‘Although there were many women in the medieval era who did the extraordinary, who stood out in a world dominated by men, they are not easy to find.’ This study scours the sources to uncover the achievements of famous women such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret of Scotland, and the less-familiar stories of women in convents, pawns in political marriages, mistresses, warriors and captive women like Ingeborg of Denmark, crowned queen of France, yet imprisoned by her husband for 20 years.

In 1593, Elizabeth I became one of several leading figures who translated Boethius’ Consolation. Its themes, particularly predestination and free will, made it one of the most important and most popular philosophical works in the medieval and early modern periods. This diplomatic edition of the text is accompanied by Quan Manh Ha’s introduction discussing Elizabeth’s reading and translation of the Consolation, parallels between her life and that of the imprisoned Boethius, and the manuscript itself. No jacket.

Written some time between 1132 and 1152, Hugh of Fouilloy’s Aviary is an appealing treatise designed as a teaching text for monastic pupils. It comprises simple moralizing descriptions of birds’ appearance and behavioural traits, often based on biblical passages where the different species are mentioned. This volume presents a critical edition of the Latin text, with a facing English translation, an extensive introduction and more than 100 illustrations from some of the many manuscripts of the work.

In one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of recent times, the grave of King Richard III was located in a Leicester car park in 2012. This book contains a diary of the dig and its aftermath by the screenwriter Philippa Langley, whose intuition and perseverance brought the project to fruition despite numerous setbacks. Her account of that remarkable quest is interspersed with historical chapters on the life, reign, death and posthumous reputation of the last Plantagenet monarch.

The Great Barn at Harmondsworth, built in 1425-1427 for Winchester College, was rescued and restored by English Heritage between 2011 and 2014. After an introductory chapter describing the ancient estate to which it belonged, this detailed study explores why, how and when the barn was built, the ingenuity and oddities of its construction, the trades, materials and people involved, and the way the barn was used, both in medieval times and during its later history.

Adam Ardrey follows up the detective work in his Finding Merlin with this account of his wider investigations into the legend of King Arthur. He reaches the startling conclusion that the historical Arthur came from Scotland, and also presents evidence to suggest that some of the story’s most familiar features – the Round Table, the Sword in the Stone and the Lady of the Lake – have their origins in the landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.

The quire of Chester Cathedral boasts a fine group of intricately carved wooden misericords, which date from 1380 and depict pagan legends and mythical creatures alongside stories of Christian piety. This gazetteer of the carvings reproduces a unique set of Victorian photographs, together with information on the content of each image and its connections to medieval beliefs, symbolism and traditions.

John Ashdown-Hill was a founder member of the Looking for Richard Project, committed to finding Richard's burial place and excavating the true history of the king's life and reign from the mire of myth and legend. In this book he sets about exploring and exposing the portrayal of Richard as monster and murderer by the Tudors; the legends created by writers such as Shakespeare; and the modern Ricardian mythologies perpetuated by a lack of research and the profit motive.

Drawing on two lifetimes’ experience and expertise in the field, George and Isabel Henderson dissect and scrutinize one of the genuine enigmas of early medieval art: the sculpture and metalwork of the Picts in seventh- to ninth-century northeast Britain. Through careful observation and comparison, the authors show how the hitherto marginalized art of the Picts both interacted with the currents of Insular art and was produced by a sophisticated society capable of sustaining large-scale art programmes. With maps and 326 illustrations.

William Rosen, author of the acclaimed Justinian’s Flea, examines one of medieval Europe’s most astonishing catastrophes, when exceptional summer rains, freezing winters, animal epidemics and the destruction of farmland through warfare reduced Europe’s total population by one eighth. He combines insights from modern economics and climate science to analyse the complex and interrelated forces that led to the Great Famine, tracing their centuries-long gestation and assessing their implications in the context of today’s changing climate.

In 1464, on the death of her elder brother, the 23-year-old Isabella of Castile had herself crowned queen and seized control of Castile and Leon. She took up the fight against the Muslims in Andalusia; and her reign saw the Muslims banished, Spain unified, Columbus’s journey to the Americas, sponsored by Isabella, and Spain’s control over the New World, but she also instigated the religious Inquisition that was to darken the reputation of both Spain and its warrior queen. American cut pages.

Inquests in the 1240s found that Catharism and the Waldensian heresy had taken firm hold in the county of Quercy in Languedoc, which had previously played a significant role in the Albigensian crusade against the Cathars. With detailed analysis of the evidence gathered by the inquisitors, this study investigates the cultural and political origins of Quercy's dramatic confessional shift, the divergent beliefs and allegiances within families and the impact of heresy on everyday life.

The decisive battle at Flodden Field in 1513 marked the climax of the personal and political tension between England’s Henry VIII and his brother-in-law James IV of Scotland. This book traces the origins and escalation of their rivalry, with analysis of the political and military manoeuvres leading up to Flodden. It ends with an account of the battle itself, which saw the first artillery exchange on a British battlefield, and an assessment of James’s level of responsibility for Scotland’s defeat.

