Ripon in the 14th and 15th centuries was an important ecclesiastical and commercial centre: its market was promoted by the Archbishops of York, who owned the land; and work at Ripon Minster, the church of St Wilfrid, attracted craftsmen such as carpenters and plumbers from surrounding areas as far as York. Stephen Werronen analyses the relationship between religion and society in the parish from 1380 to 1522, looking in particular at the cult of St Wilfrid. No jacket.

In a well-illustrated study of ‘the lost memory of Castile’, the authors explore the dynamic intermingling of Arabic, Hebrew and Latin elements in medieval Castilian visual and literary culture. The book includes a chronology, genealogies and an extensive bibliographic essay on sources and readings.

In this first published volume in a major cultural history of Croatia and the Adriatic region, some 30 illustrated essays describe social, cultural and artistic developments, from the origins of the Croats and their settlement in the seventh century to the end of the twelfth century. After discussions of society, state and religion, the essays are arranged in chapters on language and literature, fine arts, music, and science and philosophy. Translated from the original Croatian.

Reflecting recent trends in the investigation of material culture, these eight case studies demonstrate how inscribed and sculpted stone monuments of the 5th to 11th centuries created senses of identity and history for communities in Ireland, Britain and Scandinavia.

For 60 years, England was dominated by Henry II and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John. Combining biography and political history, this book begins with the dynasty’s turbulent origins in the death of Henry I’s heir William in the White Ship disaster and the ensuing war between Stephen and Matilda. It then follows Henry II’s conflict with Thomas à Beckett, the loss of Normandy, Richard’s crusades, and John’s struggle with the barons that led to Magna Carta.

Married first to Louis VII of France, then to Henry II of England, and mother to Richard the Lionheart and King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204) became virtual ruler of England after Henry’s death. Over 800 years, Eleanor has accrued layers of myth and historical interpretation; in this new biography, Sara Cockerill has returned to primary sources and recent scholarship to debunk the legends and re-evaluate the Queen’s life, her relationships with her sons and her relationship with the Church.

On at least 50 occasions during the 14th century French invaders landed on British soil, where they razed trading centres and massacred their inhabitants. As he tells the story of these incursions, Cameron corrects the usual interpretation that they were merely ‘pirate raids’ and describes the French plans for full-scale conquest. He also considers the major economic and political damage that was inflicted by the invasion crisis, as well as its lasting effects on English society.

The Vikings were integral to the shaping of medieval Europe and the development of nation states; their ships crossed the Atlantic, their traders reached Constantinople and their raiders struck without warning. Combining contemporary historical sources with the evidence of recent archaeological discoveries, this history of the Viking Age focuses on the key events and major characters of the period from the raid on Lindisfarne in 793 to the death of Harald Hardrada in 1066.

The Knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon are found in fictional literature from the Middle Ages to Sir Walter Scott and beyond, even appearing in computer games. Nicholson separates the surviving historical evidence from speculative associations with Freemasonry, the Holy Grail and space travel: beginning with the Templars' origins during the Crusades she considers their religious life, their service to Europe's kings and their commercial and economic activities, up to the order's dissolution in 1312.

Edward II, who ruled from 1307 until 1327, when he was forced to abdicate, was undeniably a failure as a king and as a war leader. Kathryn Warner's biography accepts Edward's many failings, but seeks to provide a fuller portrait than the usual portrayal of the wayward and ineffectual ruler. She explores Edward's personality and contemporary perceptions of him, demolishes the myths, and reveals an erratic person, who was born into an hereditary monarchy and had no choice but to be king.

The duchy of Aquitaine (Gascony) was given to the future Edward I by his father, Henry III, in 1252 and it remained united under the English crown until 1453. The Gascon Rolls are the main source for the history of Aquitaine during that period, and this volume illustrates the variety of recent researches, with subjects including the wine trade; Jean II, count of Armagnac (1373–1384); and English soldiers in the region, 1369 to 1450.

During the 128-year rule of the Komnenes, Byzantium faced attacks from Turks in the East and from Western Christian forces fighting the early Crusades. Carr tells the story of this vital period for Eastern Christendom, when the emperors introduced new military techniques and relied on mercenaries including English soldiers who fled the Norman Conquest to join Byzantium’s renowned Varangian Guard.

