Best of
Middle-Ages

2020

The Land Beyond the Sea


Sharon Kay Penman - 2020
    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.

The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream


Charles Spencer - 2020
    Here, Sunday Times bestselling author Charles Spencer tells the real story behind the legend to show how one cataclysmic shipwreck changed England’s course.In 1120, the White Ship was known as the fastest ship afloat. When it sank sailing from Normandy to England it was carrying aboard the only legitimate heir to King Henry I, William of Ætheling. The raucous, arrogant young prince had made a party of the voyage, carousing with his companions and pushing wine into the eager hands of the crew. It was the middle of the night when the drunken helmsman rammed the ship into rocks.The next day only one of the three hundred who had boarded the ship was alive to describe the horrors of the slow shipwreck. William, the face of England’s future had drowned along with scores of the social elite. The royal line severed and with no obvious heir to the crown, a civil war of untold violence erupted. Known fittingly as ‘The Anarchy’, this game of thrones saw families turned in on each other, with English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders and Scottish invaders all playing a part in the bloody, desperate scrum for power.One incredible shipwreck and two decades of violent uncertainty; England’s course had changed forever.

Henry III: The Rise to Power and Personal Rule, 1207-1258


David Arscott Carpenter - 2020
    Pacific, conciliatory, and deeply religious, Henry brought many years of peace to England and rebuilt Westminster Abbey in honor of his patron saint, Edward the Confessor. He poured money into embellishing his palaces and creating a magnificent court. Yet this investment in "soft power" did not prevent a great revolution in 1258, led by Simon de Montfort, ending Henry's personal rule. Eminent historian David Carpenter brings to life Henry's character and reign as never before. Using source material of unparalleled richness—material that makes it possible to get closer to Henry than any other medieval monarch—Carpenter stresses the king’s achievements as well as his failures while offering an entirely new perspective on the intimate connections between medieval politics and religion.

The Devil's Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past


Amy S. Kaufman - 2020
    Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant examine the many ways in which the medieval past has been manipulated to promote discrimination, oppression, and murder. Tracing the fetish for "medieval times" behind toxic ideologies like nationalism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and white supremacy, Kaufman and Sturtevant show us how the Middle Ages have been twisted for political purposes in every century that followed. The Devil's Historians casts aside the myth of an oppressive, patriarchal medieval monoculture and reveals a medieval world not often shown in popular culture: one that is diverse, thriving, courageous, compelling, and complex.

Blood Royal: Dynastic Politics in Medieval Europe


Robert Bartlett - 2020
    This meant power was in the hands of a family - a dynasty; that politics was family politics; and political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling family. How did the dynastic system cope with female rule, or pretenders to the throne? How did dynasties use names, the numbering of rulers and the visual display of heraldry to express their identity? And why did some royal families survive and thrive, while others did not? Drawing on a rich and memorable body of sources, this engaging and original history of dynastic power in Latin Christendom and Byzantium explores the role played by family dynamics and family consciousness in the politics of the royal and imperial dynasties of Europe. From royal marriages and the birth of sons, to female sovereigns, mistresses and wicked uncles, Robert Bartlett makes enthralling sense of the complex web of internal rivalries and loyalties of the ruling dynasties and casts fresh light on an essential feature of the medieval world.

Alina: A Song For the Telling


Malve von Hassell - 2020
    Although written for middle grade/young adult, this timeless and classic tale will be enjoyed by readers of all ages, especially those who enjoy books like Anne of Green Gables or Little Women.“You should be grateful, my girl. You have no dowry, and I am doing everything I can to get you settled. You are hardly any man’s dream.” Alina’s brother, Milos, pulled his face into a perfect copy of Aunt Marci’s sour expression, primly pursing his mouth. He had got her querulous tone just right. Maybe Alina’s aunt was right. She could not possibly hope to become a musician, a trobairitz—impoverished as she was and without the status of a good marriage. But Alina refuses to accept the life her aunt wants to impose on her. At the first opportunity that presents itself, Alina and her brother embark on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to escape from their aunt’s and uncle’s strictures. Their journey east takes them through the Byzantine Empire all the way to Jerusalem, where Alina discovers her passion and finds her voice.

Uncovering the Merchant's Secret


Elisabeth Hobbes - 2020
    As he recovers in her castle, passion flares between them. Jack’s fascinated by her independence and courage but, discovering his identity is not what it seems, Jack must first uncover the secrets of his own past, if they’re to have a future together…

The Crusades and Silk Road: A Captivating Guide to Religious Wars During the Middle Ages and an Ancient Network of Trade Routes


Captivating History - 2020
    Here are just some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book:The First Crusade (1095–1099) –The Pope Calls the Faithful to ArmsThe Armies of the First Crusade Engage with the EnemyThe Aftermath of the First CrusadeThe Second Crusade (1147–1149) The Beginnings of the Kingdom of JerusalemThe Third Crusade (1189–1192) – The King’s CrusadeThe Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) – The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Children’s CrusadeThe Fifth Crusade (1217–1221)The Sixth Crusade (1228) – The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Takes the CrossThe Seventh Crusade (1248–1254)The Eighth Crusade (1270)And much, much more!Here are just some of the topics covered in part 2 of this book:Rome, Silk, and Ancient GeographyHan Silk Production and TradeThe Kingdom of LoulanBuddhists along the Silk RoadTurfan: An Oasis on the Silk RoadThe Legend of Prester JohnGenghis Khan, Ruler of the Whole WorldThe Lord of Xanadu, Kublai Khan: The Emperor of ChinaMarco Polo Visits Kublai Khan’s ChinaThe Final Years of Kublai KhanAnd much, much more!

