Medieval English

As Tudor England erupts following the death of Edward VI, can one young spy protect his queen? International best-selling author Sam Burnell takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason with this magnificent new epic, A Queen’s Spy. In 1553, England is torn apart by religious conflict. Power shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash testing friendship, loyalty, and brotherly love.

Pick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the periphery. This pioneering book tells a different story. Interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, Michael Gomez unveils a new vision of how categories of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste emerged in Africa and in global history.

At its height, the Order of the Knights Templar rivaled the kingdoms of Europe in military might, economic power, and political influence. For 700 years the tragic demise of this society of warrior-monks amid accusations of heresy has been plagued by controversy, in part because the transcript of their trial by the Inquisition - which held the key to the truth - had vanished.Templar historian Barbara Frale happened to be studying a document at the Vatican Secret Archives when she suddenly realized that it was none other than the long-lost transcript!

It's 1208 A.D. - Sir Cullen de Nerra is a knight's knight. The son of the Sheriff of Hampshire, Val de Nerra (Vestiges of Valor), Cullen has been heavily involved in the politics of William Marshal for many years, but never more involved than when the Marshal gifts his services to a powerful, but unpredictable, warlord, Preston de Lacy. De Lacy is a rich man with too much time on his hands and a great hatred for King John. Cullen’s task is to keep watch on de Lacy and pass information to William Marshal on his movements and actions.

Sylvia Townsend Warner’s The Corner That Held Them is a historical novel like no other, one that immerses the listener in the dailiness of history, rather than history as the given sequence of events that, in time, it comes to seem. Time ebbs and flows and characters come and go in this novel, set in the era of the Black Death, about a Benedictine convent of no great note. The nuns do their chores, seek to maintain and improve the fabric of their house and chapel, and struggle with each other and with themselves.

Gabriel “Gart” Forbes is the most powerful knight in the arsenal of David de Lohr, Baron Thornden, brother to the mighty Earl of Hereford. When Julian de Moyon, Baron Buckland, summons Thornden for critical support, Gart travels to Dunster Castle to meet with Buckland. Upon arrival, he is set upon by three young boys who try to rob him, all sons of Baron Buckland. Gart discovers that their mother, the Lady Emberley de Moyon, is the sister of his long-dead best friend.

Lady Nicola Aubrey-Thorne is the widow of a great Edwardian supporter. When Kenton conquers her home of Babylon Castle, she offers him nothing but resistance and hatred. Kenton sees a beautiful, spoiled woman who fights him on every turn, yet the spark of attraction is there. As Kenton comes to learn the darker secrets of Babylon, he comes to understand Lady Thorne and her sorrows. And his attraction toward her grows beyond his control.

He bears the name of de Russe, but the bloodlines of six great houses converge in the greatest knight England has yet seen. As the grandfather of Gaston de Russe, the dark one, Sir Bastien de Russe beholds a great and terrible legacy - one that makes him both the target and the leader, the hunter and the hunted. His story is the most powerful of all. Greatness and darkness abide in the man known as the beast.

Dark, sultry, with a hint of fire in his blood from his Visigoth ancestors and a spark in his eye that betray his killer instincts, Thorington “Thor” de Reyne is the son of the Earl of Ashington and one of the greatest knights England has ever seen. His talent is unmatched, so much so that the king himself has demanded Thor’s service.

Livingston argues that the English lens through which the war has been viewed has led historians to define it in terms of English interests (most famously, the claim of the English Plantagenet king Edward III to be the rightful king of France), and that the events collectively labelled the ‘Hundred Years War’ are best seen as a sequence of steps in France’s struggle to define itself as a nation. For much of the period, France’s primary rival was indeed England. But it was by no means the only combatant. Burgundy stood in its way, too, as did Brittany, Flanders, Navarre and other rival powers.

When Meg slips through time and into the arms of the last Prince of Wales, she must navigate the shifting allegiances that threaten the very existence of Wales–and create her own history that defies the laws of time.

Caius d'Avignon, the knight known as The Britannia Viper, finds himself on the opposite side of William Marshal...and the Executioner Knights are caught in the middle...Welcome to another Executioner Knights' tale! When Caius d’Avignon is sent north at the request of a cousin of William Marshal to help in a dispute between neighbors, Caius couldn’t have imagined how his life would change. When Caius goes to speak to the neighbors to demand their unconditional surrender, the first thing he sees is a woman of astounding beauty. Emelisse de Thorington is that woman.

1215 A.D. - Dashiell "Dash" du Reims is the eldest son of the Earl of East Anglia and a cousin to the great House of de Lohr. Much like his warring and politically-involved cousins, Dashiell is also waist-deep in the political turmoil that is sweeping England at this time. As the Captain of the Guard for the powerful, and senile, Duke of Savernake, his is in the middle of the baron's rebellion against the king.

Rhiann knows that demons walk the night. She has been taught to fear them. But from the moment Cade is dragged before her father's throne, beaten and having lost all of his men to her father's treachery, he stirs something inside her that she has never felt before. When Cade is revealed to be not only Arthur's heir but touched by the sidhe, Rhiann must choose between the life she left behind and the one before her - and how much she is willing to risk to follow her heart.

May, 1258 A.D. - Now, Simon de Montfort is amassing a parliament whereupon King Henry and Simon will all have equal representation. As the politics in this difficult time begin to gain speed, Maximus de Shera, the consummate warrior and middle brother of the de Shera brother trio, has something very unexpected happen to him. In the midst of the political turmoil, he finds love in the daughter of a de Montfort supporter.

1332 A.D. - As the premier commander for Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, when he commandeered the throne from a young Edward III, Sir Mathias de Reyne is the type of knight that all men aspire to be: fair, powerful, intelligent, and bold. Men on both sides of the Mortimer/Edward lines respect and admire de Reyne for his outstanding character, including Dragonblade himself, Tate de Lara.

Addax al-Kort was not born in England. As the heir to the throne of a defunct distant kingdom (near present day Pakistan), Addax came to England with a trade caravan when he was very young. He became a page for a powerful knight and worked his way through the ranks and protocols of Medieval England to become a full-fledged English knight serving William Marshal. Addax is part of the brotherhood of Executioner Knights serving the Marshal, but he has a great talent for the tournament circuit. Competing under a standard emblazoned with black dragon, he becomes quite rich.

A life of Matilda - empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages.

Back in his element, Kieran is determined to finish his mission of peace. He must return the crown of thorns to England. But the same assassins who tried to kill him the first time are after him again, patterns of life repeating themselves, and Kieran, now with Rory, finds himself back on the run. Over dry land and heavy seas, he and Rory flee the assassins, struggling to make their way back to England.

European Bloodlines unveils centuries of suppressed evidence gathered from monastery archives, court records, and family chronicles across medieval Europe. Stone combines rigorous historical research with genealogical detective work, tracing family trees through centuries of carefully hidden evidence. Each chapter presents authenticated testimonies, court documents, and family records that challenge our understanding of medieval European society.