In this vivid narrative history Kostick retells the events that unfolded following the arrival of a Christian army at Jerusalem in June 1099. He also sets this siege and the brutal sack of the city against the wider background of the First Crusade, following the crusaders on their march towards Jerusalem, highlighting tensions and factions among their ranks and assessing both the immediate aftermath and the longer-term legacy for the Crusade's leaders.

Agincourt is one of the most celebrated battles in English history, a victory that made Henry V a national hero and still resonates six centuries later. This title peels away the layers of myth to tell the human story through the eyes of key participants, from the king himself to a Somerset squire and an archer from Dorset. Drawing on historic accounts, it assesses the casualties and discusses the massacre of French prisoners that shocked contemporaries.

Amalarius of Metz (c.775-c.850) has borne much of the credit - and the blame - for establishing the ‘allegorical’ interpretation of the liturgy as an exercise unto itself. This volume presents a full study of a long neglected manuscript: Salisbury, Cathedral Library MS.154 contains a version of Amalarius’ Liber officialis that differs significantly from the accepted Hanssens edition. The text of the MS is given in full in Latin and an English translation. No jacket.

During the three centuries following the collapse of Carolingian rule, Europe was transformed by a vigorous ecclesiastical reform movement and the building of great monasteries and local churches. Hamilton's study of these changes focuses on England, France, Germany and northern Italy, using recent research into religious institutions and the neglected evidence of liturgical material: it offers a new interpretation of ordinary people's experience of Christianity against a background of continual evolution in the roles of clergy and laity.

Focusing on jewellery and personal ornaments worn in life or buried with their owners as marks of wealth and status, the Thaw collection shows how the 'ongoing integration of classical forms and barbarian tastes shaped the preferences of the early medieval period'. The collection includes brooches, pendants, earrings and belt buckles from across Europe and the Middle East, arranged chronologically from around 230 BCE to the end of the Anglo-Saxon period in England and Scandinavia.

What course would English history have taken had Henry V been defeated at Agincourt? What if Joan of Arc had not galvanized French resistance at Orleans? Venning's study focuses on key events during the reigns of kings Edward III to Henry VI, and offers an illuminating insight into some of the pressures and factors that shaped the Middle Ages.

After the First Crusade, the conquering knights established states on the lands they had wrested from Islam, and the largest and most powerful was the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This book charts the life and times of Queen Melisende, who ruled it from 1131 until her death in 1161. Using every scrap of evidence, it portrays a strong-willed woman who brought peace to a volatile population of warring knights, Muslim peasants and Jewish traders.

This medieval year includes the births of kings, recipes, the Magna Carta, battles galore and plague. Where contemporary sources are scarce, Toni Mount quotes from classic histories and provides her own informative commentary.

The son of King John, Henry III came to the throne - and a kingdom at war with itself - aged nine, and ruled for 56 years until his death in 1272: yet still he is the forgotten king. Matthew Lewis examines Henry's long, complicated and neglected reign, looking in particular at the legacy of Magna Carta; the political landscape of the Angevin Empire and England; and the role of the dominant figures among the barons - Sir William Marshal and Simon de Montfort.

Although published in the 800th anniversary year of Magna Carta, this is not a sweeping survey of its influence on British history, but a focused account of the years 1215 to 1225. Telling the story of the Charter and reflecting on its usefulness today, Starkey follows its evolution from revolutionary document in 1215, through the radical revision of 1216 to the 'constitution-in-the-making' of 1225. An appendix contains the three Charter texts in tabular form.

The year of Scotland's referendum, 2014 was also the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn, when 'a very different sort of campaign on the issue of Scotland's independence came to its climax'. Alistair Moffat follows in detail the events of those two days in June 1314, and captures all the fear, heroism, confusion and desperation of medieval warfare as he describes the tactics and manoeuvres that led to a stunning victory for the heavily outnumbered Scots.

Accused by her in-laws of murdering her husband, Joanna, Queen of Naples, stood trial in Avignon in 1348. She was 22 years old, yet spoke (in Latin) in her own defence. In this compelling account of how, despite her youth and sex, Joanna triumphed over her enemies, raised an army and took back her realm, Nancy Goldstone paints a richly detailed portrait of a medieval queen notorious throughout history for a crime she did not commit.

Originating in a conference organized under the auspices of the AHRB Research Centre for North-East England History, these 14 essays all deal in some way with issues surrounding the quest for regional identity. The emphasis of the volume is on the county palatine of Durham in the later medieval period, and specific essay topics include St Cuthbert in the border region, local law courts in Durham, and the city's monastic community. No jacket.

William Marshal (1147-1219) was the Lancelot of his era - a landless younger son who rose through the ranks to serve as right-hand man to five English monarchs, including Richard the Lionheart and his brother John. Drawing on contemporary evidence, including the sole surviving copy of a 13th-century biography, this compelling study resurrects a courageous warrior, tournament champion, wily politician and, ultimately, regent of the realm, against a rich tapestry of chivalry, grandeur and barbarity.

