Medieval
For better or worse, the Crusades were among the more spectacular, far-reaching and important endeavours of the first two millennia of the Common Era. Typically they are seen as huge battles between the Christian West and the Muslim East, but as the…
The Black Death looms large in the modern imagination, as it did in the minds of late medieval people. It is a spectre, or shadow, reminding everyone of their mortality, and the briefness of life. The reactions it provoked showed the best, and worst…
The last two decades of the fourteenth century stand out in English history, distinguished by cultural, social and political shifts that have echoed through the centuries. Yet perhaps the most widely-accepted and lauded change in this period came…
Without doubt, the Norman Conquest had an impact on England, but recently historians have stressed its continuity, questioning whether the invasion can be viewed as a cataclysm. After all, any incident claiming the description must have far-reaching…
The year 1066 is remembered in Britain for just one battle: the Battle of Hastings. And why not? After all, it had a profound effect on England, and has been called the most important battle in English history. But its outcome might have been very…
William Marshal was the landless younger son of a middle-ranking nobleman, who raised himself through the tournament circuit and serving five crowned kings, to become the de facto regent of England. He was the original celebrity, inspiration for…
Harold ruled briefly, from 1035 until 1040, and what has been recorded is often based as much on rumour, judgement and supposition as it is on fact. There are only two events of his short reign that are known about in any detail: his 'seizure…
Edward the Confessor, thought of as the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, died childless on 5th January 1066, sparking the chain of events that led to the invasion of William of Normandy in September 1066. As the name implies, he is remembered as…
In May 1381, government demands to pay a poll tax started widespread rebellion in what became known as the Peasants' Revolt. Groups of people from Essex and Kent marched on London seeking social reform, inspiring others as they went. Leaders of…
Henry VI has gone down in history as a weak and mentally unstable king, swayed too easily by his court favourites and his over-bearing wife. He is compared unfavourably with his father who had success in battle and in laying siege to towns.
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