England’s greatest enemy during the medieval period was (of course!) French: King Philip II, also called Philip Augustus. Astute and cunning, he played his Plantagenet rivals against one another and, as the historian Catherine Hanley says, became Europe’s most powerful monarch. France was one of the great power-houses of medieval Europe, and much of the […]
Lionessheart by Catherine Hanley
Richard the Lionheart travelled to far-flung realms, went on crusade, met kings and popes, and exerted a great deal of influence on the world around him… And so did his sister. The sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine have been the subject of much historical attention, but their daughters have been curiously overlooked. […]
Joanna Plantagenet, the lionhearted woman
Joanna Plantagenet, Queen of Sicily, later Countess of Toulouse, was every bit as lionhearted as her more famous brother Richard I. As her biographer, Catherine Hanley, says, she “led an extraordinary life full of adventure and danger”, the more so because she was a woman. Joanna’s eventful life also illustrates many of the major issues […]
The Lost Queen by Carol McGrath
It’s 1191 and King Richard the Lionheart is on crusade to pitch battle against Saladin and liberate the city of Jerusalem and her lands. His mother, the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his promised bride, Princess Berengaria of Navarre, make a perilous journey over the Alps in midwinter. They are to rendezvous with Richard in […]
Women and the Crusades
Women played a significant role in the Crusades, whether as pilgrims, or supporting the army or, on occasion, as Queens Regnant of Jerusalem, Carol McGrath writes. And, although Richard I’s role in the conflict is well known, few people are aware of the roles of his sister Joanna, or his wife, Berengaria. The Crusades were […]
Female networks of power in the Middle Ages
Medieval royal marriages were about creating networks of power. This gave the female members of a family more influence than we might think, says JF Andrews, and the history of the five daughters and five daughters-in-law of Eleanor of Aquitaine show how these marriage connections worked in practice. ‘Name the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine’ […]
King by Ben Kane
Autumn 1192. With Jerusalem still in the Saracens’ hands, and a peace treaty agreed with their leader Saladin, Richard the Lionheart is free at last to travel back to his strife-ridden kingdom. By his side at every turn is the loyal knight Ferdia, also known as Rufus. Together they will face not just Richard’s archenemy […]
Historia giveaway! Ten copies of King by Ben Kane
To celebrate the publication of King by Ben Kane on 26 May, 2022, Historia is running a special giveaway with ten prizes! Ten winners will each get one copy of King, the last book in Ben’s fast-moving Lionheart trilogy about Richard I and his companion Ferdia, nicknamed Rufus. The giveaway is open until 11.59pm on […]