The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women? Harold II of England had been with Edith Swanneck for twenty years but in 1066, in order to strengthen his hold on the throne, he married Ealdgyth, sister of two earls. William of Normandy’s Duchess, […]
The Reckoning by Paul Bernardi
January 1069 in Northumbria, and Oslac, thegn of the village of Acum, is seething. Angered by the insipid failure of the previous year’s uprising against King William, he yearns for the day when the English will defeat their Norman invaders. Meanwhile, in London, the King’s patience has worn thin. Determined to bring an end to […]
Treachery by Griff Hosker
Afetr the Norman Conquest, the North of England stands on the brink of chaos. Baron Richard fitz Malet is a young knight torn between his steadfast duty and the treachery that threatens to unravel everything he holds dear. Now fitz Malet must navigate a landscape filled with cunning adversaries, including the devious Walcher, Bishop of […]
Writing about 1066: a male club?
Is writing fiction about 1066, or the Anglo-Saxons in general, the exclusive preserve of a male-only club? Ellen Alpsten was surprised to hear people suggest this. The author of The Last Princess argues that the events leading to the Battle of Hastings merit a ‘female retelling’. In autumn 2024, we celebrate the 958th anniversary of […]
The Coming of the Wolf by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Welsh Borders, 1069. When Ashdyke Manor is attacked, Lady Christen is forced to witness her husband’s murder and the pillaging of her lands at the hands of brutal Norman invaders. It seems the pain is finally over when Miles Le Gallois, Lord of Milnham-on-Wye, calls off the attack. But he has Christen’s brother under […]
The Norman Conquest in Numbers
James Aitcheson shares some little-known facts about the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest. This month marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings: the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England, and perhaps the single most famous event in all of British history. The battle, which took place on 14 October 1066, saw King […]
After Hastings
This year marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, one of the most famous events in British history. On 14 October 1066, English and Norman armies each numbering in the thousands clashed at the site now occupied by Battle Abbey in East Sussex, in a fierce struggle for the English crown that ended […]