Medieval English

For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region's complex history. As The Mongol Storm reveals, during the same era the Near East was utterly remade by another series of wars: the Mongol invasions. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region's geopolitics. This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.

The year is A.D. 1333. At the conclusion of the English victory of Halidon Hill, King Edward appoints Stephen of Pembury the Guardian Protector of the newly captured city of Berwick. To cement this victory, he orders Stephen to marry the defeated Scottish commander's daughter, the Lady Joselyn de Velt Seton. In a marriage meant to symbolize the English domination over the Scots, Stephen is nonetheless attracted to his new bride; a petite, raven-haired beauty with pale blue eyes. Joselyn is a lady with a horrific past and dark secrets of abuse.

Eadric, a bladesmith from the east, stands at a crossroads. Honor the late king’s cryptic command, and risk dying at the hands of the nobility, or stay silent in a world where good men do nothing and watch his kingdom burn at the hands of the invader. Against the backdrop of an encroaching enemy and internal betrayal, Eadric’s quest becomes a profound exploration of faith and forgiveness, as he searches for men to wield his blades before it’s too late.

AD 1380. The great-grandson of the legendary William de Wolfe is not as his family had hoped; although a man of legendary skill and strength like his great-grandfather, Gates de Wolfe is something of a legendary rake as well. A man with an eye for women, he has left a string of broken hearts all across England and rumors of at least two bastards, possibly more. But Gates is also a man of humor, charm, and great charisma, making it difficult for women to resist him and making it even more difficult for men to despise him, because he is such a likable character.

Duty-bound to seek revenge, Broderick MacConnaway, son of the Thane of Dunkeld, lives haunted by memories of his lost wife, Aisling. Forming an alliance with the Lochlann family presents its own trials, but if the marriage allows him to fulfill his vengeance, then so be it. Even if the guilt over Aisling prevents him from ever loving again.... But when sinister intentions surface and Amabel is captured before she has a chance to reveal them, Broderick is forced to see past the deceptions and begin another campaign of vengeance.

A traveling merchant’s death heralds a series of grim mishaps at Salisbury Castle. Ela suspects a plot to discredit her as sheriff. Can she solve the murder and save her reputation, or will she be the next victim?

Widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, this history brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where, for more than seven centuries, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and literature, science, and the arts flourished.

A reckless princess. An enemy kingdom. And a mistake that could cost her everything.

1135, England: Matilda, daughter of Henry I, knows that there are those who will not accept her as England's queen when her father dies. But the men who support her rival, and cousin, Stephen do not know the iron will that drives her. She will win her inheritance against all odds, and despite all men. Adeliza, Henry's widowed queen and Matilda's stepmother, is now married to a warrior who is fighting to keep Matilda off the throne. But Adeliza knows that Britain's crown belongs to a woman this time. Both women will stand and fight for what they know is right for England's royalty.

Kidnapped while journeying with her maid, Morven, Louise McGregor finds herself the prisoner of the charming rogue Colin McKay. As she waits for her father to answer Colin’s demand for ransom, she begins to see there is more to her captor than meets the eye. The threat of war looms between the McGregors and the Ross clan, but will Louise’s father get to her in time, or will Colin sell her to the highest bidder?

Just like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love, and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different from our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or where the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule.

Medieval knights were like armoured tanks in combat. They often made quick work of their enemies. They may not have realized it, but they owed their success to science. Learn how science helped medieval knights win victory!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in collaboration with his friend, William Wordsworth, revolutionized English poetry. In 1798 they produced their Lyrical Ballads, poems of imagination and reflection using "the language of men" - pointing the way forward for a generation of Romantic poets.

The 14th century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.

We live in an era rife with cultural conflict. The 21st century is by no means free of wars, terrorism, riots, famine, nor epidemics. We may attempt to solve the challenges of our times by uniting the humanistic disciplines of philosophy, science, and technology. Our modern reality requires a fundamental understanding of the problems beleaguering our existence. Science and literature are key tools for gaining this insight. The wisdom accumulated throughout the centuries by scientists, philosophers, and writers is a solid foundation on which modern man can build the future.

For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.

From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "100 years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. Desmond Seward's critically acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.

The place will be of their choosing. The time will be of their choosing. But the Indians will have their vengeance. 1025 CE, India. Mahmud of Ghazni believes he has crushed the spirit of Bharat—the Shiva Linga at the Somnath temple lies shattered and thousands are dead. Mahmud of Ghazni believes he has crushed the spirit of Bharat—the Shiva Linga at the Somnath temple lies shattered and thousands are dead. But among the ashes of destruction, an oath is taken.

New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson beautifully re-imagines The Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm into a medieval tale of adventure, loss, and love. "When it comes to happily-ever-afters, Melanie Dickerson is the undisputed queen of fairy-tale romance, and all I can say is--long...

After inheriting his title from his brother, the new margrave has two weeks to find a noble bride. What will happen when he learns he has fallen for a servant girl in disguise? The Margrave of Thornbeck is under orders from the king to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who...