Steven Till

Fee-Farm

1) A fixed sum, usually paid annually, for the right to collect all revenues from land; in effect, rent. Lords may farm land to vassals, receiving a fixed annual rent in place of the normal feudal obligation. Many sheriffs farm out their shires, contracting in advance to pay a fixed annual sum to the crown, thus obtaining the right to collect any additional royal revenues for their own profit. (MEDIEV-L. Medieval Terms)

2) A fixed annual payment, a lease. (Waugh, Scott. England in the Reign of Edward III, 238)

3) A fixed annual payment. The “borough farm” or “fee-farm” (firma burgi) was the basic lump sum from a town which had to be paid into the Exchequer each year either by the sheriff of the county or by the town’s own officials. (Reynolds, Susan. An Introduction to the History of English Medieval Towns, 198)

*definitions retreived from NetSERF’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary/)

From the Magna Carta:

If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, by socage, or by burgage, and holds land of another by knight service, we will not, by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage, have the wardship of his heir or of land of land of his that is of the fief of the other; nor will we have custody of the fee-farm, socage, or burgage, unless such fee-farm owes kngiht service. We will not have custody of anyone’s heir or land which he holds of another by knight service by reason of any petty serjeanty which he holds of us by the service of rendering to us knives or arrows or the like.

Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on February 19th, 2010 | No Comments »

Neil Gaiman will be visiting the campus of my alma mater tonight, February 18. According to UA News:

Neil Gaiman, the award-winning author of the fantasy novels “The Graveyard Book,” “Coraline,” “Stardust,” “American Gods” and “Anansi Boys,” will read from his work at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa. The reading is free and open to the public.

For FREE tickets, go to http://www.uacreativecampus.org/events/evening-neil-gaiman.

Filed under: Fantasy on February 18th, 2010 | No Comments »

From canterbury.ac.uk:

A unique glimpse into 1000 years of Canterbury’s history was unveiled by broadcaster and renowned historian Dr David Starkey at the Sidney Cooper Gallery on Friday 5 February.

Funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, the exhibition Canterbury: England’s Crucible, will bring the City’s history to life in a way that has never been tackled before. Especially designed for children and families, the exhibition uses 20 exclusively created, giant art panels to tell the city’s story alongside local archaeological gems, a free city trail and interactive fun to explain the city’s significance throughout the ages.

For more information visit www.canterbury.ac.uk/crucible-history. The free exhibition, which covers Canterbury’s history from 597 - 1603, runs through March 27th.

*photo taken by Hans Musil, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Generic license

Filed under: Architecture, Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on February 18th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

On this day, February 17, in medieval history:

• 1461 - The Second Battle of St. Albans: One of the battles fought during the Wars of the Roses. On this particular day, the Lancastrian army led by the Queen Margaret of Anjou defeated the Yorkist faction led by the Earl of Warwick. The Lancastrians freed King Henry VI who had been taken prisoner by the Earl.
• 1500 - The Battle of Hemmingstedt: The Battle of Hemmingstedt occurred south of the village of Hemmingstedt, near the present-day village of Epen-Wohrden, in northern Germany. Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempted to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, who had established their own republic along the coast of the North Sea. The peasants, who were a well-armed and well-organized militia, used their knowledge of the terrain to defeat the Dukes’ armies.

Filed under: Medieval Timeline, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on February 17th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Sword Song: The Battle for London (Saxon Stories Book #4) by Bernard Cornwell
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition (December 23, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0061379743

Sword Song is the fourth book in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon series. This series is becoming one of my favorites of all time. The third book, Lords of the North, was exceptionally good, but I think Sword Song is even better, though the first book (The Last Kingdom) is still my favorite over all.

In Sword Song, we pick up again with Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg, as he still in the service of King Alfred the Great. Uhtred’s desire, as always, is to return to Northumbria and reclaim his father’s lands from his uncle, but he is also a man of his word, and he has sworn an oath to Alfred, and so he continues to serve the king in his fight against the Danes in Wessex. The fact that Uhtred refuses to break an oath to a man he hates demonstrates a lot about his character. He may be ruthless, a man of war, a commander of soldiers, but he is honest and trustworthy, which earns him the respect of his own men and of Alfred. Uhtred is no longer the arrogant, brash, young warrior we saw in The Pale Horseman. He demonstrates true leadership ability by knowing when to fight and when to use diplomacy, and he proves his worth to Alfred in other ways aside from his skill with a sword and shield. Alfred entrusts Uhtred to construct and fortify a city, and Uhtred excels at this task.

