What people read can tell us much about their culture. Books may not always reflect a truthful picture of the culture that values them. They nevertheless tell us much about what that culture values. … Read More »Books that Shaped Medieval England
If you asked someone in Elizabethan England to explain what a witch was, you would receive a very clear and familiar description. Witches were, as everyone at that time knew, devil worshipping practitioners of black… Read More »Witchcraft in the Middle Ages
In late August 1422 Henry V lay on his deathbed at the Château de Vincennes in France. He was dying at the height of his powers at the age of just 35. He would leave behind… Read More »The Legacy of Henry V and the Infant King
Henry V’s victory at Agincourt in 1415 dealt a major blow to his French enemies. However, the war in France was very far from won. In this article, we’ll look at how Henry V sought… Read More »Henry V: The Scourge of God
Our medieval forebears celebrated the Christmas period with a full twelve days of festivities. Some of the festivities would be very familiar to us today but other traditions have long since died out. Indeed, some… Read More »The Twelve Days of Medieval Christmas
In 1415, Henry V had begun his campaign to claim the French throne by taking Harfleur. However, his army suffered significant losses, not because of the fighting but from a virulent epidemic of dysentery. Instead… Read More »The Battle of Agincourt
On 13th August 1415 a large fleet of English ships landed near Harfleur in Normandy. The fleet was carrying Henry V and his army. His stated purpose was to claim the French throne. After an… Read More »Henry V: The Invasion of France
During the Middle Ages London was, as it is today, the vibrant, cosmopolitan capital of England. It dwarfed all other English urban centres. In 1377, the year Richard II became king, it had an estimated… Read More »Medieval London
These days we are all too familiar with Halloween in its modern form. A night of trick or treating, dressing up as ghosts and ghouls, carving jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins. Hanging up cardboard silhouettes of witches’… Read More »Halloween in the Middle Ages
In the early autumn of 1386, Henry Bolingbroke had cause for celebration. His beloved wife Mary had just given birth to his first son at Monmouth Castle in Wales. For this reason, the boy would… Read More »The Making of Henry V