In Dan Jones’ book on the Plantagenets, he describes Richard II as the worst of the Plantagenet kings. Certainly, Richard II’s reign ended in disaster and civil war. It was also the case that Richard… Read More »The Legacy of Richard II – Monster or Misunderstood?
In this last article in my series on the legend of Robin Hood, I’ll try to answer the question I set out to investigate – was Robin an historic figure, or just a myth? In… Read More »Robin Hood Part 4 – The Real Robin Hood
On 4th September 476 CE, the barbarian warlord Odoacer deposed the boy Emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Convention has it that this act marked the end of the Roman Empire in the west. Odoacer would go on to… Read More »After Rome: The New Western Empire
Between 3 February and 4 June 1388, the so-called Merciless Parliament effectively stripped Richard II of power. The Parliament asserted that the 21-year-old monarch was too immature and too easily influenced by corrupt hangers-on to… Read More »The Tyranny of Richard II
In 1295 Marco Polo returned to Europe. Amongst the many remarkable stories of his adventures, the legend of the Assassins is perhaps the most extraordinary. A fanatical order Whilst travelling east, following the silk road… Read More »The Assassins and the Old Man of the Mountain
Who was Robin Hood? Was he a real person, or just a myth? Medieval accounts are surprisingly consistent in what they say about when Robin Hood lived. They all agree that Robin Hood was an… Read More »Robin Hood Part 3 – Rebel Turned Robber
In 476 CE the western Roman Empire fell. For places like Britain, the fall of Rome meant the fall of civilisation and the beginning of a dark age (which you can read about in our… Read More »After Rome – A New Persian Golden Age
It was the summer of 1377, and the old king was dead. His grandson, a boy of just 10 years old, succeeded him as Richard II. Richard’s reign would end with his violent overthrow and… Read More »The Wars of the Roses 2-Richard II, the Boy King
In 1859 Mary Ann Evans published her first novel under the pen name ‘George Elliot’. She used a pseudonym because she did not believe Victorian society would take women as writers seriously. In the early… Read More »Women in the 15th Century – A Tale of Three Margarets
Who was Robin Hood? In the first article of this series, I looked at one the more popular narratives about the historic Robin Hood. In it I explored the possibility that Robin lived at time… Read More »Robin Hood Part 2 – Robin Hood of Wakefield