Little has been known up until now about the involvement and power of women during the Crusader period. When Saladin's armies besieged Jerusalem in 1187, behind the city walls a last-ditch defense was being led by an unlikely trio - including Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem. She was the last of a line of formidable female rulers in the Crusader States of Outremer - a world where women conducted diplomatic negotiations, made military decisions, forged alliances, rebelled, and undertook architectural projects. In today's episode, Gone Medieval goes to India! Cat is on location at the Jaipur Literature Festival where she is joined by Katherine Pangonis, a historian and author specialising in the medieval world of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Together they explore some of the women who dared to rule.
Katherine Pangonis is the author of Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule, published by Orion Publishing Co.
The recently released film Lapwing is set during the Tudor period, one year after the Egyptian Act of 1554 effectively criminalised Romani people and others - generically labelled "Egyptians" - and those who harboured them. Lapwing tells the story of one such family who are exploited by a vengefu...
What can art tell us about a country's history? Well, a lot! In today's episode, Dan is joined by Art Historian Temi Odumosu and popular historian James Hawes to discuss the cultural works they think reveal something vital about the history of Britain. J
James enthuses about the Staffordshire Ho...
On the 7th April 1945, 702 French members of the Special Air Service parachuted into the Netherlands to recapture Dutch canals, bridges and airfields in the fight against the occupiers. This was one of the last major airborne missions of the Second World War and, despite a multitude of difficulti...
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