Royal burial places

This post in the Times details the final resting place of every English and then British monarch since 1066, although Harold II (probably Waltham Abbey) is omitted. Note from the interactive map that there are four (plus the Empress Matilda) burials in France and one in Germany. There are none in Scotland, Wales, Ireland or…

Rebellion in the Middle Ages

This is the latest of Matthew Lewis’ books and covers a longer period than any of the others, from Hereward the Wake’s emergence after Hastings to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, almost as long a period as this book. Lewis is already an expert on “The Anarchy” (chapter 2) and the Roses…

The Empress and the Tower: A Daring Escape from Oxford Castle in 1142

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
Empress Matilda The Oxford Castle and Prison complex drips with history. Tracing it’s roots back to Anglo-Saxon England and the world of Viking raids and fortified burghs when towns like Oxford faced waves of violence and destruction; the castle has endured sieges, held political prisoners and undergone numerous adaptations…

Geoffrey of Monmouth, Oxford Castle and King Arthur

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
King Arthur at the beginning of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain BnF, Latin 8501A, f. 108v Geoffrey of Monmouth is thought to have been born between 1090 -1100 in Wales; possibly at Monmouth but no written evidence remains to verify this. Geoffrey also signed himself…

The White Ship

Here is a Daily Telegraph review of Charles, Earl Spencer‘s book about the sinking of the White Ship in 1120. It includes a lot of hypotheses based upon the survival of William the Atheling, the tenager who was Henry I‘s only surviving legitimate son but was the most prominent casualty of this maritime incident, arguably…

Gone Medieval Podcast

I’ve Gone Mediaeval. That may not be a surprise to most, but now you can come with me. I am co-hosting a new podcast from History Hit called Gone Mediaeval. I present an episode every Saturday, mostly covering the high and late medieval period. The other host is Dr Cat Jarman, a bioarchaeologist, who specialises…

Henry I is probably under a nursery school, and might be best left there….!

  There are kings…and there are admirable kings. I’m afraid that from what I’ve heard about Henry I, he’s best left where he is! My friend hoodedman has written: “….It’s funny how Henry is not regarded as a controversial king despite maybe being implicated in his brother’s death in the New Forest, kept another brother…

Further travels in enemy territory: Oxford

Oxford (Oxenford) is obviously a compact and historic city although visiting specific buildings at short notice is difficult at present. Christ Church Cathedral (England’s smallest for the largest diocese) and the Ashmolean Museum (currently organising a Rembrandt exhibition) were unbookable whilst the Pitt-Rivers Museum didn’t open until September. I went for the Bank Holiday weekend…

THE THREE HUNDRED YEARS WAR – Part 1: the Devil’s brood

Preface I conceived this article as a defence of King Henry V against the accusation that he was a war criminal. It became apparent, however, that my research was drawing me away from Henry’s campaigns towards a broader study of the origin and causes of the Hundred Years War. Soon, I was reading material going…

Another C12 female monarch

For nineteen years, as Matthew Lewis relates here, England was torn between Matilda, Henry I’s only surviving legitimate child, and Stephen of Blois, his nephew. She married Geoffrey of Anjou before their son Henry II succeeded her rival, but her position was difficult because of her gender. The concept of a “Queen Regnant” was unknown…