The loyal brother of Edward IV, Richard was entrusted as Protector of Edward’s son and heir, but in 1483 he took the crown himself while his nephews, Edward V and Prince Richard, disappeared. It was widely rumoured that the king had murdered his brother’s sons. Avoiding the bias of Richard’s evil reputation, this narrative history of his life and reign returns to original sources and looks in depth at contemporary politics, Richard’s earlier years and northern affinity, and how he constructed his own power base.

Both a religious order and a private army, the Templars were answerable only to the Pope and dominated the politics of the Middle East during the tumultuous age of the Crusades. This book traces the history and changing fortunes of the order, from its foundation in 1119 to its suppression amid accusations of heresy less than two centuries later.

‘Skin is the parchment upon which identity is written’: in this volume, the contributors explore the responses to the removal of that skin in art, history, literature, manuscript studies and law. The 14 essays deal with both flaying in practice, and its representation in religious art and iconography and in literature, including the Arthurian stories and Robin Hood.

After examining the context and motivations for Pope Urban II’s appeal for holy war in 1095, Andrew Jotischky recounts the conquests and reversals of the Crusades through 200 years, describes life in the Crusader States and, finally, discusses later interpretations of ‘crusading’.

Taking its title from the ecclesiastical title of its author, Alonso Martínez de Toledo (1398–1468), this 15th-century treatise on the harmful effects of illicit sex is famous for its vivid vernacular style and the second of its four books, comprising tales of wicked women and their wiles. This edition presents a translation into modern English with a critical introduction, notes and bibliography.

Worn around the neck, the livery collar was a band of leather or velvet decorated with silver or gold devices, with more prestigious examples made entirely of precious metal. Although literary and visual references to such collars abound, they are often overlooked; Matthew Ward explores their cultural and political meaning and utility throughout the 15th century, particularly during the Wars of the Roses.

Because it formed the core of medieval devotional practice, the Book of Psalms was frequently copied as a separate volume for private reading. This study focuses on 13 examples, now in the collections of two Dublin libraries but with origins across Europe, which illustrate the diversity of such psalters’ design. Ranging from the lavishly decorated to the more austerely utilitarian, the manuscripts offer clues to the ways in which medieval readers scrutinized and engaged with the text.

As he challenges the persistent myth that the Middle Ages brought little scientific progress, Hannam shows that the Church did not hold back ‘natural philosophy’, and that even astrology and alchemy were important in the development of modern science. He discusses the period’s sophisticated technological achievements, which include lenses, mechanical clocks and the blast furnace, and highlights the debts owed by Copernicus and Galileo to their medieval forebears’ pioneering ideas. Off-mint.

Medieval mercenaries were more than just well-armed, freebooting thugs; they were also noblemen, who took advantage of political chaos to further their own interests. From early Italian mercenaries to the private armies spawned during the Hundred Years War, this survey of Europe’s freelance fighters describes the many mercenary bands who killed, looted and ransomed their way across Europe’s heartlands, referencing the popular literature, including Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Conan Doyle and Mark Twain, that has guaranteed their place in the collective imagination.

‘London’, writes Thomas Williams, ‘is a city of spectres, of ghosts walking in the footsteps of other ghosts, and the Viking Age is perhaps its most forgotten hinterland’. This colourful account of the city in the centuries between 842 and 1016 – a period that saw over a dozen Viking attacks on London – describes how it withstood the ‘great heathen horde’; how it endured and prospered through to the time of Cnut; and how the Viking legacy lives on in the capital.

The year 1215 is remembered for King John’s reluctant granting of Magna Carta, but the famous meeting at Runnymede is just one episode in the year’s story of political, constitutional and religious upheaval. The author of The Hollow Crown here combines a narrative of high politics and civil war with the evidence for everyday life to show how these transformative months were experienced by people at different levels of English society.

Joanna of Flanders, Countess de Montfort and Duchess of Brittany, was a formidable figure, leading her troops to rout the French at Hellebont in 1342. The following year however, after accompanying her ally Edward III to England, she vanished from public life. This biography draws on new research to reveal how her subsequent imprisonment in Yorkshire was the result not, as previously claimed, of mental illness, but of Edward’s determination to keep control of Brittany for himself.

The overwhelming and unexpected English victory at Agincourt in 1415 was attributed by many to God, but, as Juliet Barker shows, it was the culmination of years of preparation by Henry V. Her book first covers the background of civil war in France and Henry's careful diplomacy; it then follows the campaign's progress from invasion, through the siege of Harfleur and the march to Calais, to Agincourt itself; and finally considers the battle's direct consequences and later legacy.

