St. Gildas was a monk who chronicled the history of the British isles from the time near the end of the Roman era to the coming of the Saxons. He lived approximately from 500 – 570 AD. His most famous work is the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin of… Read More »Gildas
Morcar was the Earl of Northumbria from 1065-1066. He was the son of Ælfgar (earl of Mercia) and brother of Eadwine (or Edwin), earl of Mercia. He was the grandson of Leofric and Godiva. Morcar rose to power at the appointment of the thegns in York due to the tyrannical rule… Read More »Morcar, Earl of Northumbria
Harald Sigurdsson (1015 – September 25, 1066), later given the epithet Hardrada (Old Norse: roughly translated as “stern counsel” or “hard ruler”) was the king of Norway from 1047 until 1066. He also claimed to be the King of Denmark until 1064, often defeating King Sweyn’s army and forcing him… Read More »Harald Hardrada
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland.There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning ‘Pit-‘, for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest of Britain… Read More »The Picts
August 31, 1422: Death of Henry V, King of England On 10 June 1421, Henry sailed back to France for what would be his last military campaign. From July to August, Henry’s forces besieged and captured Dreux, thus relieving allied forces at Chartres. That October, his forces lay siege to… Read More »Today in Medieval History
Edgar the Etheling (1051 – 1126) was born in Hungary. His father, Edward the Exile, spent most of his life there after the Danish king Cnut conquered England and defeated Edward’s father King Edmund II Ironside. Edgar was the last member of the house of Cerdic of Wessex. After Edward… Read More »Edgar the Etheling
Máel Coluim mac Donnchad, also known as Malcolm III or Canmore or Long-Neck, was King of the Scots from1058-1093. He was the eldest son of King Duncan I, and he ruled Scotland in the last years of Edward the Confessor’s reign of England and for the entire reign of William… Read More »Malcolm III of Scotland
William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England By David C. Douglas Paperback: 488 pages Publisher: University of California Press (May 1, 1967) ISBN-10: 0520003500 In this scholarly work, David C. Douglas takes an exhaustive look at the life of Duke William II of Normandy. The book is broken out… Read More »Review of William the Conqueror by David C. Douglas
I’m giving away two free copies of Robert Fripp’s Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine. If you’re interested in entering your name in the drawing, just leave a comment on this post. Friday will be the last day for new entries. I will select… Read More »Book Giveaway