Don’t believe the medieval battles you see on-screen….

Well, I for one always like a damned—um, darned—good medieval battle…at least, I do from the comfort of my nice modern sofa. No nasty blood and gore for me, and certainly no dreadful screams and horrible deaths with all sorts of innards spilling everywhere. Oh, no, not for my delicate modern self. So we delicate…

‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 4.)

It is not my purpose to describe the Glyndŵr Rising in detail. The story is far too complex to be contained within a blog post. The reader who is interested in the full tale would do well to consult (for example) The Revolt Of Owain Glyn Dŵr by R.R Davies, an excellent work. The initial…

William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke

William Herbert, otherwise ‘Black William’ was born in 1423, the son of Sir William ap Thomas ‘the Blue Knight of Gwent’ and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam the ‘Star of Abergavenny’. His main claim to fame is that he was the first Welshman to become an earl in the peerage of England, except for Henry VI’s…

The imposition of ransom….

    My latest target for research is the English garrison/bastion of Brest, on the coast of Brittany, specifically the final years of the 14th century before it was handed back to the Bretons. My interest had been aroused when reading Ducal Brittany 1364-1399, by Michael Jones. In it I learned of the practice of…

James I: Scotland’s Lancastrian King

Here is an excellent Gordon McKelvie article from History Extra about the king who was prisoner, hostage and then guest of the three Lancastrian kings, before marrying Henry V‘s cousin in Southwark Cathedral and going home to reign in person, heavily influenced in style by his former hosts, as the Stewarts of Albany and “Paul…