Originally given by members or guests of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies, these five lectures cover issues of sixth century archaeological chronology; recurrent themes in six centuries of Anglo-Saxon art; King Alfred and Weland; literacy and book culture; and the Vercelli Book as a context for The Dream of the Rood.

The youngest son of Henry II, John (1166–1216) became king on the death of his brother, Richard I, in 1199. He inherited a vast and possibly ungovernable dominion, extending across the Angevin empire in France as well as England, Ireland and Wales. In this biography, Morris draws on contemporary sources to describe a tyrannical and murderous reign that saw the loss of the French lands, the rebellion of the English barons and, despite the signing of Magna Carta, civil war.

The Staffordshire Hoard, made up of 3,500 pieces of gold and silver, was discovered by metal-detector in 2009. As one of the most astonishing finds of treasure in the British Isles, it promises to shed much light on the 'Dark Ages' of British history, when struggles for control between different peoples created the cultural identity of the nation. With spectacular photographs of the treasure and other artefacts, this book demonstrates what we can learn about that age of near-constant warfare.

As William the Conqueror lay dying in France in 1087, his youngest son, Henry, stayed at his side; the eldest son, Robert Curthose, was in another part of France and unaware of his father’s plight; meanwhile, William Rufus was heading back to England to seize the crown. Beginning with an outline of William I’s life, this is the story of the power struggle between three sons: the crusader who rebelled against his father, and the two who inherited the Conqueror’s throne.

On the death of Richard I in 1199, his brother John took possession of the vast Angevin lands in England and France. By the time of his own death in 1215, King John had lost control of the continental lordships, England was facing invasion, and his English subjects had confronted him with the Magna Carta. Church's study of John approaches the king as a man ill-suited to his position of power, who came to be seen by his contemporaries as a tyrant.

Boyhood friend of Richard III and one of the wealthiest barons in England, Francis Lovell remained loyal to the Yorkist cause even after his king’s death at Bosworth. Drawing on primary sources, this history offers a portrait of the man his enemies called Richard’s ‘dogge’, uncovers his role in the attempted assassination of Henry VII and Lambert Simnel’s rebellion, and unravels the mystery of his disappearance after the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487.

‘A remarkable and successful king of the Anglo-Saxons’, but overshadowed by the illustrious reputation of his father, Alfred the Great, Edward the Elder reigned between 899 and 924 and was pivotal in the transformation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into a recognizable, unified English nation state which his son Æthelstan developed further. Drawing on tenth-century sources, Michael John Key gives an assessment of the reign and, as far as possible, an account of Edward’s early life and kingship in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

In 2012, the catalogue of the exhibition ‘Byzantium and Islam: The Age of Transition’ explored the cultural interaction between the Christian and Jewish communities and the world of Islam. In eleven illustrated essays, this volume extends that investigation, exploring topics including the floor mosaics of Gerasa in Jordan, communal boundaries in Cairo and the destruction of images in eighth-century Palestine.

On Easter Sunday in 1475 the corpse of a two-year-old child was found in a ditch in Trent, and the rumour that he had been ritually murdered by Jews quickly gained acceptance; suspects were tried, confessed under torture and executed. Examining how a cult of Simon and the ‘blood libel’ against Jews were widely spread through printed verse and prose accounts, this volume presents a selection of vernacular and Latin texts with facing translations and notes.

‘The Battle of Hastings, 1066, remains a key date in British collective memory’, but Ashley Hern goes on to ask: ‘what do we actually know of the battle itself?’ He returns to primary sources to re-examine the evidence for issues such as the site, King Harold’s death and William’s claim to the English throne; and discusses how the ‘facts’ were portrayed by contemporary writers, and how our understanding of Hastings has been shaped by the myths, interpretations and concerns of later generations.

Martyn Whittock uses a variety of first-hand accounts and anecdotes to show how England was transformed between the age of the Saxon kings from the 10th century and the 15th century Wars of the Roses. Revealing the diversity of medieval society, he explains the effects of the changing feudal system and the emergence of towns and the urban elite.

The wife of Louis VII of France, then of Henry II of England, and mother of Richard I and King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204) was a dominant figure in the twelfth century. For the French poet, philosopher and historian Jean Markale, she was pivotal: a paragon of beauty and virtue, the embodiment of sovereignty and 'heroine of a revolution that awakened the Middle Ages from its torpor'. First published in France in 1979; translated by Jon E Graham.

