Medieval

Eric Linklater finds that among medieval champions of Scottish independence was an ancestor of Elizabeth II, the heroic Robert the Bruce.

Arthur Bryant relates how Becket’s death, at the hands of Henry II's servants, made this once worldly prelate a popular religious hero.

In the twelfth-century conflict between Church and State, Henry II found his most determined opponent in his formerly devoted servant, Thomas Becket, as Arthur Bryant continues his Story of England series.

Arthur Bryant continues his series on the historical development of the country at the United Kingdom's heart.

In these extracts Arthur Bryant describes the glorious reign of King Alfred, 871-99

Up to the reign of James II, the College of Heralds, besides the part they played on state occasions, had the important duty of regulating the kingdom’s social structure, as Anthony R. Wagner here documents.

When Richard II succeeded his grandfather, Edward III, he turned to alchemy to create a more pious ideal of kingship. His reign left us one of medieval England’s most enduring and complex images. 

A.H. Burne describes how, 500 years ago at the Battle of Castillon, where the Great Talbot lost his life, the English crown forfeited its 300-year-old dominion over Aquitaine.

According to this Essay in Archaeological Detection by Jon Manchip White, the famous legend of the loves of Tristan and Isolt may very well rest on a solid historical basis.

Allen Cabaniss investigates rumour, propaganda and freedom of thought in the ninth century life of the late Carolingian empire.