My second book, The Viking Conquest of England: How Danish Monarchs Ruled from 1013-1042 (published by Pen & Sword History) has been released in the UK and is just days away from its US release!
Tag Archives: Medieval History
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?
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?
Thoughts on “Swein Forkbeard’s Invasions” and “Reign of Æthelred II” by Ian Howard
Two books by Ian Howard (“Swein Forkbeard’s Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England 991-1017” and “The Reign of Æthelred II: King of the English, Emperor of All the Peoples of Britain”) deal with similar topics, so I thought I would address them together, especially since they share an author. Both are academic works that engage with a tumultuous and confusing period of early English history, when England fell to a Danish king in 1013, was recovered by the English one in 1014, and was conquered by Danes again in 1016.
New Medievalism Publication: Camedieval
Camedieval, a project associated with CALM and GEMS at Cambridge University, seeks to make medievalism relevant to the wider public.
Book Recommendations: Anglo-Saxon England
I have run across several books that, in my opinion, strike an excellent balance between scholarship and readability. This list contains only a few of them.
Æthelred the Unready: What Lies Beneath the Legends
The image that had emerged by the 12th century was of a ruler who was afraid of candles, had defecated at his baptism, was scolded at his own coronation, was haunted by the ghost of his murdered brother, and who preferred drinking and sleeping to fighting vikings.