Dress in the Middle Ages was an identifier of status, wealth, occupation, gender and ethnicity, and fashions in dress caused controversy and complaint: ‘Do not fashion your clothing in a new-fangled way’, wrote Robert Brunne in Handlyng Synne (1303). This volume of manuscript sources, transcribed and translated from Old and Middle English, Latin and Anglo-Norman French, illuminates these subjects through readings from wills, accounts, inventories, moral and satirical works, sumptuary regulations and epics and romances.

In the period between the early 14th and mid 16th century, prelates – cardinals, bishops and monastic superiors – had considerable power, wealth and cultural influence. This study, comprising twelve essays, examines their exercise of power, their patronage of books and libraries, and their material wealth.

Described by Lord Denning as ‘the greatest constitutional document of all times’, Magna Carta is widely seen as a guarantor of individual rights and freedom from tyranny. But how is a charter forced on a medieval king by his barons relevant today? This comprehensive, accessible and richly illustrated volume explains its origins, how it has been interpreted through the centuries, and the inspiration it provides to those wishing to build democratic societies across the world.

Ranging from the 9th century to the 15th, this collection of short biographies introduces 70 notable men and women from Europe and the Middle East. Dispelling popular myths about the medieval world’s ‘backwardness’, the book highlights the achievements of familiar figures such as Joan of Arc, the Venetian traveller Marco Polo and Persian polymath Avicenna, as well as lesser-known individuals including the clockmaker and leper Richard of Wallingford. More than 170 colour illustrations complement the text.

Peter Rex presents ‘an alternative view’ of Edward the Confessor’s life, character and achievements, drawing on the wealth of research into his reign since Frank Barlow’s major biography of the king appeared in 1979. Discounting the traditional emphasis on the influence of Earl Godwine, Rex examines Edward’s achievements in foreign policy and statecraft, looking in particular at his contribution to advancing the administration of the Old English state; and in a final chapter, he discusses the cult of the Confessor’s sanctity.

East Anglia in the 15th century was a centre of English culture, and its ferment of political, religious and cultural debate is reflected in the works, written in Middle English for lay audiences, of the Augustinian friar and scholar John Capgrave. Exploring the innovation and themes of his writings – piety, the intellectual, the spiritual integrity of the English Church, holy women, sainthood and governance – Karen Winstead argues against the prevalent view of Capgrave as a religious and political reactionary.

With topics including medieval Jewish models of marriage, the many loves of Philip Augustus of France, women talking about marriage in the poetry of William Dunbar and Hans Sachs, and the dilemma of widows with inherited property in medieval London, this collection of twelve essays approaches the subject of medieval marriage from the perspectives of literature, history, art history, law, religion and economics, and ranges geographically from Iceland to the Levant.

At the accession of Henry II in 1154 the Plantagenets ruled over a realm that stretched from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. When Richard III died in 1485 only Calais was left on the European mainland, but the Plantagenets had consolidated and secured royal control within Britain. In this lucid account of their 300-year reign Wilson chronicles the turbulent and often blood-soaked world of kings such as Richard the Lionheart, King John and Henry V, the hero of Agincourt.

With tales ranging from King Arthur’s Round Table to Alexander the Great’s journeys in the Far East, romance was the most fertile narrative form of the Middle Ages. This book presents treasures from the Bodleian Library to introduce the literary genre of romance and the manuscripts that preserve its texts. The authors also discuss later responses to the tradition: Pre-Raphaelites’ aesthetic appreciation, the enthusiasm of Sir Walter Scott and CS Lewis and the affectionate mockery found in Cervantes and Monty Python.

The identity of the fabled King Arthur has puzzled historians for centuries, but has never been established beyond the supposition that he was a British warrior who held the Saxons at bay in the 6th century. This study considers the available sources to identify who he may have been, and explains one aspect of the legend that has eluded previous historians – the story of Arthur’s successful campaign against the Roman Empire in mainland Europe.

After examining the origins of castle building in northern France, Dan Spencer’s military history focuses on the role of castles in warfare in England and Wales, from their introduction by the Normans in the 11th century to the death of Henry VIII in 1547. The book covers all the major conflicts, including the conquest of Wales, war with Scotland, 1295–1337, the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses, ending with the early Tudors’ fortifications against invasion.

