Have you ever wondered what life was like in the Middle Ages? Not just the ‘celebrity’ news of Kings, Knights and Nobles, but the life of the villager or local merchant. Wonder no more! Toni Mount offers a look at the everyday Medieval life in her new book A Year in the Life of Medieval…
The search for King Harold’s remains will begin next week on the anniversary of his apparent death. Oval Films and Stratascan, the teams that discovered the remains of Richard III beneath a car park in 2012, will carry out the scan at Abbey Gardens in Waltham Abbey on Tuesday. The teams will search the area…
Journalist and author Ian Macgill found his writing passion traveling through the jungles of South America. As a young man Ian was awarded the Winston Churchill fellowship and traveled through South America studying ancient sites. His adventures in South America would make a great book as well! After his travels he returned to Britain and…
A skeleton found in Lewes is now believed to be the only recorded remains of someone killed in the Norman invasion of 1066. The skeleton of a man, known as 180, was found in a medieval cemetery when Western Road School was demolished in 1994. Radiocarbon dating places the man’s death to within 28 years…
Today marks the 947th anniversary of the Battle of Stamford Bridge. The battle pitted the forces of English King Harold Godwinson against the invading force of Norwegian King Harold Hardrada and the King’s own brother Tostig Godwinson. The battle was a decisive victory for England. But King Godwinson’s victory would be short lived. In three…
It is the most famous battle in British history, fought, as every schoolboy knows, in 1066 at a site now marked by Battle Abbey, near the town of Hastings. But while the date of the Battle of Hastings might still be universally accepted, the location has been called into question, with two experts proposing not…
With over 1 million apps in Apples App Store you think there would be hundreds of medieval apps. Sadly that\’s not the case. Most of the medieval themed apps fall into the game category. However there are a few that are educational. I have reviewed some of them for you on this site. Medieval travel,…
An artist from a village near Wincanton has recreated one of the world’s most renowned tapestries on a stunning glass dish. Frank Grenier, of North Cadbury, has recreated the famous Bayeux Tapestry which tells the tale of the Battle of Hastings, fought in 1066. Mr Grenier, who has been engraving professionally for 20 years, has…
Dan Snow, historian and award winning TV presenter takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to the Medieval Archives. Trained in the hallowed halls of Oxford University, Dan ventured into TV for a WWII Documentary and hasn’t looked back. His past medieval documentaries explored 1066 and The Battle of Hastings, Norman…
Today is the 945th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. We look at the year 1066, the death of King Edward the Confessor and the dispute over the throne of England. Harold Godwinson was crowned the new king of England. However, Harold Hardrada, Viking King of Norway and William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy both…
We have another guest post today. This time on Medieval Law. It is brought to you by Jonathan Arnold. Jonathan is a practicing attorney in California. He teaches law and is a legal historian. I would like to thank Jonathan for his contribution. Enjoy the article… ~The Archivist Some Medieval Law BY Jonathan Arnold, Esq….
Robbery, The Sun Times, gun fire and a thrilling ride through history from The Silk Road to the royal court of William The Conquerer. These are some of the themes author John Wright will touch at a reading and signing of his second novel Knight Harolde at the Downtown Bookstore Friday night. It’s the second…
The culmination of a pioneering international project which has uncovered new insights on Norman England is to be celebrated on Wednesday 10th November at 3.30pm at the University of Leicester. A new study of early medieval manuscripts written in the English language has revealed that the Normans, who conquered England in 1066, were not the…
A site which may house Britain’s earliest known hospital has been uncovered by archaeologists. Radio carbon analysis at the former Leper Hospital at St Mary Magdalen in Winchester, Hampshire, has provided a date range of AD 960-1030 for a series of burials, many exhibiting evidence of leprosy, on the site. A number of other artefacts,…
Jousting was a sport that originated in Medieval England and it was brutal. Two Knights in full armour on horseback would charge towards one another and would each try to impale the other with a long pointed lance. It was a very dangerous and thrilling sport but slowly over the years it faded away because…