Rebellion Against Henry III: The Disinherited Montfortians, 1265-1274


David Pilling - 2020
    In the aftermath of the battle, Henry III's decision to disinherit all the surviving Montfortians served to prolong the war for another two years. Hundreds of landless men took up arms again to defend their land and property: the redistribution of estates in the wake of Evesham occurred on a massive scale, as lands were either granted away by the king or simply taken by his supporters._The Disinherited_, as they were known, defied the might of the Crown longer than anyone could have reasonably expected. They were scattered, outnumbered and out-resourced, with no real unifying figure after the death of Earl Simon, and suffered a number of heavy defeats. Despite all their problems and setbacks, they succeeded in forcing the king into a compromise. The Dictum of Kenilworth, published in 1266, acknowledged that Henry could not hope to defeat the Disinherited via military force alone.The purely military aspects of the revolt, including effective use of guerilla-type warfare and major actions such as the battle of Chesterfield, the siege of Kenilworth and the capture of London, will all be featured. Charismatic rebel leaders such as Robert de Ferrers, the 'wild and flighty' Earl of Derby, Sir John de Eyvill, 'the bold D'Eyvill' and others such as Sir Adam de Gurdon, David of Uffington and Baldwin Wake all receive a proper appraisal.

The Dark Sorceress


Tracey Mayhew - 2020
    Sent from her beloved home of Tintagel, she spends the next eight years in a nunnery. There Morgan's dark powers grow alongside her hatred, restrained only by the teachings of the secretive Iona. Until a surprising letter arrives, and with it the chance for revenge.About The Legends of King Arthur Series:Epic battles, thrilling quests and forbidden love combine in the medieval story of the boy who would be king. A retelling of the Arthurian legends, adapted and illustrated to introduce children aged 7+ to classic folklore. Great to share aloud, just like the original tales.

Politics and Government in Byzantium: The Rise and Fall of the Bureaucrats


Jonathan Shea - 2020
    At its start Byzantium was the paramount power in the Mediterranean world, by turns feared, respected and admired. By the century's close the empire had lost half of its territory and had managed only a partial recovery under the leadership of the Komnenos family. How did a powerful and famously wealthy empire collapse so quickly? The contemporary accounts of this turbulent 'long' century (taken here as c. 950–1100) attribute the empire's decline to the emperors' reckless and self-serving favouring of civilian bureaucrats and, while these sources are today widely acknowledged as biased and unreliable, modern assessments of the century have hitherto failed to suggest any tangible alternatives. To circumvent this dearth of archival material, Jonathan Shea has meticulously analysed 2,200 unpublished seals from the period (more than a third of the known total extant today) to uncover exactly whom the emperors were favouring and promoting, as well as developing a nuanced and revealing picture of the makeup of the much-chastised civilian bureaucracy. The sigillographic evidence is throughout measured against the written material to give a fresh account of this key transitional century and a rare insight into Byzantine politics.

The Sword in the Stone - The Legends of King Arthur: Merlin, Magic, and Dragons (Easy Classics) - for children 7+ (The Legends of King Arthur: Merlin, Magic and Dragons Book 3)


Tracey Mayhew - 2020
    

The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300-1700


Jennifer M. Rampling - 2020
    Who would not be amazed to see base metals turned into silver and gold, hard iron into soft water, and deadly poison into elixirs that could heal the human body? To defend such claims, alchemists turned to the past, scouring ancient books for evidence of a lost alchemical heritage and seeking to translate their secret language and obscure imagery into replicable, practical effects. Tracing the development of alchemy in England over four hundred years, from the beginning of the fourteenth century to the end of the seventeenth, Jennifer M. Rampling illuminates the role of alchemical reading and experimental practice in the broader context of national and scientific history. Using new manuscript sources, she shows how practitioners like George Ripley, John Dee, and Edward Kelley, as well as many previously unknown alchemists, devised new practical approaches to alchemy while seeking the support of English monarchs. By reconstructing their alchemical ideas, practices, and disputes, Rampling reveals how English alchemy was continually reinvented over the space of four centuries, resulting in changes to the science itself. In so doing, The Experimental Fire bridges the intellectual history of chemistry and the wider worlds of early modern patronage, medicine, and science.