Many of us, drawn to the Medieval world, often choose to get closer to the past by seeking out places or items directly connected to the characters we are so keen to better understand . Usually, this might be through a book, an ornate religious piece of art work, or by visiting a castle, a … More Medieval Music: Daily Life in Song
Located on a limestone promontory overlooking the River Wye, Chepstow Castle, even today, dominates the landscape and takes the breath away. It’s both magnificent in its medieval might as it is in its beauty and attention to medieval craftsmanship. Built initially by William fitz Osborn and later William the Conqueror himself, Chepstow saw a succession … More Chepstow Castle: A Bastion of Medieval Craftsmanship
There have been many medieval kings who have produced a string of illegitimate children. Henry I is perhaps the most infamous of them all. He was so prolific in exercising his sexual appetites, that the number of bastard children is almost impossible to know for certain. At best guess, the suggested numbers are as high … More Medieval Bastardy: Adam, Son of Edward II
Having spent the last week with a very painful wisdom tooth infection that passed into my jaw, I could only just about survive the insufferable pain because of modern day antibiotics and hardcore pain killers. For anyone out there who suffers from this malady, will know all too well that toothache or an infection in … More Medieval Toothache: Wisdom, Pain & Poultices
Well folks, send out the heralds and blow the trumpets. I am delighted to announce that after weeks of discussions with my editor at Amberley, we have today signed off on the front cover of my book. Here it is…. The image is taken from a beautiful manuscript held by Corpus Christi College Cambridge, who kindly … More STOP PRESS: Book Cover
Following on from part one, those called to parliament still have much to do and many rules to abide by. The studious clerk who started penning his treatise must have been either very keen, on a good commission or had underestimated the enormity of his task. There are still nine ‘rules’ left to discuss. He … More How to hold a Medieval Parliament: By those who were there (Part Two)
At some point during the reign of Edward II a studious clerk, most likely between 1316-1324, sat down to work one evening and took his pen to parchment and wrote a treatise. This treatise set out, rather helpfully for us seven hundred years later, the ‘dos’ and ‘dont’s’ of holding a medieval parliament as dictated … More How to hold a Medieval Parliament: By those who were there (Part One)
The tomb of Edward II is spectacular. Edward’s burial site at St Peter’s Abbey, refounded as Gloucester Cathedral during the Reformation in the sixteenth century, sits under an arch on the north side of the Presbytery adjacent to the Ambulatory, up near the high altar. Other than occupying the central position directly in front of the altar … More The Tomb of Edward II
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