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
In 1491, a well-dressed young man appeared at the port of Cork in Ireland claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, son of Edward IV and rightful king of England. Over the next few years, he… Read More »Imposter or Pretender?
One of the most powerful and enduring legends in British culture is the story of King Arthur. Indeed, so captivating was this legend that Arthur’s story spread widely throughout medieval Europe. Not only British but… Read More »The Legend of King Arthur
By the mid-C15th Florence had become the centre of an artistic, architectural, philosophical, and scientific golden age we now call the Renaissance. And all this had happened under the stewardship of one man, Cosimo de’… Read More »The Medici – Part 2 – Machiavellian Intrigue
As the C15th dawned, the Renaissance was on the brink of transforming Europe forever. It was a revolution in art, culture, and learning. The old Medieval world was slowly disappearing. In its place, a new,… Read More »The Medici and the Italian Renaissance – Part 1
Modern British democracy was born in the medieval parliament. However, in their nascent form, early parliaments were very far from democratic. Indeed, originally, they weren’t even called ‘Parliament’. Instead, they began life as the… Read More »Parliament and the Birth of Democracy