Medieval English

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

Malcom MacKinnon has been gone from Chreagach Mhor for more than ten years. He's never met the youngest MacKinnon, but while he's looking forward to their first meeting, Alexander Ailbeart MacKinnon isn't quite as enthusiastic to meet the brother who, in his eyes, abandoned their clan. Having received word Malcom and his new wife are on the way, he's on his heels now, making sure their home is safeguarded from forces that threaten his family's joy. Will the brothers finally come together after so long?

Boy has always been relegated to the outskirts of his small village. With a large hump on his back, a mysterious past, and a tendency to talk to animals, he is often mocked and abused by the other young people in his town. Until the arrival of a shadowy pilgrim named Secondus. Impressed with Boy's climbing and jumping abilities, Secondus engages Boy as his servant, pulling him into an expedition across Europe to gather the seven precious relics of Saint Peter.

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.

Desperate to save his ailing niece, Highland warrior Diarmid Campbell seeks out the young woman he once saw perform a healing miracle on a battlefield. But when he finds her - now a trained physician - she denies her gift. Undeterred, Diarmid carries the stubborn beauty off to his Highland stronghold. Yet, as the captive lady reveals her deepest secret - and the warrior opens his closed heart - a perilous enemy emerges to threaten them. Soon, they must rely on each other - and a miracle only love can bring....

The stars and constellations are among the few remaining objects that appear to us just as they appeared to our distant ancestors. From anywhere on Earth, a person may view the celestial panorama simply by stepping outside at night and gazing upward. This nonfiction narrative presents the tales of the 48 classical constellations, compiled from literature spanning a thousand years from Homer to Claudius Ptolemy. These age-old tales have captured the human imagination from ancient times to the present.

Life in a Medieval City is the classic account of the year 1250 in the city of Troyes, in modern-day France. Acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies focus on a high point of medieval civilization - before war and the Black Death ravaged Europe - providing a fascinating window into the sophistication of a period we too often dismiss as backward. Urban life in the Middle Ages revolved around the home, often a mixed-use dwelling for burghers with a store or workshop on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs.

Does he bring salvation or devastation? On the brink of hanging up his sword for good, seasoned warrior Torac Bratton returns to action for a beautiful, endangered lass. Accused of murder, Leana MacKern has no choice but to trust the handsome warrior, Torac. With secrets of his own, Torac holds her heart and her fate in his hands. Find out why thousands of readers have fallen in love with Hildie McQueen’s brave highlanders. You’ll be up all night to finish this tale of finding love amidst the darkest danger.

Lady Sorcha Hay is devastated to learn that English soldiers are holding her young brother captive. Penniless, the only way she can pay for his freedom is by taking a hostage for ransom herself. Her captive - a wounded knight plucked from the battlefield - is furious to be imprisoned by a woman. But nothing will stop Sorcha from keeping Sir Ruari Kerr enslaved, even as the sight of his bronzed body sets her mind reeling and her senses afire....

Imagine you were transported back in time to Medieval England and had to start a new life there. Without mobile phones, iPads, internet, and social media networks, when transport means walking or, if you're fortunate, horseback, how will you know where you are or what to do? Where will you live? What is there to eat? What shall you wear? All these questions and many more are answered in this new guidebook for time-travelers. This lively and engaging book will help the listener deal with the new experiences they may encounter and the problems that might occur.

We tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark, backward, and unchanging time characterized by violence, ignorance, and superstition. By contrast, we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation, and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world. We couldn't be more wrong.

The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome tells the stories of the people who built their political and literary careers around promises of Roman renewal as well as those of the victims they blamed for causing Rome's decline. The story begins during the Roman Republic just after 200 BC. It proceeds through the empire of Augustus and his successors, traces the Roman loss of much of western Europe in the fifth century AD, and follows Roman history until its fall in 1453.

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.

Eager to return to his native Norway, Thorgrim agrees to participate in one last raid under the command of a man he does not trust. But the Northmen, he finds, are no longer simply invaders on foreign soil. They have become a part of the Irish kings' ongoing struggle for power, and, far from securing a means to return home, Thorgrim and his men are plunged into a battle for the throne of Tara - a battle that will test their strength and loyalty as none has before.

Lovisa evaded capture for killing the prince in a tournament, but can she win the Orc King's heart and evade being shared by his savage men? Fleeing through a treacherous forest, Lovisa, a fierce female warrior, evades pursuit, seeking refuge in the Orc realm. Yet, her respite is short-lived as she falls into the clutches of the formidable Orc King. Now, ensnared in the heart of enemy territory, her survival and future happiness depend on strength, courage, and cunning amidst the savage horde. If you love steamy orc fantasy short stories with fiercely possessive Orcs, sassy maidens, and ...

Death walks beside me. Two weeks ago, I was hired by the Dragon Prince of Zaru to help his brother, the King, deal with their dead. Not that there is an abundance of corpses in their kingdom, but those who die aren't staying in their graves. As a necromancer, I'm one of the few people on Serai who can put the dead to rest and discover why they are rising. As a Raltven, I'm particularly good at it. Good enough that the King of Zaru sent his brother across the sea to find someone like me. At first sight, desire sparked between Prince Racmar and me. On the way to Zaru, our attraction for each ...

Fionna's only hope to save her family lies across the Irish Sea. As a warrior princess of Ulster, the rival clan holding her father and sister for ransom knows she'll pay any price to get them back. But even she couldn't predict the task set before her - to steal a faerie sword from a king. The Kingdom of Caerleon is dying under Morgan le Fay's dark magic. Her vengeful curse has locked Excalibur in its scabbard, placing Arthur Pendragon's kingship in jeopardy. Now Arthur and his sword brothers have one hope. The fifth knight. The one foretold by Merlin who will break the curse.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.

Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin, and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira.

After too many years on the battlefield, Merrick de Beaucourt is looking forward to a simple life of peace and quiet with a docile wife at his side. But when he finally fetches his bride-to-be from a secluded English convent, he finds he needs more than his knight's spurs to bring order to his life.