TODAY IN MEDIEVAL HISTORY

19 February 1473 It All Adds Up

2012-02-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

19 February 1473 – Birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)

Read about his imapct on history in Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began by Jack Repcheck

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

18 February 1478 He Wined Once To Often

2012-02-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

18 February 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.

Commemmorate it with a poster, if you are a little weird: The Duke of Clarence is Drowned in a Butt of Malmsey Giclee Poster Print by Philip Poteaux, 18x24.

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

17 February 1500 My Brother Fought the Dukes and All I Got Was this Lousy Mousepad

2012-02-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

17 February 1500 – The Battle of Hemmingstedt. It was an attempt by Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, who had established a peasants' republic on the coast of the North Sea. Duke Johann was at the time also king of the Kalmar Union.

Get the mousepad: Schleswig-Holstein, Hemmingstedt Mouse Pad.

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

16 February 1249 I Wonder If the Khan Grilled Him About France?

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

16 February 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with Mongol Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
Someone please write a novel about this!

For a change of pace, listen toand download Wu Bang Zi, by the Mongolian Khagan .

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15 February 1564 Star-struck

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

15 February 1564 – Birth of Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)

Read about him in Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sís.

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

14 February 1009 Did We Mention Lithuania?

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

14 February 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.

Learn more in Saulius Zukas's Lithuania: Past, Culture, Present.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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13 February 1542 Ouch, Watch Those Thorns, Girl!

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

13 February 1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.

Read about her in Murder Most Royal: The Story of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard by Jean Plaidy..

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

12 February 1554 Jane, We Hardly Knew Ye

2012-02-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

12 February 1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.

Read about her in Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey.

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

11 February 1466 Henry VIII's Mommy

2012-02-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

11 February 1466 – Birth of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII of England (d. 1503)

Read about her in Elizabeth of York (Queenship and Power) by Arlene Naylor Okerlund .

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10 February 1567 Renaissance Scots Terrorism?

2012-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

10 February 1567 – An explosion destroys the Kirk o' Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland. The second husband of Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Darnley is found strangled, in what many believe to be an assassination.

See how he blows in Mary, Queen of Scots, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Dalton.

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9 February 1450 She Will Be Sorel-y Missed

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

9 February 1450 – Death of Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII of France (b. 1421)

Read A King's Mistress: Or, Charles VII & Agnes Sorel and Chivalry in the XV Century, Volumes 1-2 by Edmund Goldsmid.

* Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact: Is looking for history and historical fiction blogs taking up all of your past, present and future? Save yourself by visiting Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact, a blog-mall on dozens of topics of interest to you.

8 February 1601 A Famous End to a Famous May-December Relationship

2012-02-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

8 February 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England – revolt is quickly crushed.

Read all about it in Lytton Strachey's Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

7 February 1497 You Threw the Good China Where, Dear?

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

7 February 1497 – The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which suppoters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy.

Read about it in Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence by Lauro Martines.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

6 February 1593 Yes, But Can You Dance to It?

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

6 February 1593 – Death of Johannes Ockeghem, Flemish composer.

Listen to his work on Tractus and Di Lasso & Ockeghem: Lagrime di San Pietro; Missa Pro Defunctis.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

5 February 1597 All That Glisters... Is Not the Golden Country

2012-02-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

5 February 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.

Read about them in the play The Golden Country: A Play About Christian Martyrs in Japan (Tuttle Classics) by Shusaku Endo and Francis Mathy.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

4 February 1454 Naughty Knights in Prussia

2012-02-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

4 February 1454 – In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.

Be naughty and play with Teutonic Knights Figures By Italeri.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

3 February 1399 Always a Bridesmaid, Never a King...

2012-02-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

3 February 1399 – Death of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)

Read about this thrice-wed fellow in Katherine by Anya Seton.

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

2 February 1509 Now If Richard Sharpe had Been There...

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

2 February 1509 – The Battle of Diu takes place near Diu, India, between Portugal and Turkey.

Read about it in Portuguese and the Sultanate of Gujarat, 1500-1573 by Kuzhippalli Skaria Mathew .

Challenge history! Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne

1 February 1327 Mother May I.. Rule My Kingdom?

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

1 February 1327 – Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.

Get all the dirt in Alison Weir 's Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England, as well as The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England: 1327--1330 by Ian Mortimer.

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31 January 1543 Shogun, Will Travel

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

31 January 1543 – Birth of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun of Japan (d. 1616)

Read about him in A. L. Sadler 's Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Tuttle Classics). (No, not the one Richard Chamberlain played.)

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30 January 1030 He Was Just Glad He Made It Through Y1k

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

30 January 1030 – Death of William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)

Listen to some of the music his family produced with Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lionheart): Troubadours & Trouvères in the Courts of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart, Marie de Champagne & Geoffroy, Duke of Brittany - Alla Francesca.

