High Medieval

In imagining a Viking, a certain image springs to mind: a barbaric warrior, leaping ashore from a longboat, and ready to terrorize the hapless local population of a northern European town. Yet while such characters define our imagination of the Viking Age today, they were in the minority. Instead, in the time-stopping soils, water, and ice of the North, Eleanor Barraclough excavates a preserved lost world, one that reimagines a misunderstood society.

This anthology of Old English poetry brings together sacred texts from two of the great surviving Anglo-Saxon poetic codices: the Vercelli Book, including one of the most famous of medieval texts, the Vision of the Rood, and the Exeter Book, source of the Advent Lyrics, Riddles and Physiologus. The Venerable Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum is the source for the only surviving work by the poet Cædmon. John Gallas, has not simply translated these texts but has crafted beautiful and accessible contemporary poetry, retaining the half-line alliteration of Old English poetic ...

Absolution of the Morning Star: Books I–III Dawn of the Lightbearer – The Mourning Son – Noonday in the North In a land where gods have fallen silent and kings die faster than they can be crowned, survival demands more than a sword—it demands the sacrifice of your soul. Lucardia is a realm shattered by ambition and scorched by betrayal. Light is a lie, and every oath is a blade waiting for your back. In this box set containing the first three volumes of the Absolution of the Morning Star saga, follow the rise of Erikson Gray—a blacksmith’s apprentice whose bond to a cursed sword...

The Abbey Mice are preparing for Christmas. Collecting food to last them through the winter. Arranging their home high up in the tower of Ramsley Abbey. The spirit of Christmas is alive when they meet the poor Country Mice and bring them happiness and comfort. The Abbey Mice have lived for generations high up in the safety of Ramsley Abbey tower. From there they set out on their tales of friendships made, courage shown, adventures and excitement experienced. The Adventures of the Abbey Mice series were written over forty years ago now. Loosely based on the beautiful historic Romsey Abbey in...

Scottish Highlands, 1727. In the aftermath of a tragic fire that kills her father, Aila and her mother, Janet, move to the remote parish of Loth, north-west of Inverness. Blending in does not come easily to the women: Aila was badly burned in the fire and left with visible injuries, while her mother struggles to maintain her grip on reality. When a temporary minister is appointed in the area, rather than welcome the two women, he develops a strange curiosity for them that sets them even further apart from the community.

In a realm teetering on the brink of war, King Kael is bound by a sacred oath and the weight of his crown. His choices, like those of countless unsung heroes throughout history, will forge the path of future generations. But when a love he never anticipated threatens to shatter his resolve, Kael is forced to confront the agonizing conflict between his sworn duty and the deepest desires of his heart. The Vowed Blade is the epic tale of a warrior-king wrestling with impossible choices, where sacrifice is the currency of destiny and legacies are carved not just by battles won, but by the quiet...

Fred's life was on autopilot, but that abruptly changed. He finds himself in a new world, with strange people and fearsome monsters. The Brall take one look at Fred and expect him to die within hours. However, there is more to Fred than even he knows. He struggles to stay alive, as he uses his knowledge from Earth to strengthen the fragmented Brall Empire. Along the way, he gains powerful allies and inadvertently provokes and inspires a ruthless General. Can Fred save the Brall and bring stability to the Empire? Start reading now! Part 1

In Forbidden Love in the Highlands, Astrid Eiriksdottir, a healer with a dangerous past, saves the life of Highland chieftain Callum MacKinnon; igniting a bond neither expected. As enemies threaten his clan, Astrid’s secrets could unravel everything. But working together to expose a poisoning plot forces them to confront passion, betrayal, and trust. Set in the wild beauty of rugged Scotland, this sweeping romance blends danger, desire, and redemption in a love story as fierce as the Highlands.

In the final installment of the Tales of the Otori, the young Takeo meets his destiny, fulfilling the prophesy: "You were born into the Hidden, but your life...is no longer your own."

1599 was an epochal year for Shakespeare and England. During that year, Shakespeare wrote four of his most famous plays: Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet; Elizabethans sent off an army to crush an Irish rebellion, weathered an Armada threat from Spain, gambled on a fledgling East India Company, and waited to see who would succeed their aging and childless queen.