As with the other three books, Uhtred’s relationship with Alfred is one of necessity and often distant. That is one area I would like Cornwell to spend more time developing in his novels. Alfred is the only English monarch ever to be given the title “Great,” but we as readers don’t really see Alfred as being a great leader. We only see bits and pieces of him as a full picture of him is never really developed. I know we are seeing the story from the eyes of one man, Uhtred, and his perspective of Alfred is negative, even though his respect for Alfred certainly grows as the series progresses. Still, as I begin each book, I always find myself hoping Cornwell willl spend more time on Alfred, but he never does. Alfred’s character is purely secondary and flat. I want to feel attached to him, I want to understand why the chroniclers called him “The Great,” I want to feel in awe of him when he shows up throughout the story, but I never do . Alfred is the same from book one to book four. He is pious. He is organized. He is shrewd. He is intelligent. But he is not a warrior, or at least we never see him in that capacity. There needs to be more given to Alfred than just these simple characteristics.

Cornwell does spend more time with some of the other characters in this novel, however. We see more of Uhtred’s wife, Gisela, and we get to see Uhtred as a father to his daughter. A gentle side is not something we often see of Uhtred, and it adds a layer of complexity to his character that I wish Cornwell would develop more. Steapa and Finan, Uhtred’s companions of war, are back. The ever-likeable Father Willibald plays a prominent role. He is married now to Ragnar’s sister, and as always, is compassionate and gentle. He is a character I think everyone likes, but I could be wrong. Even Uhtred likes him, and that’s rare because Willibald is a Christian priest.

Cornwell also gives Athelflaed, King Alfred’s daughter, a large part in the novel. A good portion of the last part of the novel revolves around her, even though the majority of her story line is fictional, which is somewhat disappointing given her many accomplishments in England’s history. Of course, she is only fourteen or fifteen in this novel, so perhaps we will start to see her importance in the next novel, The Burning Land.

As a trademark of the other novels, Sword Song has its share of battle scenes. The battle for London shows Uhtred’s willingness to take risks and the confidence he has in his abilities as a military strategist. The battles are fairly predictable with only a few surprises, but they are still entertaining. Also, this novel did not seem quite as violent and gruesome as Lords of the North.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Filed under: Bernard Cornwell, Middle Ages History, Medieval History, Historical Fiction, Book Reviews on February 15th, 2010 | 11 Comments »

From the article “Unearthed relics help chart lives of medieval pilgrims!”

The history of Leicestershire’s medieval pilgrims is set to be revealed for the first time. New research shows how county folk made difficult journeys to distant religious shrines in the Middle Ages.

This important spiritual activity is rarely documented in history books.

Now, thanks to the work of metal detector enthusiasts, a picture of the pilgrims, their travels and daily lives is finally being pieced together from finds turned up in local fields.

Read more …

Filed under: Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on February 13th, 2010 | No Comments »

Lavra

By the later Middle Ages, a major monastery. (Fine, John V.A. Jr. The Late Medieval Balkans, 624)

*definitions retreived from NetSERF’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary/)

Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on February 12th, 2010 | 5 Comments »

According to Medieval News:

An unassuming 15th century manuscript kept at McMaster University in Canada has been identified as a version of the Liber Visionum or Book of Visions …

… The Books of Visions was an attempt to reconcile the goals of a condemned, medieval, ritual magic text, the Arts Notoria after which it was loosely modeled. The new magic text was a vision by the Virgin Mary to John, and unlike its predecessor, was pleasing to God and free of demonic corruption. However, the text was later considered heretical and sorcerous, and the purity of John’s work was questioned. It was burned at the University of Paris in 1323.

Read more.

Filed under: Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on February 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

If you’re a member of Critique Circle, the first chapter of my novel is up for review this week (Feb 10. - Feb. 17). It’s listed under the fantasy genre, and the working title is Beyond the Lands of Snow and Ice. This title will most certainly change. I just needed to include a title, so more people would be likely to read and critique it. My screen name is Sven. If you’re interested, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Once all the critiques are in, I’ll work on revising the chapter and hopefully post it on my Web site soon under the My Writing section.

Filed under: Novel on February 10th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

The latest on George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire:

After returning from the HBO pilot shoot for A Game of Thrones, which took several weeks away from his writing in late October/November as he visited the set and actors, it seems George delved right into A Dance With Dragons with a slashing sword of work ethic. He has posted more updates in the last three weeks than he has in the last three years, and each update contains information that he has finished another chapter in a book that everyone and their grandmother are waiting for.

I will try to put this in a bit of perspective though. No reason to get super excited yet. In late July 2009, Anne Groell shared with me that George had passed the 1000 manuscript page mark. George later confirmed this as well. On October 6th, George shared via his blog that he had passed the 1100 page manuscript mark. It took him 2 months to write and wrap up 100 pages …

… Today he announced that he has passed 1205 manuscript pages.

Read more at Suvudu.

Shawn Speakman, one of the writers for Suvudu, also had an interesting post recently about George’s process of free-writing vs. outlining.

Filed under: George R.R. Martin, Fantasy on February 9th, 2010 | 2 Comments »