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29 January 904 How Can You Be a Pope and Also Anti Pope?

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

29 January 904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

Read about one antipope in Robert Rankin's The Antipope (Brentford Trilogy) .

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28 January 1547 A Long History of Luck with Kid Rulers...

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

28 January 1547 – Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.

Remember how you loved it as a kid? Read it again! Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper - Literary Touchstone Classic.

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27 January 1595 El Drac Quacks Up

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

27 January 1595 – Death of Sir Francis Drake, European explorer (b. c.1540)

Read about him in any number of books, including Golden Admiral: A Novel of Sir Francis Drake and the Armada by F. [Francis] Van Wyck .

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26 January 1531 Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

26 January 1531 – Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake--thousands die

Read about it in Edward Paice's Wrath of God: The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755

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25 January 1533 Two Down, Four to Go

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

25 January 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.

Reenact the event with Henry VIII and His Wives Paper Dolls.

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24 January 1376 When Fathers-in-Law Go Wrong

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

24 January 1376 – Death of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English military leader.

Arundel was buddies with the le Despenser's, in fact he married Hugh the Younger's daughter, so you can probably read about him in Susan Higginbotham's The Traitor's Wife.

medieval-novels.com now has over 1,750 books and movies, all set in the middle Ages! An Amazon.com Associates bookseller whose proceeds go to music for Radio Dé Danann - Music of the Pan-Celtic World!

23 January 971 Horton Hears a Han

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

23 January 971 – In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops. The Southern Han state is forced to submit to the Song Dynasty, ending not only Southern Han rule, but also the first regular war elephant corps employed in a Chinese army that had gained the Southern Han victories throughout the 10th century.

Read about elephants used in battle in Konstantin Nossov 's War Elephants (New Vanguard).

medieval-novels.com now has over 1,750 books and movies, all set in the middle Ages! An Amazon.com Associates bookseller whose proceeds go to music for Radio Dé Danann - Music of the Pan-Celtic World!

22 January 1521 A Guaranteed "Biggest Loser"?

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

22 January 1521 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, opens the Diet of Worms.

Celebrate it with a mousepad showing Martin Luther's testimony there.

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21 January 1189 The Pilot of "The Dick and Phil Show"

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

21 January 1189 – Philip II of France and Hrny II of England agreed to "take the Cross" and begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Henry would not live to fulfill his vow, so his son, Richard I, went to the Holy Land in his place.

Read about it in Richard Watten Field's The Swords of Faith.

medieval-novels.com now has over 1,750 books and movies, all set in the middle Ages! An Amazon.com Associates bookseller whose proceeds go to music for Radio Dé Danann - Music of the Pan-Celtic World!

Excerpt

London, England
Late Morning

“Your Highness, this cannot be!” exclaimed a well-dressed, grey-haired clerk as he burst into the small room.
Richard and Jean-Paul stood at a table stacked with papers and ledgers.

Richard was focused on one of the ledgers and barely reacted to the overwrought plea.

The newcomer continued, “I am to issue licenses for tournaments? We don’t allow tournaments in England—haven’t for many years. Maybe in France.”

Richard looked pointedly to Jean-Paul, then explained to the other man, “Tournaments train and identify many good knights. These licenses will raise money for the crown. You will issue the licenses, once the license fees are paid.”

“My dear King, I have collected money from almost every office-holder in the country. I have sold castles and titles, as well as offices. But licenses for barbaric tournaments—really, Your Highness, a line needs to be drawn, as to what we will do to accumulate—”

“I would sell London itself if I could find a buyer,” Richard told the man, more for effect than for accuracy. “Now you will collect the money for the tournament licenses and you will issue them immediately. And you will set dates to collect renewal fees. Is that clear?”

“But I—”

“And I might as well let you know. The Pope has granted approval: those who took vows to make the pilgrimage, but now cannot go, will be allowed to pay a fee in lieu of their vows, and still maintain their good favor with the church. You will collect that money and issue the appropriate documents for them as well.”

“This is really most disturbing.”

“You preferred collecting the Saladin Tithe?”

“Your father was not so, so mercenary, as to sell—”
Jean-Paul interrupted, “Excuse me, Your Highness, but Roger of Howden and the Queen await an audience.”

“Ah, yes. Send in Roger first. That will be quick. And make sure my mother is served some refreshments. We need to have a private discussion. That will take more time.”

“Forgive me,” the clerk said. “But these licenses—”

“I know you served my father for many years.” Richard squinted, containing a brewing rage. “And I’ve kept most of my father’s faithful servants in place. They tell me you are a wizard with numbers and the flow of revenue. But you are not a policy maker. I have ships under construction at every major English shipyard, and a lot of French ones as well. I need to pay for them. You will collect the money I need for this pilgrimage, from every source I’ve designated, and you will be honored to contribute to this glorious effort in that manner, or I’ll find somebody who will. Is that clear?”

