Baptized in blood when the men of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Saracens in 1099, the kingdom defined an utterly new world, a place where enemies were neighbors and neighbors became enemies.At the helm of this growing kingdom sits young Baldwin IV, an intelligent and courageous boy committed to the welfare and protection of his people. But despite Baldwin's dedication to his land, he is afflicted with leprosy at an early age, and the threats against his power and his health nearly outweigh the risk of battle. As political deception scours the halls of the royal court, the Muslim army, led by the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin, is never far from the kingdom's doorstep, and there are only a handful of people Baldwin can trust, including the legendary archbishop William of Tyre and Lord Balian d'Ibelin, a charismatic leader who has been one of the few to maintain the peace.Filled with drama and battle, tragedy and romance, Sharon Kay Penman's latest novel brings a definitive period of history vividly alive with a tale of power and glory that will resonate with readers today.

    But when the Norse invaded Argyll and the Isles, his family’s fortunes fell with those of his people. All hope seemed lost when he rose from the mists of Morvern to rally the Gaels, the Scots and the Irish.Sweeping across Argyll and the Isles like a fast-moving storm, brilliant in strategy and fearless in battle, Somerled began retaking his ancestral lands, driving away the invaders and freeing the people from the Norse stranglehold. In doing so, he would win the title Somerle Mor, Somerled the Mighty, Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne and, eventually, Lord of the Isles.This is the unforgettable story of his path to victory that forged the Kingdom of the Isles and won him the heart of a Norse king’s daughter.

    The headlines: orphaned as a child, Duchess in her own right, Queen of France, crusader, survivor of a terrible battle, kidnapped by her own husband, kidnapped by pirates, divorced for barrenness, Countess of Anjou, Queen of England, mother of at least five sons and five daughters, rebel against her own husband, prisoner for 15 years, ruler of England in her own right, traveler across the Pyrenees and Alps in winter in her seventies, and mentor to the most remarkable Queen medieval France was to know (her own granddaughter, obviously). Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life has also been subjected to successive reinventions over the years, with the facts often losing the battle with speculation and wishful thinking. In this biography Sara Cockerill has gone back to the primary sources, and the wealth of recent first rate scholarship, and assessed which of the claims about Eleanor can be sustained on the evidence. The result is a complete re-evaluation of this remarkable woman’s even more remarkable life. A number of often repeated myths are debunked and a fresh version of Eleanor emerges. In addition Sara Cockerill has added her own research, breaking new ground on Eleanor’s relationship with the Church, her supposed antipathy to Thomas Becket and her relationships with all of her children, including her family by her first marriage.

    Royal Seals is an introduction to the seals of the kings and queens of England, Scotland and latterly the United Kingdom, as well as the Church and nobility.Ranging from Medieval times to modern day, it uses images of impressive wax seals held at The National Archives to show the historical importance of these beautiful works of art.Included are features on the great seals of famous monarchs like Richard III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and twentieth-century monarchs, as well as insights on the role of seals in treaties and foreign policy.With ecclesiastical seals and those of the nobility and lower orders included, this is a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated guide.