Now and again I correspond with Professor David Crouch, senior lecturer in history at the University of Hull and expert bar none on the life and times of William Marshal, practitioner of chivalry, knight, baron, magnate and regent par excellence of the 12th and early 13th century. Back in the 2004 when I was […]
Find out moreI am thrilled to reveal to you, fresh from the designer’s desk, the UK hardcover for THE AUTUMN THRONE, the concluding part of my trilogy about Alienor of Aquitaine. I absolutely LOVE the sumptuous autumnal colours and the rich feel they give to the jacket. I think the subtle background design is fabulous too. […]
Find out moreThis is being added to my ongoing research concerning John Marshal. It’s a rather dry piece of legal speak concerned with a land grant, but it’s interesting that John advised the young woman concerned in the dispute. It’s also interesting to note the involvement on the sidelines of William Martel who was one of Stephen’s […]
Find out moreI confess that before I read Thomas Asbridge’s “THE GREATEST KNIGHT”, I was already curious about this new biography of William Marshal. The lives of John FitzGilbert the Marshal and his son William are a lifelong study subject for me and I’ve read everything about them I can get my hands on. Since this […]
Find out moreActually this is Sunday but I ran out of time yesterday! This is from an itinerary of Henry I gathered together from calenders of documents, pipe rolls etc and published in 1919 by William Farrer. In 1130 King Henry I visited Woodstock and the sheriff of Oxford, possibly Robert D’Oilli added entered these […]
Find out morePRIMARY SOURCE SATURDAY Where I post a primary source in translation. Today this is from my current research reading. William of Tyre’s ‘A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea’ Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum. It’s a history of the Middle East in the period of the crusades. William of Tyre was a tutor […]
Find out moreOne of the notorious players in Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life story is her paternal uncle Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch. His notoriety is caused not least by the rumours of an affair between him and his niece when she visited him in his city during the second crusade. We don’t have a solid […]
Find out moreODO OF DEUIL, chaplain of Louis VII, writing of Constantinople during the second crusade – mid 12th century. “Constantinople, the glory of the Greeks, rich in renown and richer still in possessions, is laid out in a triangle shaped like a ship’s sail. In its inner angle stands Santa Sophia and Constantine’s palace in […]
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