The clerk bowed. “Yes.” He left the room.

Roger of Howden was a slightly built man, with reddish brown hair, a sparse beard and studious brown eyes. As he entered the room Richard asked, “You have a final draft of the rules for the men who will make the pilgrimage on our ships?”

“I do, Your Majesty. Swearing or gambling will be met with a fine. Combatants in fistfights will be drenched in the water three times. Thieves will be tarred and feathered and put ashore at the next harbor. Murderers will be tied to their victims and tossed into the sea.”

“Good. Write up copies for all the ships.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You’ll serve with me as secretary and as chronicler of the journey.”

“Thank you, sir.” Roger of Howden left.
Richard turned to Jean-Paul. “Please have the Queen come in.”
Eleanor arrived, radiating almost as much energy as her son. “Richard.” She kissed him on both cheeks after a quick hug.

“You look well, Mother.”

“Thank you. You certainly have taken charge. I’m really quite proud.”

Richard motioned Eleanor to a chair and sat across from her. “I owe much to you. My smooth assumption of the throne has certainly occurred with your significant help.”

Eleanor grinned her appreciation.

Richard knew his mother would not linger too long on the compliment. He also knew she would not engage in any false modesty and contradict his words of praise.

“I’m glad you accepted my advice on your brother’s status.”

“Of all the things I’ve been involved in—raising money with all manner of schemes, obsessing on a long foreign excursion when my reign is only beginning—this business about John has garnered me the most criticism from my advisors.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened in query.

“They’re certain John will cause trouble while I am away.”

“You’ve set affairs in order….”

He nodded. “I’ve provided for him generously. Huge fiefs—four counties in the southwest and two in the midlands.”

“You’ve been fair with him.”

“And I have one important check on him no one sees fit to mention: you.”
Eleanor smiled.

“While I am away fighting God’s battle, he is prohibited from making trouble. I know you will use all your influence and powers of persuasion with him if he acts up, for the sake of his immortal soul, if nothing else.”

“I will advise him well.”

“Good.”

“But John is not the main reason I’m here.”

“No.” Richard knew why she was there. “How have discussions with Sancho of Navarre been going?”

“Splendidly. Berengaria and he are thrilled with the match.”

“Good. I think I should like to meet up with my bride en route to the Holy Land. If all goes according to plans, I’ll marry her in a ceremony that will be spoken of for centuries, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the recaptured city of Jerusalem.”

Eleanor grinned. “An ambitious idea, but it won’t be popular with your pilgrimage partner.”

He grinned. “Philip will throw a fit. Which is why the arrangements must be worked out in secret. We’re set to leave next spring, during Lent. Can the arrangements be made by then?”

“I think so.” Eleanor paused. “When will you tell Philip?”

“I don’t know. We’ll need to see how matters progress.”

Eleanor nodded. “Yes. Timing will be important.”

“I’ll be in France for the next month or so, doing a lot of business with Philip. If my direct involvement is needed in your discussions with Sancho, get a message to me. But I trust your judgment in the matter.”

The old clerk burst into the room. “Your Highness, am I to understand the town of Eastbridge is to be sold to a mere knight for—”

Richard glowered at the clerk. “A very rich knight. You interrupt me one more time and I’ll sell your office. Decorated with your head on a pike!”

The clerk looked at Eleanor with the expression of someone who realized the faux pas he had committed. “My apologies.” The clerk withdrew.

Jean-Paul poked his head in, an apologetic look on his face. “He got by me.”
“Have a talk with him.”

“I will. Your Majesty, I had a chance to check with a messenger from the Holy Land. A force under the command of Guy of Lusignan has been defeated… with devastating losses. They are still clinging to siege positions around Acre, but are in very precarious circumstances.”
Richard stroked his beard. “We’d better get there as soon as possible.”
Jean-Paul nodded his agreement.

“But son,” Eleanor added, “I can tell you from experience, you must be well-prepared.”

“It is a shame that being well-prepared and moving quickly are so incompatible.”

From Richard Warren Field's Swords of Faith.

20 January 1265 Simon Says "Talk It All Over"

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

20 January 1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the "Houses of Parliament".

Read about in Falls the Shadow by Shron kay Penman.

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19 January 1419 Winner Takes All, Hal-style

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

19 January 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy.

See it with Sir Laurence Oliciier in Shakespeare's Henry V - Criterion Collection.

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18 January 1486 A Marriage Made in Bosworth Field

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

18 January 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.

Read about it in Jean Plaidy's To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (A Novel of the Tudors).

This marriage resulted in an embarrassment of novels about the Tudor dynasty, many of which you will find in that category at www.medieval-novels.com .

17 January 1377 Did He Dance Sur le Pont Tout en Ronde?

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

17 January 1377 – Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
Keep those memories alive with a print called River Rhone, Bridge and Papal Palace, Avignon, Provence, France, Europe Photographic Poster Print by John (Photographer) Miller, 18x24.

