Medieval English

Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months and died at the age of just thirty-five, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond. The victor of Agincourt, he is remembered as the acme of kingship, a model to be closely imitated by his successors. William Shakespeare deployed Henry V as a study in youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship. For one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, “the greatest man who ever ruled England.”

The Cardinal’s Sword! Pre Renaissance Italy: Papal States at war, all to gain, yet Sabatini must choose a side. With the advent of the Western Schism, powerful Italian States are riven with war, greed and power. Into this maelstrom is thrust Flavio Sabatini pirate, routier and condottieri with a chequered life behind him, as he returns to his home town of Corneto. Yet with such men the past is never far behind. As an internecine war looms within the Italian states and Saracens threaten his home town, Sabatini’s sword arm cannot be still for long. Outside the law or within? Devil or ...

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.

With the sudden and unexpected death of King Richard, his younger brother and heir John is thrust onto the throne of England. John is also to inherit the vast lands that the Angevin dynasty rule in France. However, the succession is not likely to be without difficulty when John’s nephew Arthur stakes his claim. With King Philip of France prowling on the edges of the Angevin empire ready to strike at its weakest point and snatch land that he feels belongs to France, John finds himself pushed to the limit. He needs lots of luck and money to retain his inheritance and he will do almost ...

What if the courage of one man could change the world? In 1415, Jan Hus was burned at the stake for challenging the corruption of the Catholic Church and standing by his convictions. His sacrifice ignited a movement, inspired the Reformation, and laid the groundwork for ideas that still shape our world today. What would you sacrifice for the truth? In a world dominated by corruption and fear, Jan Hus stood alone. A century before Martin Luther, this courageous Bohemian preacher challenged the Catholic Church’s authority, exposing its moral failings and advocating for equality, justice, ...

Legendary warrior Lachlan MacLeod has never encountered anything or anyone he could not conquer. But when his younger brother confesses his love for Bridgette MacLean - the only woman Lachlan has ever wanted - Lachlan turns away from the beautiful Scottish lass, vowing to be no more than her friend. Yet his need for Bridgette enslaves him and may well prove to be the one thing he cannot defeat.

A vampire prince imprisoned under false charges. The appearance of a new prisoner, a werewolf girl who was betrayed and tortured in the name of the crown, interrupts his plots of revenge. With a new cause to stand behind, the vampire prince plans his own death as a means for her escape. But the kingdom has needs only the prince can fulfill. If both survive the dungeon, can they also survive the world of political intrigue, vengeance, and a newly awoken threat to the crown and his people? Reader reviews- ***** Once I started I couldn't put it down! ***** A beautiful book with heartfelt ...

Being a genius Medical school graduate and a sporty and active girl, Aliya dies suddenly in a car accident... only to find herself reborn in a completely different body in the middle of a half-ruined castle during Medieval times. While confused and dismayed, Aliya realizes she has been given a second chance in life - so she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work on restoring the castle and her new life.

A salvage diver tries to walk a fine line between the sea and the sand. When Caroline Parrish is rescued from the waters of medieval Scotland, she quickly realizes that she’s landed in the midst of an ancient feud. But what’s even more unsettling are the feelings that she has for her two gorgeous rescuers. Nyall MacMar, the clan’s Captain of the Guard, understands immediately that another woman from the future has arrived on Caladh. But even as he wades with her and his best friend through the surf, he knows that they’ve violated a brittle truce that can’t stand another blow. For ...

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins. Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire. He’s destined to destroy it.

Chieftain Sloan Rankin has spent his life proving himself—to his clan, his father, and the woman he’s always adored. But when his long-awaited proposal to Eva MacVey is met with refusal, his focus falters at the worst possible time. His clan faces an impending attack, his father doubts his leadership, and his reckless younger brother is missing yet again. Still, Sloan is certain he’s done enough to keep his people safe—until the unthinkable happens.

In The Accursed Tower, Roger Crowley delivers a lively narrative of the lead-up to the siege and a vivid, blow-by-blow account of the climactic battle. Drawing on extant Arabic sources as well as untranslated Latin documents, he argues that Acre is notable for technical advances in military planning and siege warfare, and extraordinary for its individual heroism and savage slaughter. A gripping depiction of the crusader era told through its dramatic last moments, The Accursed Tower offers an essential new view on a crucial turning point in world history.

Since ancient times, accounts of supernatural activity have mystified us. Ghost stories as we know them did not develop until the late 19th century, but the restless dead haunted the premodern imagination in many forms, as recorded in historical narratives, theological texts, and personal letters. The Penguin Book of the Undead teems with roving hordes of dead warriors, corpses trailed by packs of barking dogs, moaning phantoms haunting deserted ruins, evil spirits emerging from burning carcasses in the form of crows, and zombies with pestilential breath.

Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium-long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.

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.

In this vivid and alluring history, medievalist Anthony Bale invites listeners on an odyssey across the medieval world. Journeying alongside scholars, spies, and saints, from Western Europe to the Far East, the Antipodes and the ends of the earth, Bale provides indispensable information on the exchange rate between Bohemian ducats and Venetian groats, medieval cures for seasickness, and how to avoid extortionist tour guides and singing sirens.

Kali Dracino is a born-and-raised dragon tamer. There hasn't been a single dragon in the valley she couldn't handle. She never expected to have to tame a prince. Prince Camden Acker is finally of age to become a Dragon Prince. All he had to do was partake in his Rite of Passage and find a dragon worthy to be his partner. Nobody told him his guide would be a woman as fierce as the dragons she tamed. Can these two can settle their differences and fulfill their sworn duties--or will Camden's time run out and Kali repeat her ancestors' mistakes?

Deep under the city of Phanos, the crypts are filled with monsters. Dungeon Corps works hard to contain them. Recruited from prisons, outcasts, misfits, those expelled from academies and even rare volunteers, Dungeon Corps produces outstanding fighters. When an ancient threat troubles the Queen’s Land once more, a grizzled veteran leads his young team down into the depths to rescue the lost and slay a horror known as Ludge. But two on his team hold closer ties to the monster than anyone realizes. They are elves, running from assassins tracking them relentlessly since birth. Ludge should ...

A rival is bidding to buy Myles Devereux's business. A price is agreed. Then the attacks on his person and property begin. Can Myles Devereux find out who is trying to destroy his business? Is it his rival, Garrison Bennett? Has their rocky, unwritten truce come to an end? Devereux, a London gangster with a string of ale houses, brothels, and a lucrative protection racket, is both successful and feared. He plays on his distant ties with Edward Courtney, a one-time Plantagenet contender for the throne, and styles himself as royalty amongst the filth of London. Business is good and running ...

Aoife MacMurchada is just 14 years old when her father Diarmit, King of Leinster, is brutally deposed, and her family is forced to flee Southern Ireland into English exile. Diarmit seeks help from King Henry II, an alliance that leads him to the charismatic Richard de Clare, lord of Striguil, a man dissatisfied with his lot and open to new horizons. Diarmit promises Richard wealth, lands, and Aoife's hand in marriage in return for his aid, but Aoife has her own thoughts on the matter. She may be a prize, but she is not a pawn, and she will play the game to her own advantage.