Medieval Ages

1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, the House of York. Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband, Thomas, and ruthless siblings, Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry IV. Will it be possible for this Plantagenet family to safeguard its own political power by restoring either King Richard II to the throne, or the precarious Mortimer claimant?

Examining trial records and the pharmacopoeia of witches, alchemists, folk healers, and heretics of the 15th century, Thomas Hatsis details how a range of ideas from folk drugs to ecclesiastical fears over medicine women merged to form the classical “witch” stereotype and what history has called the “witches’ ointment”. He shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections from all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation.

In this account of Europe’s rise to world leadership in technology, Frances and Joseph Gies make use of recent scholarship to destroy two time-honored myths. Myth One: that Europe’s leap forward occurred suddenly in the “Renaissance,” following centuries of medieval stagnation. Myth Two: that Europe achieved its primacy through “Western” superiority.

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...

Chevalier Amaury de Chanson, once the King of France’s prized privateer on the high seas, has been through the crucible of battle and betrayal. Believed to have perished during an English siege, after years of enslavement by an old adversary, he escapes.

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.

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.

Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization, they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated.

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.

What do you think of when you consider the Middle Ages? Knights in armor and damsels in distress? Vikings plundering monasteries? Religious dissenters burning at the stake? The dead bodies piling up as war, famine, and plague devastated Europe? Think again. While all these are part of the tapestry of the medieval era, the threads of politics, personality and war, culture, religion, education and the arts are vastly more intricate and fascinating.

Many years have passed since the fall of Uther Pendragon. His son Arthur, now a young man, begins his quest for the throne as he seeks vengeance against his father's killer and looks to restore the Pendragon Dynasty. Under the tutelage of Merlin, young wizards Morgan and Margawse emerge together from exile with their cousin Arthur to reclaim his father's empire. A NEW AGE OF WIZARDS is the second installment in the KINGS OF CAMELOT series.

Mark Pegg offers a synthesis of the most innovative scholarship on the Middle Ages of the last thirty years. Interweaving the history of Muslims with the histories of Christians and Jews, the scholarly history is propelled by a narrative of the relationship of the human and the divine within individuals and their societies between 950 and 1550. In displaying the history of the Middle Ages to be no less than a history of the formation of Western culture, Pegg offers a rethinking of what it means to talk about the medieval world that is at once vital, compelling, and necessary.

Anise Wynford stumbles down the porch steps of her farmhouse in 21st century Massachusetts and into the nightmare of a raging battlefield of armor and sword fighting. When she later awakens in a medieval forest in the presence of a gallant white knight, their connection is immediate. Concerned for her safety, the knight carries her to his castle. Her knight turns out to be King Richard III, the villain of Shakespeare's most famous play. The truth dawns that she has been transported through time by a magic ring. As Anise navigates the complex rules of politics and etiquette in the king's ...

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

Medieval England’s history starts with the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. In the 11th century, the Anglo-Saxon elite was completely replaced by the invading Normans. William the Conqueror and his successors brought novelties to England such as castles and cavalry. The last phase of Medieval England started with the great Famine and Black Death in the 14th century, when millions of lives were lost, resulting in England losing half of its population. In this book, you'll get insights into all of the above events and many more.

1198 A.D A hooded man brings rebellion to the forest… Lionheart’s England, with the King fighting in Normandy… For the oppressed villagers of Sherwood there is no escape from persecution and despair. They exist under the sufferance of their brutal overlords. When a mysterious stranger saves a miller’s son from cruel punishment, the Sheriff of Nottingham sends the ruthless Sir Guy of Gisborne to hunt him down. His past life destroyed, Robin of Loxley must face his greatest challenge yet. Deadly with a longbow and a sword, he will fight tyranny and injustice, encounter allies and ...

The world cannot afford to wait any longer. Time has run out. And when the dust clears only one will remain standing. This is why I exist. This is my legacy. The world has fallen into chaos and the lerwicks are the only ones who have any chance of stopping it. It’s a dire situation indeed when the humans who once treated them with such cruelty are now begging for their help. All of Ayrith is at war and suddenly the world has become a much smaller place. Enjoy the exciting conclusion of the Tainted Blood series.

Thrown out of the orphanage for stealing, Oskar has been struggling to perfect her skills in the art of surviving the streets, all while disguising the fact that she is masquerading as a boy. But the dangers of the game she is playing escalate when a dark mage and an assassin appear on her rooftop haunts. Which side of a battle between the king and the princess should she choose? Or has the choice already been made for her? This novelette provides a back story for one of your favorite characters from The Crafter Chronicles. It is a great standalone read as an introduction to the world of ...

She summoned a monster, thinking it would end the visions. Instead, it claimed her body and soul. Yvrenn The moon haunts me. Every dream is soaked in sweat and shame, a horned beast pulling me into heat and hunger I can’t explain. I thought the ritual would end it. Just herbs, blood, and desperate hope. But what came from the forest wasn’t a vision. It was real. Galthar. He dragged me from the clearing, bound my wrists, and took me across the Veil into a fortress of shadows and stone. He says I’m the chosen. That my body belongs to him. I hate him. I crave him. And with every breath, ...

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...