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16 January 1492 When Did She Find Time to Meet with Columbus?

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

16 January 1492 – The first grammar of the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella I.

Read about her in Alison Weir's Queen Isabella.

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15 January 1559 Good Queen Bess At Last

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

15 January 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.

Read about what led up to this event in Brandy Purdy's The Tudor Throne, to be released on July 1, 2011.

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14 January 1129 The Event That Launched a Thousand Novels

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

14 January 1129 – Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes.

Commemorate with a poster called Institution of the Order of the Templars in 1128, 1840 Giclee Poster Print by Francois-Marius Granet, 18x24.

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13 January 1328 We'll Always Have Perrers

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

13 January 1328 – Edward III of England marries Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.

Read about it in The Vow on the Heron by Jean Plaidy.

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12 January 1519 Emperor To the Max

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

12 January 1519 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)

Read about him in Gerhard Benecke 's Maximilian I, 1459-1519: An Analytical Biography.

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11 January 1571 It's My Party and I'll Pray As I Want To

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

11 January 1571 - Austrian nobility is granted freedom of religion.

Read about it in Austrian Nobility, assuming you can afford $85 for a paperback!

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10 January 1475 TMMI (Too Much Moldavian Information)

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

10 January 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.

Read about the history of Moldavia and its historic churches in Moldova: Moldova. History of Moldova, Dacia, Roman Dacia, Moldavia, Bessarabia Governorate, Union of Bessarabia with Romania, Soviet occupation of Bessarabia ... Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.

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9 January 1349 Contagion Control? I Don't Think So

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

9 January 1349 – The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.

Read more in Charles Morrise's short Story The Black Death and the Flaglellants on Read Book Online.

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8 January 1499 No Wagner Played at this Wedding

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

8 January 1499 – Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany.

Learn more with the video Discovery of Art: Anne of Brittany [VHS].

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7 January 1598 He Was Godunov for the Job

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

7 January 1598 – Boris Godunov becomes Tsar of Russia.

Read Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin's Boris Godunov and Other Dramatic Works (Oxford World's Classics).

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6 January 1066 Illegitimi Non Coronadum

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

6 January 1066 – Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.

Read about it in helen Hollick's Harold the King.

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5 January 1527 The Irony Was Not Lost

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

5 January 1527 – Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning.

Read about the Anabaptists in William Roscoe Estep's The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism.

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4 January 871 Getting Practice In On Defeating an Ethelred

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

4 January 871 – Battle of Reading: Ethelred of Wessex (Alfred's big brother) fights, and is defeated by a Danish invasion army.

Read about it in Edward Rutherfurd's epic novel Sarum: The Novel of England.

Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne brings an often skewed and thought provoking view of history and historical fiction.

3 January 1431 I'm Just a Gal Who Cain't Say "Non"

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

3 January 1431 – Joan of Arc is handed over to the English Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Also your editor's birthday.

Read about it in An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc by Pamela Marcantel as well as others you can find at medieval-novels.com .

Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne brings an often skewed and thought provoking view of history and historical fiction.

2 January 533 Pope Mercurius Just Didn't Sound Papal

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

2 January 533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.

Learn more in Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy by Roger Collins.

Historically Off Center with Nan Hawthorne brings an often skewed and thought provoking view of history and historical fiction.

1 January 1600 Hoot Man! That Is a Wee Bit of Birthdays Missed!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

1 January 1600 – Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25.

Think about it everyday with the 2012 Scotland Daily Appointments Calendar!

Happy New Year from Today in Medieval History!

31 December 1384 Never to See 1385

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

31 December 1384 – Death of John Wycliffe, English theologian and Bible translator.

Learn about him in John Wycliffe - The Morning Star with Keith Buckley and Peter Howell . (DVD)

Happy New Year from Today in Me4dieval History!!!

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

30 December 1460 Death of a Proud Father

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

30 December 1460 – Death of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (killed in battle) (b. 1411)

Meet him in Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

29 December 1170 Harry Vs. Tom Again

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

29 December 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

Read about it in Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

28 December 1065 Rub Hips with History

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

28 December 1065 – Westminster Abbey is consecrated.

Start with Day 1, 1065 with Kingdom, Power and Glory: Historical Guide to Westminster Abbey by John Field.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

27 December 1571 A Guy Who Really Knew What Was Up

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

27 December 1571 – Birth of Johannes Kepler, German astronomer (d. 1630)

Read about him in John Hudson Tiner's Johannes Kepler: Giant of Faith and Science (Sowers).

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

26 December 1530 Babur, Elephant of the Mogul?

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

26 December 1530 – Death of Babur, Emperor of the Mogul empire (b. 1483)

Read about him in W.M. Thackston Jr.'s The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor (Modern Library Classics).

