Medieval England

The millennium between the breakup of the western Roman Empire and the Reformation was a long and hugely transformative period - one not easily chronicled within a single book. Yet distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken up the challenge in this landmark book, and he succeeds in producing the most riveting account of medieval Europe in a generation.

While it would not have been unsurprising to see a black knight in King Arthur's multicultural court, few people today realize that this would be for the same reason there were so many black Roman colonists of Londinium. The noble and antiracist chivalry demonstrated by King Arthur and his knights traces back thousands of years to the most elemental hopes of the Roman people for a more civilized world, and remains relevant even today. The Story of Sir Morien dates to those dark ages when racism and negrophobia were first encouraged and took hold in Europe. Children and adults alike will ...

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is a remarkable examination of 12 illuminated manuscripts from the medieval period. Noted authority Christopher de Hamel invites the listener into intimate conversations with these texts to explore what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history - and sometimes about the modern world too. In so doing, de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, and collectors.

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.

Lady Maris Warwick of Ravenhill Castle is forced by King John to marry Rafe de Corvine, the knight known as the Raven, who accidentally killed her brother in a joust. She vows not to be a dutiful wife, but her traitorous body knows no such vow and responds in Rafe's arms. Her heart belongs to Rafe's cousin Lord Christopher Paige who leads a secret rebellion against the king. Secrets emerge when she hides Christopher from Rafe and the king's men. When Christopher challenges Rafe, Maris realizes she must choose between them. Will she leave Ravenhill as Christopher's mistress or remain with ...

A young pretender raises an army to take the throne. Learning of his father’s death, the adolescent, dashing and charismatic and descended from the old kings of the North, vows to avenge him. He is supported in this war by his mother, who has spirited away her two younger sons to safety. Against them is the queen, passionate, proud, and strong-willed and with more of the masculine virtues of the time than most men. She too is battling for the inheritance of her young son, not yet fully grown but already a sadist who takes delight in watching executions.

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.

CONQUEROR They were reunited in passion….and peril. In Wessex—Britain—Beautiful dark haired Gwyneth stands before the altar, thinking not of her betrothed, but of a handsome young man, half Anglo-Saxon half Viking that her father enslaved when she was a child. The dragon pendant she wears faithfully around her neck was a gift from him the night she helped him escape. Little does she know that they will meet again, but not as she has dreamed. Led by an obsession for revenge, tawny-haired Selig leads a Viking raid that puts a halt to the wedding ceremony of his enemy’s daughter. ...

The Venetians attempt to prevent the Latin Empire's gold from reaching Rome to buy the prayers needed before God will allow the Holy Father to recognize the widowed Empress as her son's regent.

This is another of Martin Archer's exciting and sometimes witty stories from the medieval days when Britain was just beginning to become the world's greatest military and commercial power. It is the story of what really happened in those early days as Britain began its rise to greatness despite having to cope with climate change because the world was getting colder. It also offers some insights as to why some members of today's royal family periodically have red hair. It is the summer of 1336. Ten years earlier in 1326 Queen Isabella's supporters defeated King Edward II and his lover Hugh ...

The Tudor dynasty died out because there was no heir of Elizabeth I's body to succeed her. Henry VIII, despite his six marriages, had produced no legitimate son who would live into old age. Three of the reigning Tudors (Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I) died without heirs apparent, the most tragic case being that of Mary Tudor, who went through two recorded cases of phantom pregnancy. If it were not for physical frailty and the lack of reproductive health among the Tudors, the course of history might have been different.

Previously published with a different cover. Scotland, 1170 A.D. When Lady Joan Kennedy runs away with another man the night before her wedding to Lord Robert Cunningham, her sister, Elayne, must uphold the family honor and marry in her place. Given no choice, Elayne embarks on building a new life. Months later, she tells Robert she carries the heir he needs, he begins to avoid her whenever possible. Perplexed and with her marriage at risk, the last thing Elayne needs is for her newly widowed sister to appear on their doorstep and charm her former betrothed. Elayne suspects Joan intends to ...

WINNER OF THE RONE AWARD FOR BEST MEDIEVAL ROMANCE! “...an exciting tale and a passionate love story that brings to life England after the Conquest—medieval romance at its best!" ~ Virginia Henley New York Times Bestselling Author HE WOULD NOT BE DENIED HIS PRIZE Sir Renaud de Pierrepont, the Norman knight known as the Red Wolf for the beast he slayed with his bare hands, hoped to gain lands with his sword. A year after the Conquest, King William rewards his favored knight with Talisand, the lands of an English thegn slain at Hastings, and orders him to wed Lady Serena, the heiress that...

Templars created an international network of military, financial and legal power that stretched from one end of Christendom to the other. They had influence, they had wealth and they always had enemies. Every struggle, no matter how insignificant could have an impact on their secretive agenda. A savage Border war in the desolate badlands between England and Wales was no exception but this struggle relies as much on the savagery of the law court as much as the battlefield. Two young men are drawn into the center of this power struggle. One, Drysdale, son of a famous knight is born to fight.,...

In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.

A Kingdom at Peace... Harold Godwineson, Earl of East Anglia and member of King Edward the Confessor's advisory council ignores both tradition and his father to marry a common-born woman to join him in his quest to maintain England’s fragile peace. Adith Svanneshal has survived a Viking attack and the death of her promised husband, neither of which prepare her to become the Countess of East Anglia. But she is determined to prove herself, and discovers a knack for gathering information her husband would never hear.. Together, Harold and Adith survive exile, betrayal, and a visit to Duke ...

With her sultry brown eyes and winsome beauty, Alana Ingen looks every bit the innocent maiden, but Jacques Legrand knows that hidden beneath is a precocious wench in need of taming. Alana’s mischievous nature means she finds herself in trouble with the powerful Norman knight more often than not and, despite her cunning ways, realizes he is not a man to be toyed with. Dominant by nature, Jacques uses his own method to tame the rebellious firebrand. With her Uncle, King Donald III, on the Scottish throne, Alana is vulnerable to those who wish to depose him. Jacques would keep her safe, but...

In May 1315 it started to rain. It didn't stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe's livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives - one eighth of Europe's total population.

What happens after happily ever after? After falling through time itself, modern-day Lucy Merriweather finds purpose in her new medieval life with her husband, Lord Blackford. But when a cryptic note costs her dearly, Lucy risks all to protect those she loves. As villains and explosive secrets emerge, Lucy must draw on courage she never knew she possessed, facing impossible choices and vengeful forces determined to destroy all she holds dear. Callan Graham, a mysterious highlander with secrets of his own, offers to aid Lucy as they race to save her family before it’s too late. This ...