Dan Jones looks beyond the story of dynastic rivalry promoted by Tudor historians to the complex civil conflict that followed a disastrous collapse of royal authority during the reign of Henry IV, became a crisis of legitimacy when Richard, Duke of York decided to claim the crown, and ended with the elimination of the Plantagenets. Finally, Jones examines the early history of the Tudor family and presents them 'not according to their own myth, but as the 15th century really found them'.

From the origins of knighthood in feudal Europe, this detailed, lavishly illustrated study traces the rise and fall of knights and their contribution to the key conflicts of the medieval era.

Examining late medieval and early modern English identity from the vantage point of an explicitly regional literature, this study of pageants, poems and prose works created in Cheshire between 1195 and 1656 challenges the dominant view of the Renaissance as a break with England's medieval past. In discussing texts such as Lucian's De laude Cestrie, the Chester Whitsun plays and the Stanley family romances, Barrett demonstrates both regional continuity and the 'complex intertwining of regional and national identities'.

These 12 essays approach the early Christian book from the perspectives of religion, art history, history, Near Eastern studies and classics, and focus on the practices of writing, reading and book production, 100-600 CE.

Timothy S Miller describes the Byzantine Empire's sophisticated child-welfare systems and describes the evolution and management of its orphanages, guardianship laws, foster parents and group homes.

Ten essays examine the cultural context of the late Gothic St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle - a centre of religious, intellectual and artistic excellence in 15th century England. No jacket.

The V&A's collection of medieval and Renaissance stained and painted glass is the largest and most comprehensive in the world. This selection of the Museum's panels spans the period 1140 to 1540 and shows the technical and artistic advances between the Romanesque and Renaissance eras, while also illuminating the beliefs and images, sacred and secular, of the medieval world. The collection is represented here by 110 plates, including full page details of important pieces, with following commentaries.

Paul Oldfield's pioneering study of urban society in 12th century mainland Norman Italy examines the self-governing role of urban communities and explores their social ordering, identities and communal activities.

Jocelin, a royal administrator and the bishop of Wells from 1206 to 1242, played a major role in the growth of Somerset's towns, fairs and markets as well as the completion of Wells Cathedral and its Bishop's Palace. This volume comprises ten essays on Jocelin's life, career and reforms, his building projects and the findings of recent architectural, archaeological and botanical investigations into the curious physical nature of the palace site.

What was the social, economic, legal and religious background to Magna Carta? How was King John perceived by those who knew him, and what was England like during his reign? The studies in this collection analyse such issues as the legacy of earlier Angevin rulers, the burgeoning economy of the early 13th century and Magna Carta's effects on widows and property. The volume ends with the first critical edition of an open letter of 1210 from the king himself.

In his significant political treatise On Christian Rulers, Sedulius Scottus (fl. c.850) attempted to clarify the proper relation between spiritual and secular power. Dyson has produced this new critical edition of the Latin text, with facing translation; he also provides an introduction covering what we know of Sedulius' life, the background to this work and its place in the development of political theory in the Christian West.

This volume presents the six Old English versions of the Sunday Letter text, with facing translations, commentary and glossary, and discussion of the development of Sunday observance.

With the proliferation of formalized cities, the medieval period became the 'golden age' of siege warfare, an age of trebuchets and mangonels, boiling oil and Greek fire. In this accessible study of medieval siegecraft, Hindley traces the development of strongpoints, castles and fortified towns, examines the problems of logistics and food supplies for both the besieged and besiegers and shows how some of the most famous sieges changed the course of history in Europe and the Holy Land.

This text by a 15th century mariner describes his experiences in the Venetian merchant and military fleets, and includes writings on commercial mathematics, shipbuilding, navigation, calendrical systems and astrology. Presented in photographic facsimile. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

In 1381, England erupted in a violent popular uprising as unexpected as it was unprecedented. Juliet Barker's narrative history depicts a volatile society on the brink of profound change. Treating contemporary chronicles with scepticism, she draws on court proceedings and letters to give voice to the ordinary people from many walks of life who took part in the so-called Peasants' Revolt, illuminating their motives and demands, examining the ambiguous role of Richard II, and charting its long-term effects.

Offering fresh perspectives on later medieval Europe, this study surveys the processes of expansion, consolidation and cultural exchange across the continent, the British Isles, Russia and Scandinavia.

This volume of essays examines the operation of political society at different levels, analysing the mechanisms of power and the content and reception of political languages in particular circumstances. Among the topics discussed are lordships and lawlessness in Lancaster 1370-1400; Yorkshire justices of the peace, 1389-1413; Richard II’s views on kingship; and the Yorkshire risings of 1405. Edited by Michael Braddick after the author’s death in 2004 and with an introduction by GL Harriss.

This volume from the Manchester Medieval Sources series makes available in translation a number of key texts for the study of Roger II (1095-1154) and the unification of Sicily and southern Italy. No jacket.