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

Christmas Days Abound for Saints and Sinners

2011-12-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day, 25 December

800 – Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
1066 – William the Conqueror is crowned as king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity.
1223 – St. Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene.

Merry Christmas!

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

24 December 563 Is Someone Trying to Tell Us Something?

2011-12-24T00:06:00.000-08:00

24 December 563 – The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.

Learn all about it in Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church by R. J. Mainstone .

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

23 December 1493 Ach du Lieber! Is That What It Says?

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

23 December 1493 – Georg Alt's German translation of Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle is published.

Read about it in The Making of the Nuremberg Chronicle by Adrian Wilson.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you a new perspective on many aspecys of history and historical fiction!

22 December 1550 Is It Real or Is It Novelex?

2011-12-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

22 December 1550 – Death of Richard Plantagenet (Richard of Eastwell). Some say he was possibly a son of Richard III. Author Joan Szechtrman points out however that Richard acknowledged and supported his two known illegintmate children. Why would there be one who was unacknowledged? More likely Richard of Eastwell was an unacknowledged bastard of Richard II's brother, Edward IV.

Read Joan Szechtman's fascinating time travel novel about Richarrd III, This TIme.

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

Read Joan Szechtman's fascinating time travel novel about Richarrd III, This TIme.

21 December 1118 Fasten Your Seatbelt! Turbulence Agead

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

21 December 1118 – Birth of Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)
Read about him in any of a number of books, including Lion of Christ by Margaret Butler. Don't believe anything you see or hear in the Richard Burton/Peter O'Toole movie Becket. Henry was nothing like that!

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

20 December 1192 Got Your Nose! And the Rest of You!

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

20 December 1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third crusade.

Read about it in Norah Lofts' well-beloved The Lute Player and Judith Tarr's unusual Pride of Kings.

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

19 December 1154 Fitzempress is King? Now We're In For It!

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

19 December 1154 – Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey

Read about him and his times in Sharon Kay Penman's Time and Chance.

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

18 December 1271 Denmark? Venezulal? Burkina Faso? No, Let's Call It "Yuan"!

2011-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

18 December 1271 – Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan", officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia and China.

Read about him in Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull .

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

17 December 942 He Cut an Impressive Figure

2011-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

17 December 942 – Death of William Longsword (b. 893)

Read about him in Longsword, Earl of Salisbury and of his invadion of Ireland in Edward Rutherfurd's Princes of Ireland.

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

16 December 1431 Get Your Coronation Gift at Babies 'R' Us

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

16 December 1431 – Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris. You heard me right. Yes, of England. Oui, of France.

Learn how Shakeespeare represented his reign in Shakespeare's An Age of Kings (Richard II / Henry IV / Henry V / Henry VI / Richard III) with actors Robert Hardy, Sean Connery, Judi Dench, Julian Glover .

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

15 December 1467 Taking Odds: Moldavia or Hungary?

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

15 December 1467 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia.

Happy Holidays from TIMH!
Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

14 December 1287 For Lack of a Little Dutch Boy's Finger

2011-12-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

14 December 1287 – St. Lucia's Flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.

Read about it in Floods In The Netherlands from Hephaestus Books

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

13 December 1577 And You Thought Captin Jack Sparrow Was Hot

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

13 December 1577 – Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

Read all about it in Samuel Bawlf's The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake: 1577-1580.

Rethink history! Hisotircally Off Center With Nan Hawthorne.

12 December1098 Do You Want Fries with That?

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

12 December 1098 – First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan – Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.

Read about it in Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades by Wcan S. Connell.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you new and unusual views of history and hisotical fiction.

11 December 1282 A Day That Shall LIve in Infamy - For the Welsh and for SKP Fans

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

11 December 1282 – Llywelyn the Last, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales.

Read about it in The Reckoning by Sharon kay Penman.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you new and unusual views of history and hisotical fiction.

10 December 1541 Culpepper Is Culpable

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

10 December 1541 – Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII.

Read about it in The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy.

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you new and unusual views of history and hisotical fiction.
Excerpt:

And there she was, waiting in the rose garden, docile and demure in spring green silk, innocent and unspoiled, with her hair unbound as best becomes a virgin. Grimacing at the pain in his leg, and leaning heavily on his cane, King Henry slowly descended the stone steps into the rose garden, assisted by his favorite Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, Thomas Culpepper.

The robust golden Tudor King lived now only in the vain palace of Henry’s mind and others’ fond memories. Now on the threshold of fifty, Henry’s youth, health, and beauty were long gone.

