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"Some particular books I found useful for A Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve mention...Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City, both by Joseph and Frances Gies." -George R.R. Martin, author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire Medieval history comes alive in Frances and Joseph Gies's Life in a Medieval City, used as a research resource by George R. R. Martin in creating the world of A Game of Thrones. Reissued for the first time in decades, Life in a Medieval City is the c...

'No one has done more than Michael Livingston to revive memories of the battle, and you could not hope for a better guide.' BERNARD CORNWELL Bestselling author of The Last Kingdom series Late in AD 937, four armies met in a place called Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side stood a remarkable alliance of rival kings - at least two from across the sea - who'd come together to destroy them once and for all. The stakes were no...

In medieval Europe, falconry was perhaps the most popular form of hunting among the aristocracy. Owning a falcon, and the necessary falconer to go with it, was a status symbol throughout the middle ages. This book is the first broad history of English royal falconry in medieval times, a book that draws on forty years of research to provide a full description of the actual practice and conditions of the sport and of the role of falconers in the English royal household. Robin S. Oggins begins wit...

The Great War produced many innovations, in particular the spectacular development by the British and French armies of motor transport. The age-old problem of moving soldiers and their supplies was no different in 1914 than it had been some 2,400 years ago, when the great Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu informed his readers that the further an army marched into enemy territory, the more the cost of transport increased, even to the point that more supplies were consumed by the transportation of...

Cnut, or Canute, is one of the great 'what ifs' of English history. The Dane who became King of England after a long period of Viking attacks and settlement, his reign could have permanently shifted eleventh-century England's rule to Scandinavia. Stretching his authority across the North Sea to become king of Denmark and Norway, and with close links to Ireland and an overlordship of Scotland, this formidable figure created a Viking Empire at least as plausible as the Anglo-Norman Empire t...

It is difficult to envision the Middle Ages without heraldry; knights and ladies are routinely depicted with elaborate arms gracing their shields and clothing. The herald himself is also pervasive in the popular imagination, as he announces the arrival of some grandee. Edited here for the first time are some of the texts which detail the relationship between heraldic design and working heralds. That relationship changed dramatically over the fifteenth century as heralds claimed the right to d...

Over three and a half centuries from the 880s to 1250, moneyers working in Winchester produced at the very least 24 million silver pennies. About five and a half thousand survive in national and local museums and private collections all over the world and have been sought out, photographed (some 3200 coins in 6400 images detailing both sides), and minutely catalogued by Yvonne Harvey for this volume. During the period from late in the reign of Alfred to the time of Henry III, dies for striking t...

When the Vikings attack, a novice monk's life is changed forever in Matthew Harffy's new historical adventure.Lindisfarne, AD793. There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site. It is 8th June AD 793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindi...

In the first volume of an exciting new series, bestselling author Alison Weir brings the dramatic reigns of England’s medieval queens to life. The lives of England’s medieval queens were packed with incident—love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and warfare—but their stories have been largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission. Now esteemed biographer Alison Weir provides a fresh perspective and restores these women to their rightful place in history. Spanning the years from the Norman...

The study of early medieval towns has frequently concentrated on urban beginnings, the search for broadly applicable definitions of urban characteristics and the chronological development of towns. Far less attention has been paid to the experience of living in towns. The thirteen chapters in this book bring together the current state of knowledge about Viking-Age towns (c. 800-1100) from both sides of the Irish Sea, focusing on everyday life in and around these emerging settlements. What was...

Styrkar the warrior sails to dangerous lands in this thrilling new historical adventure from Richard Cullen. The sequel to Oath Bound, longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2022. England, 1068: a land gripped in the iron fist of Frankish invaders. But the Conqueror does not sit easily on his fledgling throne. Rebellion is rife, and the flames of uprising have been ignited in every corner of the kingdom. Thrown back into this crucible is Styrkar the Dane, former housecarl of th...

Stratton, Biggleswade: 1,300 years of village life in eastern Bedfordshire from the 5th century AD presents the results of 12 hectares of archaeological excavation undertaken between 1990 and 2001. As well as uncovering roughly half of the medieval village, the investigations revealed that Stratton's origins stretched back to the early Anglo-Saxon period, with the settlement remaining in continuous use through to c. 1700. In contrast to many of the other major excavations of Anglo-Saxon settleme...

A fully illustrated edition of Lacroix's classic covering all aspects of everyday life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Over 400 original illustrations -- many full page. A fascinating, comprehensive, and accessible text by the Curator of the Imperial Library of the Arsenal, Paris.

The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure tells the story of the Staffordshire Hoard's discovery and acquisition, and the six-year research project that pieced its fragments back together, identified its objects and explored their manufacture. Key chapters discuss the decoration and meaning of the Hoard's intricate ornament, the techniques of Anglo-Saxon craftsmen, the religious and historical background, and hoarding practice in Britain and Europe, to place this most exceptional find in...

Deep in the heart of North Yorkshire, at a place called Walkington Wold, there lies a rather unusual burial ground, an Anglo-Saxon execution cemetery. Twelve skeletons were unearthed by archaeologists, ten without skulls, later examination of the skeletons revealed that their owners were all subjected to judicial execution by decapitation, one of which required several blows. Similar fates have befallen other wretched souls, the undignified burial of suicides - in the Middle Ages, the most prof...

Beliefs in the afterlife dominated the images, literature and liturgy of medieval church and society. In particular, the concept of purgatory – a penitential state where the soul was purged of sin and therefore able to attain eventual salvation – was a central element. Barring a life of extraordinary saintliness, most medieval people anticipated a long stay in purgatory. However, this time could be lessened through various strategies, including the organization of a range of memorial and commemo...