Marc Morris

How Great was Alfred?

In uniting the peoples of Wessex and Mercia, the celebrated king left an ideological legacy of lasting importance.

William the Conqueror Reassessed

In the popular imagination, William the Conqueror is, without doubt, the villain, yet the sources we have for his life are ambivalent. Marc Morris revisits the evidence to show the man behind the mythology: neither good nor bad, but complex and human.

Starved to Death by King John

One of King John's most detestable crimes – the starving to death of 22 knights at Corfe Castle – has been surprisingly overlooked by historians.

The Siege of Rochester

The struggle between King John and his barons turned into open warfare at Rochester Castle in 1215. Yet the story of how the fortress came to be besieged has not been fully understood, says Marc Morris.