Beneath the many layers of bandages, wound round and round his leg like the linen wrappings on a dead Egyptian king, a fetid ulcer lurked and leaked foul, putrid, yellow pus. The old tiltyard injury had never truly healed despite the physicians’ repeated lancings, leechings, and applications of a costly ointment made from ground Orient pearls, and he could no longer walk without a cane. Now that he could no longer take regular exercise, and indulge in sports or dance, his bulk had grown so great that he often had to be carried about in a specially constructed chair borne by several stout-backed, strong-shouldered men, his great bed had to be reinforced so that it would not collapse beneath his weight, and a winch was utilized to lift him into the air and lower him down onto his horse’s back.

He tried to disguise his ever expanding size by favoring doublets with great padded shoulders and ornate, puffed and slashed sleeves, worn with creaking corsets underneath. Indeed, I had it on good authority that three goodly sized men could fit into one of Henry’s doublets.

And to his face, Father Time had not been kind. It was fat and florid with great pouches of pink fat that threatened to obscure the squinty blue eyes that now required spectacles with rock crystal lenses from Venice, great quivering jowls, a nose bulbous and red with broken veins, and a cruel little pink rosebud of a mouth that seemed to always be pursed in a petulant pout. A jaunty, jeweled, feathered cap concealed his bald pate and the fringe of sandy gray that ringed it like a monk’s tonsure. And his beard had also grown sparse and lost its youthful ruddy hue.
All these things combined had robbed him of his good humor and left a cantankerous tyrannical ogre in its place.

“Steady on, Your Grace,” Thomas Culpepper said, jovial and encouraging, as, grunting and red-faced, the old King staggered and clutched at Culpepper for support.

Thomas Culpepper—now there was a man to delight the eye and make a woman’s heart flutter! Just looking at him made my knees wobble as if the bones in my legs had turned to jelly!

He was a young rake in his middle twenties, tall and handsome, with tawny hair and hazel eyes, who bore himself with a confident swagger. He was also a heartbreaker; kind in the getting, cruel in the quitting. And the broken hearts, letters, and barrels of tears that were afterwards shed by the ladies he seduced were the trophies he prized most and loved to boast of. Culpepper loved no one but himself. To him, honor was the stuff of sermons and something the minstrels sang of, not a principle to live by. He was no poet or wit, like George and his friends had been, just a handsome rascal who delighted in living on the knife’s edge of danger; risk was the most powerful aphrodisiac to Thomas Culpepper. He was the kind of man who liked to duck beneath the bed, inside a cupboard, or out a window an instant before the lady’s husband walked in.

Recently the court had been rife with the tale of his rape of a park-keeper’s wife. While out hunting with his friends, Culpepper had spied this rustic beauty in a woodland glen and determined to have his way with her there and then. When she refused him, he had his companions hold her down. A woodsman heard her screams and came running to her rescue only to have Culpepper plunge a dagger into his heart. For this crime, he was sentenced to hang, but Henry hated to lose such a jolly companion, and none but Culpepper, he claimed, could minister so tenderly to his bad leg, so he pardoned him, dismissing it all as just a youthful escapade.
Breathing heavily and dripping with sweat, Henry stood for a long moment leaning upon Culpepper, while his beady eyes, lost in a morass of florid pink fat, squinted into the distance at Katherine. And, like a lovesick young swain, he laid a hand over his heart and sighed deep and long.

It was then, from my unobtrusive perch upon a garden bench, that I noticed something—Katherine was not looking at the King. Oh no, Katherine Howard had eyes only for Thomas Culpepper!

The tip of her pink tongue darted out to lick her cherry lips and her breasts began to heave beneath the tightly laced bodice of her green gown. Verily, I felt as if I could actually hear the blood racing hot and fast within her veins, and feel the heat and wetness blossoming in the secret pink flower between her thighs, so palpable was her lust.

And Thomas Culpepper, hungry like a wolf, was also licking his lips and staring back at her with the bold, appraising eye of a practiced seducer.

Katherine looked ready to flop on her back and spread her legs for Master Culpepper. And I knew I must do something quick since she had not the wit to save herself, so, clearing my throat loudly, I rose and curtseyed deeply and bid His Majesty welcome to the rose garden of Lambeth.

The spell broken, Katherine started and followed my lead, sinking hastily into a deep curtsey, modestly averting her eyes to the petal-carpeted ground.

(c) Brandy Purdy

Say it loud, medieval and proud! Medieval theme t-shirts, caps, mousepads, more. Shieldwall Productions, a CafePress shop.

9 December 536 Cross Ourselves Funny, Do We? Take That!

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

9 December 536 – Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire.

Read about it in Belisarius: The Last Roman General by Ian Hughes

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you new and unusual views of history and hisotical fiction.

6 December 1421 The King of Crazy

2011-12-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

6 December 1421 – Birth of King Henry VI of England (d. 1471)

Read about Henry and his world in Susan Higginbotham's The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou.

What is the best Historical Blog: Fiction & Fact? You tell us.. vote now!

Excerpt

Scene between King Henry VI and William De La Pole, Duke of Suffolk.

