25 Sep High Middle Ages, Medieval History “Will No-One Rid Me Of This Turbulent Priest?”: The Assassination of Saint Thomas Becket 4 September 2023 By Charles J Lockett One of the novices pressed his eye to the crack in the Cathedral door. With a sharp intake of breath, he stumbled...Continue reading
21 Aug High Middle Ages, Medieval History, Uncategorised The Story of King Henry II of England 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett King Henry II came to power after the Anarchy, a sixteen-year long civil war which had shaken the foundations of ...Continue reading
14 Aug Anglo-Saxons, High Middle Ages, Medieval History, Uncategorised The Anarchy, Part 3: King Stephen and Empress Matilda 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett It is the year 1138 CE. The clouds have burst. Open hostilities between Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Hen...Continue reading
07 Aug Anglo-Saxons, High Middle Ages, Medieval History, Uncategorised The Anarchy: Civil War in England, Part 2: A Crumbling Kingdom 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett The board is set. The pieces are moving. The Anarchy is going to descend upon England. In our first part, we imme...Continue reading
31 Jul Anglo-Saxons, High Middle Ages, Medieval History, Uncategorised The Anarchy: Civil War In England, Part 1: The Wreck Of The White Ship 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett High Medieval England was a particularly violent and unsettled place, in a violent and unsettled time. The seizur...Continue reading
19 Jun High Middle Ages, Medieval History Guelphs and Ghibellines: The Birth of Italian Republicanism 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett The Investiture Controversy had set the Holy Roman Emperors and the Papacy at loggerheads for almost 50 years. At...Continue reading
12 Jun High Middle Ages, Medieval History The Grand Ambitions of Frederick Barbarossa 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett Part 1: A Dynastic Union To End All Wars In the cold December of 1122, ...Continue reading
04 May High Middle Ages, Medieval History The Fall Before The Fall: The Latin Empire of Conquered Byzantium – Part 2 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett In Part 1 of our examination of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, we saw how the Crusaders knocked over the Byz...Continue reading
25 Apr High Middle Ages, Medieval History The Fall Before The Fall: The Latin Empire of Conquered Byzantium – Part 1 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett The end of the Fourth Crusade was not marked by the retaking of Jerusalem or even the defeat of the Crusader armi...Continue reading
16 Feb High Middle Ages, Medieval History How Long Was The Hundred Years War? 16 August 2023 By Charles J Lockett As most people with an interest in history trivia know, ‘How long was the Hundred Years War?’ is a classic trick ...Continue reading