The brutal murder of Edward II with a red-hot poker at Berkeley Castle is perhaps the most infamous of all royal deaths – but is it true? A remarkable document discovered in a Montpellier archive more than a century ago claims that he escaped to Ireland before making his way to Italy, where he lived as a hermit. This historical investigation charts his reign and his downfall, before carefully evaluating all the evidence for and against his survival.

The Plantagenet dynasty ruled medieval England during a period of immense socio-political change when the role of queen consorts was redefined. Indeed, as this book reveals, royal women played a significant role in the maintenance of the Plantagenets’ political power. Corvi focuses on ten influential figures from the period 1236–1485, such as the ‘She-Wolf’ Isabella of France, who deposed her husband Edward II, and Margaret of Anjou, who was often in control of government during Henry VI’s bouts of madness.

After a brief history of the ‘Viking Age’, which saw the movement of peoples from Scandinavia to the British Isles, Eleanor Parker turns to medieval chronicles and legends about the Vikings or ‘Danes’. Although the medieval narratives often portray the Scandinavians as raiders whose purpose was plunder and destruction, Parker’s close study of the stories reveals other motives – including participation in English politics and the need to settle – and she traces the positive Viking contribution to culture and identity in England.

Edward II, who ruled from 1307 until 1327, when he was forced to abdicate, was undeniably a failure as a king and as a war leader. Kathryn Warner's biography accepts Edward's many failings, but seeks to provide a fuller portrait than the usual portrayal of the wayward and ineffectual ruler. She explores Edward's personality and contemporary perceptions of him, demolishes the myths, and reveals an erratic person, who was born into an hereditary monarchy and had no choice but to be king.

In a fresh account of Bannockburn, Cornell places the battle ‘within its wider context as a phenomenon inextricably linked to the political events within Scotland and England in this period’. He examines the internal conflicts in both countries, the leadership of Robert Bruce and that of England’s Edward II and his generals in a thorough reappraisal of why the battle occurred, how it unfolded and how the Scots achieved their extraordinary against-the-odds victory.

The illegitimate son of Lorenzo II and a maidservant, Alessandro de’ Medici ruled Florence for six turbulent years until he was assassinated in 1537. This first complete account of his life charts the rise through the intrigue-ridden courts of Renaissance Italy of the model for Machiavelli’s Prince, assesses the qualities of a ruler branded a tyrant by his enemies after his death, and considers the possible ethnic origins of this ‘first European ruler of colour’.

Sharon Bennett Connolly offers a new approach to the male-dominated history of 1066 and its cataclysmic events. She draws on the chronicles of those times to reconstruct the lives of the women who played significant roles in the years that led up to the Conquest and in its aftermath: among them, Emma of Normandy, queen of both Aethelred II and Cnut; Edward the Confessor’s queen, Edith of Wessex; William the Conqueror’s Matilda; and Margaret, the sainted Queen of Scotland.

Simon Barton investigates the political and cultural significance of marriages and other sexual encounters between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula, from the Islamic conquest in the early eighth century to the fall of Granada and the end of Muslim rule in 1492.

By preaching in the open and visiting lay people at home, mendicant friars took religion outside church buildings. Yet, despite their dedication to apostolic poverty, the friars were criticized for their churches’ considerable size. In her study of the ‘social lives of buildings’, Bruzelius describes how friars’ activities shaped the interior and exterior spaces of medieval cities; in particular explaining how individual donors’ requests for intercessory prayers and burial rights led to the episodic expansion and decoration of the friars’ convents.

‘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.

More than five centuries after his death Richard III remains a compelling but divisive figure, the subject of myth and counter-myth. In this biography Horspool ‘aims at neutrality’, focusing on contemporary accounts while also examining how competing narratives have created the ‘composite figure who is at once so familiar and so alien’. He ends with reflections on the enduring fascination with Richard and describes events surrounding the recent rediscovery and reburial of his body.

Hebrew prophets and Israelites appeared in early Christian art, but only after 1000 CE did the Jew emerge as a recognizable figure, soon to become a poisonous symbol. Sara Lipton argues that the visual stereotypes were neither an inevitable result of Christian theology nor simple reflections of prejudice. She traces complex relationships between medieval Christians’ religious ideas, social experience and changing artistic practices, and shows how representations of Jews transformed over time from benign figures of ancient wisdom to vicious caricatures.

