I’ve posted a new short story in the writing section of my site. The Sea-Ghost is historical fiction set in early 13th century medieval England. The story follows a knight and his squire in route to Wales by boat. They are traveling to Wales in order to join their lord, Earl William… Read More »New Short Story Posted: The Sea-Ghost
I was looking over my site and realized I don’t write as many reviews of novels as I would like to. So I thought I’d go back through the list of books I’ve read over the years and write reviews on them. I normally like to review novels immediately after… Read More »Review of The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell
“Observing this, [Duke] William gave a signal to his troops, that, feigning flight, they should withdraw from the field. By means of this device the solid phalanx of the English opened for the purpose of cutting down the fleeing enemy and thus brought upon itself swift destruction; for the Normans,… Read More »The Medieval Warhorse
Barbican bahr-bi-kuhn Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French barbecane, from Medieval Latin barbacana 1) An outwork or forward extension of a castle gateway. (Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 225) 2) Outerwork of a castle, providing additional defence for the gatehouse. (Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the… Read More »Medieval Term of the Week: Barbican
Last week, I mentioned Carl Pyrdum’s post on his blog Got Medieval about describing the Middle Ages in seven words or less — or I guess I should have said seven concepts or less. I also said I would post an explanation of why I chose the seven I did,… Read More »Explaining the Middle Ages in Seven Words
Heraldry, defined as a system of inherited symbols or devices for the purpose of identifying individuals or families, became one of the most distinguishable elements of feudalism and knighthood during the Middle Ages. The term “heraldry” comes from the the fact that heralds at tournaments became experts in the design… Read More »Heraldry in the Middle Ages
Last week over at Got Medieval, blog owner Carl S. Pyrdum asked readers to describe the medieval period in seven words or less. My seven were as follows: 1) The Church 2) The Nobles 3) The Peasantry 4) The Crusades 5) The Black Death 6) Feudalism 7) Cathedrals (“Gothic” architecture)… Read More »Describing the Middle Ages in Seven Words
Mail, often referred to as “chain mail” (a term later applied to this type of armor in the Victorian era), was the armor of choice worn by the medieval knight. Constructed of small rings of iron wire linked together, the mail coat formed a flexible metal mesh that was often worn… Read More »The Making of Mail Armor
For purposes of this post, I will focus on the medieval sword of Western Europe, namely England and France and Scandinavia, from the 10th to the 13th century. The sword was an instrumental weapon for the knight during the Middle Ages. As most combat was conducted up close hand-to-hand, you… Read More »The Medieval Sword