In today’s lesson we are joined by author Wayne Bartlett to discuss Richard the Lionheart! Wayne’s new book Richard the Lionheart: The Crusader King of England is available through Amberley Publishing. It’s an excellent biography and the first biography of Richard the Lionheart in over 40 years! Wayne and I discuss Richard’s upbringing, the Crusades…
Women in the Middle Ages were docile, meek and subservient. Or at least that’s what we were led to believe. But that isn’t always the case. In previous lessons we looked at Black Agnes, the defender of Dunbar Castle and Melisende, the Queen of Jerusalem. Women like Joan of Arc, Isabella, the She-Wolf of France…
Defender of the City of God is a new book by award winning author Sharan Newman. It examines the First Crusade, the Crusader state of Jerusalem and Queen Melisande. Sharan also writes fiction novels based in the Middle Ages, including a series of Medieval mysteries. In this lesson we talk with Sharan about her background,…
Andreas Capellanus wrote De Amore, “About Love” in the 1180’s. Andreas Capellanus is a psuedonym, the author’s real identity isn’t known. De Amore is thought to categorize the socail and sexual life in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor brought the ideals of courtly love to the court of France and then to England…
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was the most powerful Crusader State in the Middle Ages. Melisende, the daughter of King Baldwin II, would rule Jerusalem after the death of her father. A power struggle with her husband, Fulk V, led to a divided Kingdom. Finally in 1143 she became the sole ruler of Jerusalem, but still…
Today we have a guest post by Susan Abernethy. Susan is the Freelance History Writer, covering topics from Ancient history to the 20th Century. Visit her blog at thefreelancehistorywriter.com. You can also like Susan on Facebook or follow Susan on Twitter. ~The Archivist By the time of reign of King Edward III of England, some…
It’s 2012! I hope you all had a safe and happy new year. We are kicking off the new year with an interview with Historical Fiction author Christy English. Christy is a writer of historical fiction centering on Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alais of France, and the Plantagenets of the 12th Century. Her latest book is…
Helen Castor’s very readable “She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth” is, she writes, “the kind of book I loved to read before history became my profession as well as my pleasure.” It’s full of beautiful, imperiled ladies; fearless knights; and remarkable, often unbelievable turns of fortune. Pause a moment if you feel this…
Medieval history is a fashionable but challenging period: the sources are often flimsy and obscure, yet modern readers have a craving for detail that is often absent from the prissy monkish chronicles of the time. The great challenge is to present the period’s subtle complexities without sacrificing historical authenticity. She-Wolves is a history of a…
Ah, the holidays. When family drama stemming from jealousy, favoritism, greed, and disputes over inheritance escalate into threats of civil war and patricide. Set in medieval Britain, The Lion in Winter, written by James Goldman and directed by Evan Parry, follows England’s King Henry II as he struggles to select his predecessor from his three…