Medieval England

Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer's Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven't changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation ( gafol-fisc, or tax-fish).

The tale of William the Conqueror is written down by numerous contemporaries with various perspectives. It's a tale that would inspire some, while fascinate and even terrify others. It’s a tale of a man from a seemingly small land rising to rule one of the most powerful, stable kingdoms in all of Europe at the time - a kingdom that would sow the seeds of an empire that would sprout many centuries later.

A fascinating new portrait of Medieval Britain that brings together the everyday and the extraordinary. Using wide-ranging evidence, Martyn Whittock shines a light on Britain in the Middle Ages, bringing it vividly to life. Thus we glimpse 11th century rural society through a conversation between a ploughman and his master. The life of Dick Whittington illuminates the rise of the urban elite.

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.

A historical novel set in the early Middle Ages where the young Welsh Princess, Nesta Ferch Rhys, transforms from a naive young girl into a woman who cultivates and manipulates allies and uses her royal connections to achieve her ultimate goal of securing her family's place in history. Nesta was a consort to King Henry I, wife to Gerald of Pembroke and the captive-lover to Owain of Poweys. She is thought to be the original mother to the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties which Princess Diana and John F Kennedy are both descendants.

This is a historical adventure. This is the story of a passionate and idealistic young man named Joseph in fourteenth century England. He gives up his career as a butcher with his trade guild in York and follows a young woman, Dorothy, and her family into the border country to the north. Dorothy and her family are going to take over the farm they inherited when her uncle died. The English-Scottish war is heating up and the border region is very unstable. This is the time of Edward I, (Longshanks), and William Wallace. Every effort has been made to ensure the historical events and flavor of ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Year of our Lord 1071 – Saxon rebel, Hereward the Wake is, yet again, creating trouble for the new King of England, William the Conqueror. Sending an army to the Isle of Ely, the king seeks his surrender. Elvina, Hereward’s daughter, hates the Normans as passionately as her father does. Trapped on the island in the abbey, the abbot urges her to leave for her own safety before the Normans invade. Taking his advice, she attempts to flee but is quickly seized by seasoned knight, Sir Arthur de Clairvoy, and taken into custody. Against her wishes, the king immediately orders the feisty ...

If you want to discover the captivating history and know more about the Norman Quest and William the Conqueror, this audiobook is for you. Find out how the Normans invaded England, key historic events, the character and personality of William the Conqueror, and much more.

Juliane Fitzroy is the illegitimate daughter of Henry I--one of his twenty-two bastards. When her father weds her to a young Norman lord, Eustace de Breteuil, she thinks she has done well in life for the daughter of a Saxon concubine. But Eustace wants a castle he cannot have. He starts hostilities with its castellan, Ralph Harenc, egged on by the dubious Amaury de Montfort. To keep the peace, King Henry orders a hostage exchange between Eustace and Ralph. Juliane's pretty young daughters for Ralph's son. In a drunken rage, fuelled on by Amaury, Eustace breaks the truce and blinds Harenc's ...

Medieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies, yet many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on their sex, as Alison Weir shows in this gripping group biography of England's fourteenth-century consorts. Using personal letters and wonderfully vivid sources, Alison Weir evokes the lives of five remarkable queens: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois.

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...

Richard II was young, handsome, and elegant. Last living child of the brilliant Black Prince, he came to the throne bearing the hopes of his people on his shoulders. His court glittered; his tastes were refined; his portraits shone with gold. Regal, composed, aloof, he was the very picture of majesty. He became a murderous, capricious tyrant. His favorites plotted against his family. He rewrote the laws of England to give himself absolute power. He raised an army against his own subjects. His subjects deposed him.

In the rich turbulence of English history, one day stands magnificently apart: June 15, 1215, the day of the signing of the Magna Charta. On this day, the first blow for English freedom was struck and forever affected the Western world. Here is the story of three true men, Stephen Langton, Williams Marshall, and Hubert de Burgh, whose heroic deeds are set against those of the ever deceitful and crafty King John.

A Song for Mary is a period piece set in Tudor England about two gay musicians in the court of Mary Tudor prior to her ascension as queen. Mary Tudor is looking for a new court musician. Henry plays the viola da gamba well enough but has the voice of an angel. Thomas doesn't sing very well but is a brilliant lutist. After the auditions, in a surprising move, Mary hires them both. Thomas and Henry are not pleased with this and find themselves rivals. But Mary has ordered them to work together. After weeks of tension, Mary commands them to drink a cask together and either work it out or else ...

Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were protesting a tax on women? Or that Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men, but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior? These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from listening to Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious book, she tells the story of England over 900 years, for the very first time placing women—some fifty per cent of the population—center stage.

The Anglo-Saxon period, stretching from the fifth to the late eleventh century, begins with the Roman retreat from the Western world and ends with the Norman takeover of England. Between these epochal events, many of the contours and patterns of English life that would endure for the next millennium were shaped. In this authoritative work, N. J. Higham and M. J. Ryan reexamine Anglo-Saxon England in the light of new research in disciplines as wide ranging as historical genetics, paleobotany, archaeology, literary studies, art history, and numismatics.

To escape an unthinkable arrangement, Rowe Beasly accompanies her mother to the dark and gloomy Castle Ravendale, a fortress beset by a long history of tragedies. One night while exploring, she meets the heir, the last remaining descendant to the great family of Rothdales. A disfigured lord who steals her heart from the moment they meet. But trying to get him to come into the light will test her strength and things she holds most dear. Emotionally scarred by the weight of his family's curse, Adaire Rothdale, lives his life in darkness away from the world. His hopes and dreams curdling each ...

He ruled by the sword—She by her caresses His sword for love- Out of the grandeur and pageantry of 14th-Century England, a master storyteller weaves this powerful tale of a lonely titan and the woman who loved him. Men spoke in awe of The Black Prince, the greatest swordsman of his day women whispered in wonder of the man who could claim the thrones of England and France, but who would trade both for one forbidden night in the arms of a raven-haired goddess. Love Has A Wild Cry The Black Prince lay staring vacantly upward at the tent pole. "Broth,” the gypsy whispered. "Take it away; I ...