Since it’s my birthday today, I definitely wanted to post about what happened on this day in medieval history. 1282 – Death of Llywelyn the Last (Llywelyn ap Gruffydd), the last prince of Wales before it was conquered by Edward I 1475 – Birth of Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’… Read More »Medieval Timeline: Today in Medieval History
The Lombards and other Italian merchants first introduced the term bank in the commercial centers of medieval western Europe to signify the business of money. Banks – the term means “credit negotiated on a counter at banco” — grew in the Middle Ages as a result of a wider money… Read More »A Brief History of Medieval Banks
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages Publisher: Spectra (March 1, 1996) ISBN-10: 055357339X Assassin’s Apprentice is the first of three books in The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. The story is a first-person narrative, told from the point-of-view of an adolescent named Fitz. The first-person perspective… Read More »Review of Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) by Robin Hobb
“Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)” A good article discussing the common problems amateur writers face that cause literary agents, publishers, and editors to immediately dismiss submissions. The list includes: Repeats Flat Writing Empty Adverbs Phony Dialogue No-Good Suffixes The “To Be” Words Lists… Read More »The 10 Common Mistakes of Amateur Writers
Aethelbad’s War Date: 733 – 750 Aethelbad’s War involved the kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria. The Mercian king, Aethelbad (r. 716 – 757), and his cousin Offa — who was to be Athelbad’s successor — invaded Wessex and Northumbria with the vision of unifying England under Mercian rule. At… Read More »Famous Wars in Medieval History: Aethelbad’s War
On this date, December 1, in medieval history: 1135 – King Henry I of England, the fourth son of William the Conqueror, dies. He was buried at Reading Abbey. 1170 – Thomas Becket reconciles with King Henry II and returns to his See at Canterbury after a six-year-long exile. *image… Read More »Medieval Timeline: Today in Medieval History
The Angles and Saxons arrived in England sometime during the 5th century, not long after Rome had fled the island and left the Britons to fight against their northern aggressors, the Picts. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in A.D. 449: In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited by Wurtgern, king… Read More »The Anglo-Saxons in Medieval England
On this date, November 20th, in medieval history: 1272 – Edward I (“Longshanks”) begins his reign as King of England 1316 – John I King of France dies; he was born only five days earlier on November 15 1376 – Richard of Bordeaux (Richard II), son of the Black Prince,… Read More »Medieval Timeline: Today in Medieval History
This post is intended to provide only a brief and basic overview of feudalism, not an in-depth study by any means. The idea is to hopefully stimulate discussion about feudalism from more knowledeable experts than myself. The word “feudalism” is a 17th century term used by legal historians to explain… Read More »The Framework of Feudalism