The World-Strider goes to Heaven! As a Queen, Seren has been able to do a lot of good for her people, both humans and fairies. She's especially proud of her Fairy Fostering Program which places orphaned or abandoned children with childless fey couples. So when children who have been selected for the program go missing, Seren immediately launches an investigation. But while she searches for the missing children, Angels are searching for her. A cave carving in Hell gave Seren the title of World-Strider, foretelling her visit to each of the known worlds. She has set foot on all but one, and ...

He’s a beast who kills without mercy. My kidnapper. My enemy. My mate. All I want is a simple life, but any chance of peace is stolen from me by a winged warrior prince. He sweeps through my village, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake—and taking me with him. Born of battle, Marcellus is unstoppable. A storm of obsidian wings and steel who’s turned killing into an art form. He says my visions hold the key to the hidden Elven kingdoms that his father’s vowed to conquer. Kingdoms I’ve vowed to protect with my life. We’re on opposite sides of this war, and yet the dark and ...

This Long Form Edition includes all 3 parts of The Brall Empire: +Fred series.Fred's life was on autopilot, but that abruptly changed. He finds himself in a new world, with strange people and fearsome monsters. The Brall take one look at Fred and expect him to die within hours. However, there is more to Fred than even he knows. He struggles to stay alive, as he uses his knowledge from Earth to strengthen the fragmented Brall Empire. Along the way, he gains powerful allies and inadvertently provokes and inspires a ruthless General. Can Fred save the Brall and bring stability to the Empire? ...

Profoundly poetic yet gloriously accessible, this is the best way to experience a work that has remained a centerpiece of Western civilization for 2,000 years. Fitzgerald's rendering speaks directly to the modern listener, inviting us to share the excitement, adventure, and human tears as Aeneas, the warrior hero, escapes from the burning city of Troy, embarks on a long and perilous journey, and eventually, triumphantly establishes a new nation: Rome.

They sent her to seduce him. They never expected her to fall for him. Charlotte is a master assassin trained in poisons, seduction, and the art of the kill. Her target is Master Nicolo: the prince’s closest friend, the kingdom’s fiercest protector, and the most feared man in the castle. Known as The Unbreakable, he’s cunning, deadly, and impossible to get close to. Disguised as a humble maid, Charlotte infiltrates the royal stronghold of Woodfall Gath, a sprawling fortress of intrigue, decadence, and danger. But Nicolo isn’t some spoiled courtier. He’s a peasant-born warrior with ...

Join Ulagret, a shy craftsman who has been forced by circumstances to fight against one of the great arch demons that threatens to tear the world of Evorath apart. With only a small army on his side, he must break through his own insecurity to become the hero that his people need. In this prequel to the first novel in his Evorath series, author Joseph Macolino introduces readers to the early foundation of the world and one of the most turbulent trials the people of Evorath had to face. In this brief novella, readers witness an exciting battle that will steer the course of elvish history. As...

The assault on the city of Shadowfen has taken its toll. With so many lives lost, the people have begun to rebel while the king desperately searches for answers. How did this happen? Who is to blame for so much bloodshed? Someone must be held accountable. But while the king is doing everything he can to calm his people, barely able to hold his kingdom together by a thread, a deadly force has risen in the north. Unseen, unnoticed, it silently threatens the world of Ayrith from the shadows. Now Viola and her friends must make a choice. Do they defend the humans from this latest threat, or ...

In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.

In this indispensable volume, one of America's ranking scholars combines a life's work of research and teaching with the art of lively narration. Both authoritative and beautifully told, The Middle Ages is the full story of the thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance - a time that saw the rise of kings and emperors, the flowering of knighthood, the development of Europe, the increasing power of the Catholic Church, and the advent of the middle class.

The story of the wars and conquests initiated by the first Crusade and its successors is itself so compelling that most accounts move quickly from describing the Pope's calls to arms to the battlefield. In this highly original and enjoyable new book, Christopher Tyerman focuses on something obvious but overlooked: the massive, all-encompassing, and hugely costly business of actually preparing a crusade.