The kings of Anglo-Saxon England were reluctant to allow a woman to sit beside them on the throne; when Elfrida shared her husband Edgar's coronation at Bath in 973, she broke the mould. A powerful queen, she ruthlessly disposed of rivals in pursuit of the crown for her son, Ethelred the Unready. In this first biography of Elfrida, Norton asks whether she really was the black-hearted woman who murdered King Edward the Martyr, her stepson, to make way for Ethelred.

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.

For much of the 14th and 15th centuries, England was almost continuously at war with its neighbours, and enjoyed an unprecedented degree of military supremacy. Peter Reid's extensive account is not simply a catalogue of battles, but combines analysis of strategy and weaponry with a dramatic telling of how and why the wars, from Bannockburn to the Wars of the Roses, came about, and how they were fought.

Investigating how capital and corporal punishments developed and operated in English society between c.600 and 1150, the ten essays in this volume draw on legal, literary, historiographical, philological and archaeological evidence to explore topics including amputations, mutilation and spectacle, and incarceration.

The Third Crusade united European leaders in an expedition to reclaim the Holy Land from Saladin. It is particularly well-documented, with contemporary chronicles surviving from both sides of the conflict, some of which were written by men present in the region. First published in 1889, this compilation of translated sources juxtaposes accounts by different authors and illustrates how events such as the siege of Acre were viewed at the time.

The history of the Normans began a long time before William the Conqueror arrived in England in 1066. In this absorbing and accessible introduction, Professor Neveux describes the 'extraordinary Norman adventure' that changed the landscape and culture of Europe, from the first Viking raids of the 8th century to the defeat of the Normans in Sicily in the mid 13th century. Translated by Howard Curtis.

Reflecting contemporary approaches to the Middle Ages as a dynamic era of social, technological and political change, this volume of 18 essays explores the ideas of transition, transformation and taxonomy in subjects as varied as ethnic identity in medieval Córdoba, Old English poetry, the sculpture series of Salisbury Cathedral Chapter House, and Simon Semeonis’ 14th-century account of his pilgrimage from Ireland to Jerusalem.

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.

A charismatic Plantagenet ruler, described by a contemporary as ‘the handsomest prince my eyes ever beheld’, Edward IV (1442–1483) fought hard for his crown, contesting some of the most important battles of the medieval period, including Mortimer’s Cross, Towton, Barnet and Tewkesbury. Covering Edward’s background, the Yorkist takeover and the tensions created by the king’s controversial Woodville marriage, this history follows his struggle to gain and regain the kingship of England during a period of great dynastic turmoil.

Were the sons of Edward IV – the boy king Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York – genuinely held against their will in the Tower of London; and were they murdered there? Bones found in the Tower were interred in Westminster Abbey in 1674, and their burial urn was opened in 1933. Now, drawing on genetic science, John Ashdown-Hill re-examines the case of the two princes, questioning the orthodox view and stripping away the myths that surround their fate.

Inheriting his dukedom at the age of four, Richard, 3rd Duke of York, became the wealthiest man in England at 13 and later rebelled against his king. Although remembered as the man who ignited the Wars of the Roses, the Duke has been largely eclipsed by his sons, Edward IV and Richard III. Lewis's biography challenges the myth of the Duke as a man of insatiable ambition who dragged a nation into civil war, and reveals a family man, yet one with unparalleled power and responsibilities.

The focus of these eleven essays is the complex relationship between masculinity and religion, with topics ranging widely to include studies of the rabbis of Babylonian Talmud; narratives of the First Crusade; and why men became monks in late medieval England.

Francis Young, himself at the forefront of the search to locate the lost coffin of King Edmund, tells the story of the historical search for the real man behind the legendary East Anglian king killed by the Vikings in 869. The book traces Edmund’s progress from martyred king to England’s national saint in medieval times; and describes current research into Edmund’s burial in the abbey at Bury St Edmunds and the present whereabouts of his mortal remains.

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.

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.

In the Latin West the eleventh century was a time of rapid social change, political expansion and violent conflict between secular and religious powers over the control of sacred space, epitomized by the so-called Investiture Conflict. By analysing the consecrations of churches and attempts to direct the large crowds which such occasions attracted, Hamilton identifies the significance of religious rites as metaphor for reform, and highlights the complex relationship between the political, social and religious in Italian cities.

