It tells the story of a great cattle-raid, the invasion of Ulster by the armies of Medb and Ailill, queen and king of Connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great Brown Bull of Cúailnge. The hero of the tale is Cúchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who resists the invaders single-handed, while Ulster's warriors lie sick.Thomas Kinsella's presents a complete and living version of the story. His translation is based on the partial texts in two medieval manuscripts, with elements from other version, and adds a group of related stories which prepare for the action of the Táin. Illustrated with brush drawings by Louis le Brocquy, this edition provides a combination of medieval epic and modern art.

    3 wild lasses. Thousands of readers. A must-read box set. Deception, combat, and desire await you in this boxset starring some of the most formidable men and impassioned ladies the Scottish Highlands has ever seen. Each story transports you into the world of the Medieval Scottish Highlands--an unforgettable land of lush, verdant hills, babbling burns, and the sweet scent of heather. There you will be enraptured by 3 irresistible and exhilarating love stories like no other with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after to leave you satisfied.This insatiable boxset includes:Highlander's Fate - Feisty and beautiful Alexa Montgomery swore never to let a man conquer her. Little does she know that from a ship coming from across the sea could alter her destiny forever.Highlander's Secret Nun - Handsome Gregor Carmichael committed himself to the life of monkhood but struggles to avoid the sins of the flesh. Yet, when a beautiful, out-of-place nun is thrown into his path, Gregor may find that the one place he believed to be safe from temptation could be his very undoing.Highlander's Imprisoned Love - The young beauty Kyla Montgomery has dreamed of finding true love for as long as she can remember. However, never once did she expect to find it hiding in the dungeon of the barbarians who kidnapped her. "Highlanders To Lust For" has over 240,000 words packed with romance, action, and emotion set on the beautiful backdrop of the Scottish Highlands.

    story of an abandoned love, who after making her life in Italy, goes back to the UK to re-make her life there teaching Italian

    Emma is a must-read for fans of Patricia Scanlan and Cathy Kelly. 'A writer who understands exactly how women think' Cathy Kelly Tess can't quite believe her luck - she's marrying Marco, the man of her dreams, in an exquisite traditional Italian wedding, surrounded by her adoring family. But when an ex puts in an unexpected appearance in Rome, Tess is instantly taken back to glorious Huntersbrook House and the warmth and joy of the Craig family. Memories she thought she had long-buried and left behind in Ireland suddenly resurface at the worst possible moment. Forced to face both her past and future on the evening of the rehearsal dinner, Tess is thrown into turmoil. Which man - and moment - will win out? From Rome to the Irish seaside town of Caracove Bay... Don't miss Emma's sublime novel The Summer Guest.

    His job bores him and his love is unrequited. Very few people pay attention to Michael, and that suits him fine. Then one day, he finds himself the winner of the largest lottery in the history of Europe – €190,000,000! Under the weight of his new found wealth and fame, Michael’s life spirals out of control until he is forced to make a decision. A decision that will capture the imagination of the entire world…

    The Albingenses believed that the world was created by an evil spirit, and that all worldly things - including the Church - were by nature sinful.Jonathan Sumption's acclaimed history examines the roots of the heresy, the uniquely rich culture of the region which nurtured it, and the crusade launched against it by the Church which resulted in one of the most savage of all medieval wars.'[Sumption] never fails to keep his narrative lively with the particular and the pertinent. He is excellent on the tactics and spirit of medieval warfare.' Frederic Raphael, Sunday Times

    Hela has powers too strong for a child – both to feel the pain of those around her and to heal them. But when she is given a mysterious cup by a slave woman, its powers overtake her life, forcing her into a vow she cannot hope to keep. Trapped by her vow, Hela loses one chance after another to love and be loved. Meanwhile in her household a child is growing into a woman who will become famous throughout the Muslim world. So begins a quartet of historical novels set in Morocco as the Almoravid Dynasty sweeps across Northern Africa and Spain, creating a Muslim Empire that endured for generations.

