I’ve updated my bookshelf with more fiction titles (mostly medieval historical fiction and fantasy titles though others are included), more medieval non-fiction resources, and more writing resources. Please send me your recommendations as well. I’m always eager to read authors I’ve never read before.
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
David Anthony Durham had a post on his blog last week about the new Web site Suvudu, so I thought I’d check it out. Suvudu is basically a Web site for all things Science Fiction and Fantasy. Suvudu has only been around for a little less than a month, but… Read More »Suvudu
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
There’s been a lot of talk today about the latest search engine to hit the market. Cuil (www.cuil.com), developed by former employees of Google, is willing to take on the biggest player in the search engine arena, claiming its searches return more relevant results to the users and its results… Read More »Using the Cuil Search Engine for Research
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