Ulrich von Lichtenstein
A name made famous by Hollywood, there was a real Ulrich von Lichtenstein. Born of a noble family in the...
20/07/2013