Angus Donald, author of Blood of the Bear, examines Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony in the late 8th century. It was a campaign not just about territory but about religion: Christian versus pagan. Could it be considered the first ‘crusade’? The First Crusade, historians claim, was launched by Pope Urban II in 1096, after the Pontiff […]
Christmas reading 2022 – our pick of top historical books
We asked nine well-loved authors to each recommend two historical books for Christmas 2022 to give, receive, or treat yourself with. These include many of the most absorbing books, fiction and non-fiction, published recently. We hope these suggestions inspire you. DV Bishop The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola. A winter’s tale full of mystery and […]
Forest of Foes by Matthew Harffy
AD 652. Beobrand has been ordered to lead a group of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. Chief among them is Wilfrid, a novice of the church with some surprisingly important connections. Taking only Cynan and some of his best men, Beobrand hopes to make the journey through Frankia quickly and return to Northumbria […]
From slave to queen: an extraordinary medieval woman
Among the powerful medieval women whose stories have — against all odds — survived the years, Balthild, the seventh-century Neustrian queen, is one of the most extraordinary. A slave who became a queen and, later, a saint, she was an unexpected source of inspiration for Matthew Harffy’s latest Bernician Chronicles story, Forest of Foes. The […]
An Easter assassination and an early medieval queen
There were many powerful female rulers during the early medieval period, but few records of them exist. Luckily a historical fluke has left accounts of two of them: the Frankish queens, Fredegund and Brunhild, as Shelley Puhak explains. On 14 April, 586, the cathedral of Rouen was crowded with the faithful, eager to celebrate the […]