     “I have agreed to cede Maine,” Henry informed me, flourishing a letter.   “In privy correspondence with my uncle of France."
     “On what conditions?”
     “Well, none.” Henry frowned slightly, as if amazed that I should ask such a daft question, then continued cheerfully, “Well, of course, to extend the truce.”
     “When?”
     “It is to be completed by the end of April.”
     In just over four months, we were to hand over Maine, with virtually nothing in return and without any approval of the king’s promise by the lords on the king’s council. I must have looked slightly ill, for Henry said, “My lord, do you find this problematic?”

8 December 1542 Silly, But Deadly

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

8 December 1542 – Birth of Mary Queen of Scots (d. 1587)

Read about it in Mary Queen of Scotland & The Isles: A Novel by Margaret George, Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser, Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir, and watch the movie with Vanessa Redgrave Mary, Queen of Scots (also cpmtaoms Anne of the Thousand Days.)

Historically Off Center With Nan Hawthorne brings you new and unusual views of history and hisotical fiction.

7 December 521 Iona Place in Irish Church History, So I Do

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

7 December 521 – Birth of Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland (d. 597)

Read about it in Life of St. Columba (Penguin Classics) by Adomnan of Iona.

5 December 771 I Wish My Brother Carolman Was Here... Not

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

5 December 771 – Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman.

Read about it in Sir James Baldwin's The Story of Roland (1911) which I read when I was about 13 and absolutely adored. This is a free download!!

What is the best Historical Blog: Fiction & Fact? You tell us.. vote now!

4 December 1123 A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine, and No Royalties Whatsoever

2011-12-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

4 December 1123 – Death of Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)

Read The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

What is the best Historical Blog: Fiction & Fact? You tell us.. vote now!

3 December 1533 Oh, That's Just Grand, Prince!

2011-12-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

3 December 1533 – Death of Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1479)

Read about it in 16th-Century Russian People; Ivan Iv of Russia, Boris Godunov, Vasili Iii of Russia, Patriarch Filaret, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich of Russia

What is the best Historical Blog: Fiction & Fact? You tell us.. vote now!

2 December 1409 But What Was Their Football Team Called?

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

2 December 1409 – The University of Leipzig opens.

Interested in stufying there? Visit the Univversity of Leipzig web site and become part of both history and the future.

What is the best Historical Blog: Fiction & Fact? You tell us.. vote now!

1 December 800 Trying the Pope Is Job Number One

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

1 December 800 – Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican.

Read about it in Pageant of the Popes (Forgotten Books) by John K. Farrow.

Brought to you by medieval-novels.com, over 1300 books and movies set between 400 and 1600 AD.

30 November 1554 Philip Sidney Born at 0

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

30 November 1554 – Birth of Philip Sidney, English courtier, soldier, and writer (d. 1586)

Read more in Sir Philip Sidney: The Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)

Let me entertain you! Books, a calendar, music, humor, ill-considered opinions, biographies, reviews, and so much more. Nan Hawthorne, Historical Novelist at http://www.nanhawthorne.com .

29 November 1530 It Ain't Over 'Till the Fat Man Dies

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

29 November 1530 – Death of Thomas Wolsey, English religious leader (b. c.1470)

Learn more in The Tudors: The Complete Series.

Let me entertain you! Books, a calendar, music, humor, ill-considered opinions, biographies, reviews, and so much more. Nan Hawthorne, Historical Novelist at http://www.nanhawthorne.com .

28 November 1582 Shakespeare In Love

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

28 November 1582 – In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 bond for their marriage license.

Read about it in Shakespeare's Sweetheart or Anne Hathaway (NoTreeBooks.com Classics)

Let meentertain you! Books, blogs, a calendar, biographies, humor, Celtic music, reviews, and so much more. Nan Hawthorne, Historical Novelist www.nanhawthorne.com .

27 November 1095 Deus Lo Volt Whether You Volt it or Not

2011-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

27 November 1095 Pope Urban II calls for the 1st Crusade at Council of Clermont, France. This speech has been called the most influential one in the Middle Ages.

Read about it in maggie Anton's Rashi's Daughters, Book III: Rachel: A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France.

Excerpt

The first warning Salomon’s household received about other events in Clermont came from Guy when he unexpectedly joined them for souper the final week of the Cold Fair.

“Eliezer.” Guy‘s ominous tone chilled Rachel’s heart. “I urge you in the strongest terms to delay your departure from Troyes.”

Everyone within hearing turned to Guy as Eliezer asked, “Why? What happened?”

“His last day at Clermont, standing in an open field before nobility and clerics, Pope Urban gave an extraordinary speech.” Guy fell silent, his expression full of wonder. “First he chastised the knights for breaking the Truce of God by wantonly attacking pilgrims, clerics, women, and merchants. He accused them of waging unjust wars on each other, to their mutual destruction, for no other reason than covetousness and pride, the result of which they deserved eternal damnation.”

