President Harrison’s mansion has a huge collection of presidential signatures and some surprisingly funny frontier art, but I was surprised at what the tour left out.
Author Archives: Brandon Michael Bender
The Rock Formations of Kansas
Kansas is likely stuck with its reputation for flatness. That said, the state is full of hidden badlands, rock formations, and other interesting features.
The Many Deaths of Swein Forkbeard
In a literary sense, the Danish conqueror of England died many deaths: accounts range from an old man dying in his bed to supernatural intervention by a vengeful saint.
A Son of King Harold I? The Case of “Alboynus Son of King Heroldus”
Why was an obscure Englishman in southern France described as the son of an English king?
Emma of Normandy: A Resilient Queen
The deaths of both husbands, multiple exiles, multiple conquests, hostile children and step-children – you name it, Emma survived it, sometimes coming back stronger than before.
King Cnut’s Awkward Family Gathering? A Look at the Thorney Abbey Liber Vitae
Did Cnut the Great attend a large gathering with each rival side of his royal family — including both of his wives?
The Death and Exhumation of Harold Harefoot
Perhaps no royal body suffered a fate worse than that of Harold I, otherwise known as Harold Harefoot. Harold died on this day (March 17th) in 1040. His body was exhumed several months after his death and, depending on which source you consult, was thrown into a fen, thrown into the Thames, publicly beheaded, or some combination of these.
Edgar the Ætheling: A Case Study in Medieval Exile
After 1066, Edgar was an exile, a diplomat, a solider, a kingmaker, a pilgrim, a prisoner, and more.
New Publication! Æthelred the Unready and William of Malmesbury
Is there any hope for Æthelred in mass media, or is he doomed to play the fool forever?
My First Citation
A couple milestones: my book has been cited in an academic journal for the first time; this is also the first time I’ve been mentioned in another author’s acknowledgments. Considering that 80% of academic writing in the humanities is never cited, not even once, I’m very fortunate. It’s mentioned in an article in The ArchaeologicalContinue reading “My First Citation”
Brandon M. Bender 