    A member of one of the leading Norman families involved in the invasion of Ireland, he first visited there in 1183 and later returned in the entourage of Henry II. The resulting Topographia Hiberniae is an extraordinary account of his travels. Here he describes landscapes, fish, birds and animals; recounts the history of Ireland's rulers; and tells fantastical stories of magic wells and deadly whirlpools, strange creatures and evil spirits. Written from the point of view of an invader and reformer, this work has been rightly criticized for its portrait of a primitive land, yet it is also one of the most important sources for what is known of Ireland during the Middle Ages.

    With a wealth of fascinating detail, Riley-Smith brings to life these stirring expeditions to the Holy Land and the politics and personalities behind them. This new edition includes revisions throughout as well as a new Preface and Afterword in which Jonathan Riley-Smith surveys recent developments in the field and examines responses to the Crusades in different periods, from the Romantics to the Islamic world today.  From reviews of the first edition:   “Everything is here: the crusades to the Holy Land, and against the Albigensians, the Moors, the pagans in Eastern Europe, the Turks, and the enemies of the popes. Riley-Smith writes a beautiful, lucid prose, . . . [and his book] is packed with facts and action.”—Choice“A concise, clearly written synthesis . . . by one of the leading historians of the crusading movement. ”—Robert S. Gottfried, Historian “A lively and flowing narrative [with] an enormous cast of characters that is not a mere catalog but a history. . . . A remarkable achievement.”—Thomas E. Morrissey, Church History“Superb.”—Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Speculum“A first-rate one-volume survey of the Crusading movement from 1074 . . . to 1798.”—Southwest Catholic

    By creating a single-volume sourcebook of core Christian stories, Jacobus de Voragine (c. 1229-98) attracted a huge audience across Europe. This selection of over seventy biographies ranges from the first Apostles and Roman martyrs to near-contemporaries such as St Dominic, St Francis of Assissi and St Elizabeth of Hungary. Here, witnesses to the true faith endure horrific tortures; reformed prostitutes win divine forgiveness; while other women live disguised as monks or nobly resist lustful tyrants. Lucid and compelling, The Golden Legend offers an enthralling insight into the medieval mind.

    Rotting in prison, condemned as a heretic, Knight Templar Richard Savage is given a chance of reprieve if he returns to his homeland of Ireland. There is a catch: He must work as a spy for King Edward of England. Scotland and England are at war. The Scots intend to invade Ireland and someone in Ireland is helping them. Savage returns to a land where he cannot be sure who to trust. Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, is said to possess a mysterious treasure, and many are flocking to his cause. Efficient, brutal killers are on the loose and in the middle of it all is Alys de Logan, Savage's former love who he abandoned to join the Templars, who some say has become a witch. Amid feasts, tournaments and war, Savage discovers he left more than just memories behind in Ireland. Can he decide whose side he in on, where Bruce's secret treasure is and above all, stay alive?

    Southern describes the chief forms of social, political & religious organization.

    Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly recreates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians--from the zealous Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II. Drawing together the many strands of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and ranging widely across Europe and the New World, MacCulloch reveals as never before how these dramatic upheavals affected everyday lives--overturning ideas of love, sex, death, and the supernatural, and shaping the modern age.

    And since medieval Europe was the cradle of modern Western society, this work is vital for understanding our world and how it came into being.

    The adjective 'medieval' has become a synonym for brutality and uncivilized behavior. Yet without the work of medieval scholars there could have been no Galileo, no Newton and no Scientific Revolution. In God's Philosophers, James Hannam debunks many of the myths about the Middle Ages, showing that medieval people did not think the earth is flat, nor did Columbus 'prove' that it is a sphere; the Inquisition burnt nobody for their science nor was Copernicus afraid of persecution; no Pope tried to ban human dissection or the number zero. God's Philosophers is a celebration of the forgotten scientific achievements of the Middle Ages - advances which were often made thanks to, rather than in spite of, the influence of Christianity and Islam. Decisive progress was also made in technology: spectacles and the mechanical clock, for instance, were both invented in thirteenth-century Europe. Charting an epic journey through six centuries of history, God's Philosophers brings back to light the discoveries of neglected geniuses like John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Thomas Bradwardine, as well as putting into context the contributions of more familiar figures like Roger Bacon, William of Ockham and Saint Thomas Aquinas.