English Medieval History

There is so much legend surrounding the Templars that it has become difficult to separate pure myths from history. This book will help you do just that. In 12 chapters, you will discover who these soldiers of Christ really were, why they were fighting, and how they came to be so rich and powerful. You will explore how and where they lived and their legacy. And finally, you will discover what happened after they disappeared, what their connection is to Freemasonry, and whether modern Templars walk among us. With 300 questions, this book will entertain you for hours and hours.

It wasn't long-ago that Britons could have been as at home in Varanasi as they could have been in Wolverhampton—why?—because the shape and location of Britain's land-mass has not always been the same, and with large parts of Britain scattered across the globe, British borders and its identity has always been on the move. But, by knowing more about the twelve pivotal moments that occurred over a 2,000-year period, we can not only gain a full sense of our British history, but we can also understand where we are heading.

A history of the colorful and complex kingdom of cosplay and fandom fashion by Andrew Liptak, journalist, historian, and member of the legendary fan-based Star Wars organization the 501st Legion. In recent years, cosplay—the practice of dressing up in costume as a character—has exploded...

Two different lives...Two different hopes...Only one will survive...Tanel, a quiet poet born into the battle-driven clan of Mil'chama. The heavily trained boy struggles to find his way, wishing for a more peaceful existence. Vinn, a young man tired of watching his people suffer because they’re ill-prepared to defend themselves. The warrior at heart has had enough and is ready to fight back. As the two stand on the opposing sides of the battlefield, face to face, one of these coming-of-age stories will have an early end. One will die at the hands of the other. The question is which?

Neil Gaiman is one of the most widely known writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He often attributes this eclecticism to his "compost heap" approach to writing, gathering inspiration from life, religion, literature, and mythology. Readers and listeners love to sink into Gaiman's medieval worlds—but what makes them "medieval"? Shiloh Carroll offers an introduction to the idea of medievalism, how the literature and culture of the Middle Ages have been reinterpreted and repurposed, and how the layers of interpretation have impacted Gaiman's own use of medieval material.

Recent research has revealed that the richest person of all time lived in the 14th century in West Africa and went by many names, including Kankan Musa Keita, Emir of Melle, Lord of the Mines of Wangara, Conqueror of Ghanata, and the Lion of Mali II, but today he is usually referred to as Mansa Musa. Adjusting his wealth to modern values, he was worth about an estimated $400 billion as the Sultan of ancient Mali, which controlled the trade routes across the Sahara Desert.

The medieval period has to be one of the most fascinating periods of history. With it comes the images of castles, knights, conquests, and, of course, kingdoms and empires. Every European empire and kingdom during this age is filled with exciting tales, shrewd plots for revenge or power, creation of a national identity enduring to the present day, and inventions with lasting influence.

From the Norman Conquest to the Battle of Bosworth Field - how Britain was invaded and became a nation. The first volume in the stunning four-volume Brief History of Britain series. From the Battle of Hastings to the Battle of Bosworth Field, Nicholas Vincent tells the story of how Britain was born. When William, Duke of Normandy, killed King Harold and seized the throne of England, England’s language, culture, politics, and law were transformed.

1326 was one of the most dramatic years in English history. The queen of England, Isabella of France, invaded the country with an army of mercenaries to destroy her husband's powerful and detested lover, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and brought down her husband, King Edward II, in the process.

King Richard II succeeded to the throne as a boy king at a particularly turbulent time in English history. A French invasion was imminent, the Scottish Marches were in chaos, and the fallout from the Black Death threatened to steamroll the entire socio-political system. By the end of his 22-year-long reign, unrest would still be a common theme. Throughout his kingship, Richard strove to restore the monarchy as he conceived it to its rightful place in the kingdom and establish an absolutist regime.

Step into the armour-clad world of one of history’s most iconic and misunderstood brotherhoods—the Knights Templar. In this compelling and richly detailed exploration, Korey Blathewick unpacks the rise, structure, and ultimate fall of an order that straddled the divine and the deadly. From humble origins guarding pilgrims on the treacherous roads to Jerusalem, the Templars swiftly rose to become elite warriors, international bankers, and spiritual exemplars—answerable only to the Pope and feared by kings.

The book covers the history of the Byzantine Empire from late antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. The author provides a comprehensive view of this great empire which was characterized by Orthodox Christianity, Greek culture and language, and Roman traditions.

What have a deaf nun, the mother of the first baby born to Europeans in North America, and a condemned heretic to do with one another? They are among the virtuous virgins, marvelous maidens, and fierce feminists of the Middle Ages who trail-blazed paths for women today. Focusing on women from Western Europe between c. 300 and 1500 CE in the medieval period and richly carpeted with detail, A Medieval Woman’s Companion offers a wealth of information about real medieval women who are now considered vital for understanding the Middle Ages in a full and nuanced way.

Classic stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters come to life in a stunning tableau of Norse myths, including those of the thunder god Thor, the one-eyed god and Allfather Odin, and the trickster god Loki. The lyrical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes the timeless tales of ancient Scandinavia.

Modern perceptions of Classical Greece are almost invariably based on Athens and Sparta, but there are perhaps few areas as consistently undervalued as the island of Rhodes. Although solidly part of the Greek world for as long as there has been one, Rhodes, located just off the coast of Asia Minor, was also from its earliest times a port opening to the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Rhodes was involved in every significant moment in ancient Greek history.

In Richard III’s Bodies from Medieval England to Modernity, Jeffrey Wilson tracks disability over 500 years, from Richard’s own manuscripts, early Tudor propaganda, and x-rays of sixteenth-century paintings through Shakespeare’s soliloquies, into Samuel Johnson’s editorial notes, the first play produced by an African American Theater company, Freudian psychoanalysis, and the rise of disability theater.

A World Unbroken explores an alternate history in which humanity never faced the devastation of plague. Through a series of deeply researched and humanized chapters, the book examines how uninterrupted population growth, stable communities, and the absence of mass mortality would have shaped every aspect of society, science, and culture.

The belief in lycanthropy is far older and more complex than most people suspect, dating all the way back to antiquity, and werewolves were once assumed to be very real. Indeed, people were even put on trial and executed because the courts of law were convinced they could change their form and kill innocent people. For thousands of years, werewolves have represented a strange and ancient tradition that still echoes through culture to this day.

The Despensers were a baronial English family who rose to great prominence in the reign of Edward II (1307-27) when Hugh Despenser the Younger became the king's chamberlain, favorite, and perhaps, lover. He and his father Hugh the Elder wielded great influence, and Hugh the Younger's greed and tyranny brought down a king for the first time in English history and almost destroyed his own family. The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family tells the story of the ups and downs of this fascinating family from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.

The Pastons were members of the English gentry, a group of roughly 1,000 households sandwiched between the ruling nobility and the peasants and a rough analog for the contemporary “middle class.” Their existence was fairly typical, except for the fact that it was recorded in an extraordinary collection of nearly 1,000 letters that have survived to this day. Through these letters, which cover the years from 1421 to 1484 and the lives of three generations of Pastons, historians Frances and Joseph Gies provide a rare window into the day-to-day life of this family.