Medieval History

In the time period between the fall of Rome and the spread of the Renaissance across the European continent, many of today's European nations were formed, the Catholic Church rose to great prominence, some of history's most famous wars occurred, and a social class system was instituted that lasted over 1,000 years.

The Moors in Spain is an overview of the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Stanley Edward Lane-Poole (1854 - 1931), the author, was a noted British archaeologist.

A respected and controversial scholar argues that the Crusades were a justified war waged against Muslim terror and aggression. This book takes on the current vogue in liberal thinking to argue that, in fact, the Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism. They were not conducted for land, loot, or converts. The Crusaders were not barbarians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. They sincerely believed that they served in God’s Battalions.

Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire--into remarkably similar societies and states.

Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.

Late in AD 937, four armies met in a place called Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side stood a remarkable alliance of rival kings - at least two from across the sea – who’d come together to destroy them once and for all. The stakes were no less than the survival of the dream that would become England. The armies were massive. The violence, when it began, was enough to shock a violent age.

In the midst of the devastating Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight, fresh from combat in Scotland finds his wife, Marguerite, accusing squire Jacques Le Gris of brutally raping her. A deadlocked court decrees a “trial by combat” that also leaves Marguerite’s fate in the balance. For if her husband loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser. While enemy troops pillage the land, and rebellion and plague threaten the lives of all, Carrouges and Le Gris meet in full armor on a walled field in Paris.

Hungary is more than just vampire stories and cheesy violin-playing waiters named “Laszlo”. It has a rich history that goes back to the first wild Magyar horsemen, who arrived there in the late ninth century. For a time, the Magyars were both mercenaries and raiders, a horse-bound version of the Vikings in France and Britain. They terrorized the populations of Austria, Germany, and even Italy and eastern France. After the Austro-Hungarian defeat in WWI, Hungary became an independent nation.

Before the Reformation: Two Lives, One Legacy Dive into the extraordinary stories of two fearless pioneers who laid the foundation for a movement that would transform the world. Before the Reformation: John Wycliffe and Jan Hus brings you two books in one—a compelling look at the lives, battles, and sacrifices of the visionaries who paved the way for the Protestant Reformation. Meet John Wycliffe, the "Morning Star of the Reformation": Discover how this bold thinker defied the Church, translated the Bible into English, and dared to put divine truth into the hands of the common people. ...

Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects.

Not Without Mercy, The Passage Home is book two in the series. The story of the William Beorn family survives the Black Plague of 1348 in Bristol, England. William and his adopted son, Michael, grow with the many experiences and difficulties forced upon them. Somehow, William kept his unwavering faith, even during some of the most perilous and challenging trials life could give. Yet, Michael, being thrust into adulthood by taking on the responsibility of his family in William's absence, reacted much differently. Although his challenges differed from William's, his faith wavered and nearly ...

The foundations of modern knowledge - philosophy, math, astronomy, geography - were laid by the Greeks, whose ideas were written on scrolls and stored in libraries across the Mediterranean and beyond. But as the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, so did appreciation of these precious texts. Christianity cast a shadow over so-called pagan thought, books were burned, and the library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of classical knowledge, was destroyed. Yet some texts did survive and The Map of Knowledge explores the role played by seven cities around the Mediterranean....

Two years after the victory at Saffron Valley, a new menace threatens Dux Wortigern's domain: the Picts are raiding the coast, razing the cities and looting the churches and villas of the southern provinces. Ash, now a Councillor at Wortigern's court, joins a Iute war band dispatched to deal with the invaders - but the real threat to Londin's safety and Wortigern's rule may be coming from within the Council itself... ◆◆◆ The Saxon Knives is the second volume of the Song of Ash, a fast-paced, gripping historical fiction trilogy, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell's "The Last Kingdom"...

As the Christian hold on the Holy Land crumbles, Templar Knight, Salvatore and his leader, the Mason fight to defend the ancient city of Acre. They have a duty to defend their last bastion in the region and to defend a mysterious artifact whose very existence cannot be revealed to the man tasked with its safety. In today's world. Peter Sparke and Professor Tilly Pink take on the challenge of uncovering the fate of the fabled Silver Scroll, unsure whether it even exits.

The Knights Hospitaller formed in the 12th century and continue to exist in contemporary times, albeit in a considerably different form. Over the last millennium, the organization has fulfilled different roles, served varying masters, and continued to uphold the tenets of crusading even when there was no Crusade to fight. All the while, as it went through centuries of murkiness, including the development of a notorious reputation, the Knights Hospitaller continued to adapt.

INSTA-LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN . . . ANNABELLE WINTERS STYLE! She's a tribute for my King. But her voice makes my heart feel strange. Her eyes make my knees feel weak. Her scent makes my body tighten. When I close my eyes I see her face . . . When the storms winds blow they whisper her name . . . The gods and goddesses urge me on . . . She's yours, they shout from the clouds . . . She's yours, they whisper from the waves . . . She's yours to keep, Viking! So what will you do? What will you do, Viking?! If you've read my other novella series, you know how wild my stuff can get. It's not ...

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.

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 ...

Beginning with the death of Edward I in 1307 and ending with the deposition of Richard II in 1399, Sceptred Isle follows the experiences of the last Plantagenets, uncovering lesser-known voices and untold stories along the way. Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of the Black Death, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, we encounter a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.

In The Once and Future Sex, Janega unravels the restricting expectations on medieval women and the ones on women today. She boldly questions why, if our ideas of women have changed drastically over time, we cannot reimagine them now to create a more equitable future.