Published to mark the nonacentenary of the foundation of the Cistercian order at Citeaux in 1098, this volume portrays the growth and the cultural, spiritual and economic life of the 'white monks'. Williams's study is concerned with the first 250 years of Cistercian history, the so-called 'Golden Age' that was brought to an end by the Black Death. The book includes numerous maps and plans, a chapter on the Cistercian-affiliated nunneries and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

Gutierre Díaz de Gámez was Don Pero Niño's standard-bearer and head of his military household. Written c.1431, his El Vitorial is a partisan account of Pero Niño, but an illuminating glimpse of 15th-century Spain. Translated and selected by Joan Evans (1928).

Gale R Owen-Crocker's work has cast new light on the production and design of the Bayeux Tapestry, particularly with regard to its actual fabrication. This volume brings together 15 essays, with a new introduction by the author. No jacket.

The priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Blythburgh was one of the earliest houses of the Augustinian canons established in the diocese of Norfolk in the 12th and early 13th centuries. The documents in the Priory's cartulary, predominantly private charters, are given here in Latin, with an English summary or, for documents dated beyond 1250, in a full English abstract. No jacket.

The strengthening of ties between crown and locality in England in the 14th century is epitomized by the relationships between two of the largest and wealthiest urban communities (York and Bristol) and the crown. This book combines a detailed study of the individuals who ruled Bristol and York at the time with analysis of the language of politics, thus offering a new perspective on relations between town and crown in late medieval England. Slightly off-mint.

This volume brings together the accounts for Beaulieu Abbey for one year - 1269-1270 - as derived from two sources: the Abbey's own accounts and those of the great manor of Faringdon in Berkshire. (Latin text.)

In this comprehensive study Lacey examines the theological underpinnings of royal mercy, the social and legal context, the procedures of pardoning and their use at moments of political upheaval such as the Peasants' Revolt.

In an in-depth study of the late medieval practice of fraternal correction of sin, Craun examines how it was constructed in pastoral writing and, looking particularly at Piers Plowman and The Book of Margery Kempe, how it was used by writers intent on reform.

T Matthew N McCabe explores John Gower's use of the Ovidian myths of metamorphosis and his choice of English to create a vernacular poetic voice and an accessible lay authority for the Confessio Amantis.

Discover the gruesome armoury of medieval warfare, and learn how foot soldiers laid siege to massive castles. This boxed set includes a 24-page book and 15 model pieces that will allow you to build a working siege catapult and assemble walls, towers and gatehouses to batter into submission. Full instructions and stirring accounts of actual medieval sieges are provided. Age 7+

In this biography of Hereward, the Lincolnshire thegn who led the last stand against William the Conqueror, Peter Rex describes him as representing 'all those unknown Englishmen who resisted King William and were disinherited, exiled, imprisoned and slain by the Normans'. The book rescues Hereward from the legends, places him firmly in his Anglo-Danish context and looks in detail at the siege of Ely; it also sorts fact from fictions about his death and the myth of the Wakes.

Nigel Bryant presents the first English translation of Wauquelin’s The Deeds and Conquests of Alexander, a compendium of stories about Alexander the Great written in medieval French in the mid 15th century. No jacket.

Justinian's reign (527–565) was a time of increasing intolerance and absolutism but also brought social mobility, with both the Empress Theodora and her friend Antonina rising from origins in the theatre to positions of great power and influence. In his history of this turbulent period Evans examines how both women negotiated the intrigues of the Byzantine imperial court; he pays special attention to Antonina's management of her husband Belisarius' career and Theodora's protection of Christians who rejected the Chalcedonian creed.

Following the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Welsh border region of the Marcher lords became a classic frontier society, its difference from the rest of England marked by language and ethnicity and by the often violent military nature of its local rulers. This study traces the history of the main lordships, from pre-1066 Norman involvement in the region to the role of the Mortimers of Ludlow in late medieval politics and the beginnings of the Tudor dynasty.

‘Presenting an unfamiliar facet of a familiar story’, Peter Rex focuses, not on the success of the Norman Conquest, but on resistance to it. He identifies the leaders of the resistance, the collaborators who worked with the Normans, and the conflict between the two; he then goes on to examine all the campaigns of the resistance movement from 1067 to 1071 and the reasons for their successes and failures. Finally, Rex concentrates on the activities of Hereward and his last stand against William at Ely.