Medieval Ages

It could be said that European kings and nobles in the Middle Ages were Crusade mad. The enormous amount of fighting men who periodically sailed off to the Near East to do battle with Muslims are evidence of the widespread popularity of overseas adventurism at the time. The notion of a Crusade, in which large armies assembled from various regions of Europe for the purpose of doing battle with Turkish and Arab Muslims, became so fixed that it was expanded to include Crusades against heretical European Christian sects.

Lady Adelaide Soames of scandalous repute counts the days, months, and years until justice is served. At last, King Edward’s masked ball not only brings her face to face with the nobleman who ruined her sister, but the sheriff she deems his accomplice.

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today. On visits to the great cities of Europe, Thomas Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world.

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.

To this day, I see it in my nightmares – the decrepit amalgamation of stone and metal looming in the middle of a barren waste – the place that was supposed to be my tomb. Elian's carefree childhood ends after his older brother gets recruited to serve in one of the five watchtowers overlooking the hostile lands. A grim realization dawns on him of the perils the last human Kingdom has to face. The wild hillfolk of the west, the ferocious beasts of the east, and the vast waters of the southern sea that no ship could ever pass. However, these threats pale compared to the evil looming in the...

If you were taught that the Middle Ages were a time of intellectual stagnation, superstition, and ignorance, you were taught a myth that has been utterly refuted by modern scholarship. As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam shows in his brilliant new book, The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, without the scholarship of the "barbaric" Middle Ages, modern science simply would not exist. The Middle Ages were a time of one intellectual triumph after another.

Book 2 ... The Secret Hamlet is for Historical Fiction fans ... WINNER! American Fiction Awards ... Fantasy Historial Fiction Can the Hamlet of Harmonie Remain Hidden? It’s the 11th century and Nichol with an infant daughter must escape Paris with her extended family. In Book 2 of the Harmonie series, The Secret Hamlet, the power of Nichol is turned loose. At her side is Shadow, her wolf-dog. In the bitter winter, she has become the target of the ruthless priest Loupe and her evil brother Fredric, both in pursuit of her and her daughter, Lucette. With her expanding vision and skills ...

The English longbow, typically made of yew wood, was one of the most powerful weapons in the Middle Ages that could change the course of battles. Measuring up to six feet in length, this weapon was highly regarded for its power and accuracy—trained archers could accurately shoot their target from over 200 yards.

A world in turmoil. A new religion. A struggling community. Can a pagan woman protect her family without falling prey to both Christians and power-hungry Fae? Ireland, 470. In an ancient world torn between old traditions and new beliefs, a pagan woman finds herself caught in a perilous struggle to protect her family from the clutches of both zealous Christians and power-hungry Fae. Clíodhna mourns the presumed loss of her husband, and as the months pass with no sign of his return, she clings to her ancestral customs. She distrusts the encroaching dominance of the burgeoning Christian faith...

Joan of Arc was born in a small French village during the worst period of the Hundred Years' War. For generations, France had been besieged by the British. At age 11, Joan began to see religious visions telling her to join forces with the King of France. By the time she was a teenager, she was leading troops into battle in the name of her country. Though she was captured and executed for her beliefs, Joan of Arc became a Catholic saint and has since captured the world's imagination.

There are very few national relationships quite as complicated and enigmatic as the one that exists between the English and the Irish. For two peoples so interconnected by geography and history, the depth of animosity that is often expressed is difficult at times to understand. At the same time, historic links of family and clan, and common Gaelic roots, have at times fostered a degree of mutual regard, interdependence, and cooperation that is also occasionally hard to fathom. During World War I, for example, Ireland fought for the British Empire as part of that empire.

When Richard Fidler came across the account of Ibn Fadlan—a tenth-century Arab diplomat who travelled all the way from Baghdad to the cold riverlands of modern-day Russia—he was struck by how modern his voice was, like that of a 21st century time-traveller dropped into a medieval wilderness. On further investigation, Fidler discovered this was just one of countless reports from Arab and Persian travellers of their adventures in medieval China, India, Africa and Byzantium. Put together, he saw these stories formed a crazy quilt picture of a lost world.

Like the shinobi, more commonly known as the ninja, the assassin is yet another fabled figure with ancient roots that remains astonishingly relevant to this day. Assassins in the context of contemporary pop culture often conjure up images of brooding, silver-tongued individuals in peak physique, equipped with impeccable style, flawless marksmanship, and exemplary hand-to-hand combat skills.

From leftover trenchers and stinky chamber pots to barber surgeons and the black plague, life could be really miserable for people during medieval times. Get ready to explore the nasty side of life in the Middle Ages.

The once beauteous Lady Ondine Wulfrith holds close a secret for which she conceals her face, surrounds herself with all things lovely, and is drawn to those of broken wing. When she happens on an enemy of the Crown wounded during his escape from the king’s men, she delivers the warrior to her family’s abandoned hunting lodge to tend his injury. While thwarting his efforts to return to flight until he heals, attraction to her resistant patient becomes something more—and unexpected—once the two are discovered by her brother in what appears a compromising position.

The Republic of Genoa: The History of the Italian City that Became Influential across the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages examines the highs and lows of Genoa La Superba (“The Proud”), including its humble origins in the first century CE, its felicitous rise after the fall of the Roman Empire, its golden age as a mercantile power during the “Genoese Century,” and its demise at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.

The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France. The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels, and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, siblings, husbands, and children all across Europe and the Holy Land.

The great poetic tradition of pre-Christian Scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the Prose Edda, a collection of narrative literature, and its companion, the Poetic Edda. The poems originated in Iceland, Norway, and Greenland between the ninth and 13th centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the Codex Regius. The poems are primarily lyrical rather than narrative.

The world has seen what Eric can do. Is this the one man who can defeat the demon Krytoes? He has proven himself to the mortals, but must now establish himself in the eyes of the Gods themselves. Many have claimed to be the Gate Keeper, but none have ever survived the Trials of Ashbarn. Let the trials begin! This book is intended for mature audiences. The Legend of the Gate Keeper Series Reading Order: The Shadow: (A standalone prequel: Book 0) Land of Shadows: (Book 1) Siege of Night: (Book 2) Lost Empire: (Book 3) Reborn: (Book 4) The Trials of Ashbarn: (Book 5) End of Days: (Final Book)

From the late eighth century to somewhere around the middle of the 11th century, the history of Europe was dominated by the people who have become known as the Vikings. The Vikings were among the first global explorers who established territory that stretched from North America in the west to Constantinople in the east, and from the frigid wastes of the Arctic in the north to the warm shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the south.