Edward I is one of the most notorious rulers of English history. With a reputation for military brutishness and political ruthlessness, he was rumoured to have once frightened a man to death. But in November 1290, one event brought this warrior king crashing to the ground: the death of his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile. The royal entourage, who were based in Lincoln at the time, spent the dark days of December 1290 returning the body of the queen to Westminster Abbey. To mark this procession - the longest in English history - Edward did something quite remarkable. He ordered 12 crosses of golden stones to be erected along the route. Seven centuries later, Alice Loxton traces the footsteps of the cortege, uncovering what remains of the most romantic story of England’s history.
The Wars of the Roses were one of the bloodiest periods in English history. After 30 years of conflict between the royal houses of Lancaster and York, the nobility was shattered, and the Plantagenet dynasty was ended. But what caused this long period of internecine violence? It's a story of such ...
The Battle of Brunanburh was one of the bloodiest and biggest battles of early medieval history. Fought 1100 years ago, Athelstan - the king of the English - opposed a coalition of Irish, Scots, Northumbrians and Vikings and won a decisive victory. The enemy shield wall was penetrated. Their troo...
They might be more famous today for their cameos in The Da Vinci Code and Assassin’s Creed, but in real life they were an army of valiant, daring Crusaders famous for their self-discipline, who fought in the Middle Age’s most bloody battles. They were allowed no sex, no personal possessions, and ...
