Today in Medieval History
On this date, April 19th, in medieval history: 1154 – Pope Leo IX dies 1390 – King Robert II of Scotland dies and is succeeded by his son Robert III
My life has been pretty simple. I grew up in Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor's in Advertising. I have spent about the last ten years in web development. In 1998, a friend of mine and I started a web design company we ran for three or four years before deciding to close it due to the demands of school. Since then, I stayed in the web working with various companies in Alabama. I worked for a brief period with Southern Progress, namely with Southern Living magazine and Health magazine, in their web departments. While there, I also wrote for Southern Living magazine, Health.com., and the company's internal newsletter. I write as much as I can. For the last five years, I have been working on my first novel. I am on the third revision now and hope to be finished with this draft by the end of the year. I also write short fiction, though not as frequently as I used to due to the time I spend on the novel. My goal is to have my novel published in the next three years. Other interests include: History (particularly medieval and ancient civlizations), Reading, Foreign Language (I currently speak Spanish but plan to learn as many as I can), Landscape Photography, the outdoors, sports (especially college football), and Travel.
On this date, April 19th, in medieval history: 1154 – Pope Leo IX dies 1390 – King Robert II of Scotland dies and is succeeded by his son Robert III
The Amber Treasure by Richard Denning ISBN: 978-1-84914-023-2 Paperback: 411 pages Publisher: Completely Novel Set in 6th century Northumbria, The Amber Treasure is told from the perspective of Cerdic, the nephew of a once great Anglo-Saxon war hero, Cynric. Cerdic lives a peaceful life in a small village, and he dreams… Read More »Review of The Amber Treasure by Richard Denning
On this date, April 4, in medieval history: 636 – Death of St. Isidore of Seville 1081 – Alexius Comnenus crowned as Byzantine emperor
Masterpiece’s Richard Maurer recently interviewed Bernard Cornwell and asked him the following question: “Each of your novels ends with a historical essay about the actual incidents and sources behind your story. What do you believe is the historical novelist’s responsibility to history?” Cornwell: “I think those afterwords are absolutely necessary,… Read More »The Novelist’s Responsibility to History
I was on vacation at the end of last week until Sunday, which is why I missed a couple of days of regular posting, like my Friday medieval history term of the week. But I’m back now and should be able to return to a normal posting routine. While on… Read More »Back from Vacation
This post will focus mostly on the bow and arrow from the time of the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Normans. The English longbow is a completely separate discussion. The Anglo-Saxons primarily used the bow for hunting. It is less frequently mentioned as being employed during battle, though according to one source,… Read More »The Medieval Bow and Arrow
What are your thoughts on free-writing vs. outlining? Do you like to start writing and let the story evolve as your write, or do you plan out your plot points, characters, etc. before you ever begin your story? I would say I’m more of a free-writer. Though I may switch… Read More »Discussion Topic: Free-Writing vs. Outlining
On this date, March 4, in medieval history: 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany 1193 – Saladin dies 1394 – The birth of Prince Henry the Navigator 1461 – Edward IV ascends to the English throne
What are your thoughts about authors using pseudonyms in place of their real names? Also, if you can think of one, list an author who uses a pen name to mask his/her true identity. I’ll go first. Robin Hobb’s real name is Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden. From 1983 to 1992,… Read More »Discussion Topic: Author Pseudonyms