Rachel stared at Guy with curiosity. The pope had long rebuked men of arms for such crimes, but Guy’s awed voice showed that something new was involved. “Then he began speaking of Jerusalem, the navel of the world, of how the accursed Turks invaded her confines and depopulated them by sword, pillage and fire. How her holy altars were destroyed and Christians subjected to unspeakable degradation and servitude. He urged the knights, most valiant soldiers and descendants of invincible ancestors, to be not degenerate, but recall the valor of their progenitors.”

“What did he want from them?” Salomon asked, his voice heavy with dread.

“To let their quarrels and wars cease as they entered upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher, to wrest the Holy Land from that wicked race of infidels and subject it to themselves,” Guy replied. “Pope Urban further proclaimed that they should not let their possessions, nor solicitude for their families, keep them from undertaking this holy pilgrimage, for which they would receive remission of their sins and assurance of the Kingdom of Heaven’s glory.”

Guy shook his head in amazement. “With that, the crowd cried out as one, ‘It is God’s will! It is God’s will!’ The Pope then told those who would undertake this holy war to sew crosses on their chests for all to see, and within moments men began tearing at their clothes to produce crosses.”

“That was a month ago,” Eliezer said. “What has happened since?”

“The pope has been preaching throughout France, staying clear of the king’s lands while Philippe remains excommunicated. In addition, itinerant preachers have appeared, attracting flocks of pilgrims as well as bands of less innocent folk.”

“But you said the pope’s appeal was to knights.” Meir wondered who, if any, of Count André’s men would participate.

“That was Pope Urban’s intent, but the enterprise has spiraled out of his hands, so that we now see poor townsfolk and villeins selling their possessions to provision themselves for the journey. My uncle is besieged by men, and women, asking for their bishop’s blessing.”

Joheved exchanged anxious glances with Meir. “I hope these preachers don’t seduce too many of our villeins to leave. The villagers know nothing of warfare; they would never survive.”

“The pope has promised eternal salvation to those who die on pilgrimage,” Guy said. “And as further inducement, whoever undertakes this holy war is exempt from repayment of debts.”

“Their debts are discharged?” Rachel asked with dismay, thinking of the women who owed her money.

“For the duration of their pilgrimage, oui,” Guy said. “And more than that, those vowed to retake Jerusalem may substitute the journey for all penance.”

“So all kinds of scoundrels will join them,” Eliezer said, recognizing the danger such undisciplined mobs would pose.

“The officially sanctioned group of knights and foot soldiers are to begin their journey in August, continuing to Constantinople where they will meet up with Alexius’ troops,” Guy explained. “But these impatient preachers have urged their followers to start immediately, and I fear that thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Frankish pilgrims will be heading in our direction.”

“What will we do?” Miriam whispered in horror.

“I believe I will delay my departure for Toledo until after these pilgrims have passed through Champagne into the east,” Eliezer declared.

Rachel squeezed his hand under the table and sighed with relief. But along with the rest of her family, she could not find the appetite to finish souper.

26 November 1326 Dispensing With le Despenser

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

26 November 1326 – Death of Hugh the younger Despenser, English knight (b. 1286)

Read about it in Susan Higginbotham's The Traitor's Wife.

Let meentertain you! Books, blogs, a calendar, biographies, humor, Celtic music, reviews, and so much more. Nan Hawthorne, Historical Novelist www.nanhawthorne.com .

25 November 1129 An Heir with No Spare, but Don't Tell Maud That

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

25 November 1120 – The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son of Henry I of England.
Read about it in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

Let meentertain you! Books, blogs, a calendar, biographies, humor, Celtic music, reviews, and so much more. Nan Hawthorne, Historical Novelist www.nanhawthorne.com .

24 November 1273 King Alfonso... of England?!

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

24 November 1273 – Birth of Alphonso, Earl of Chester, son of Edward I of England and big half-brother of Edward II.(d. 1284)

Read about it in Jean Plaidy's The Hammer of the Scots. (blick on cover above)
Keep up with all your history and histoircal fiction blogs in one visit to Historical Blogs: Fiction & Fact!

23 November 1499 Will the Real Pretender Please Stand Up?

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

23 November 1499 – Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

Read about it in The Perfect Prince: The Mystery of Perkin Warbeck and His Quest for the Throne of England.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

22 November 1515 Birth of Mary of Scot's Mommy

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

22 November 1515 – Birth of Marie of Guise, Queen consort of James V of Scotland and regent of Scotland. Mother of Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1560)

Find her in Dorothy Dunnett's Queen's Play, part of the magnificent Lymond Chronicles.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

21 November 1272 Simon Says, Edward Is King

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

21 November 1272 – Following Henry III of England's death on November 16, his son Prince Edward becomes King of England.

Read about it in Sharon kay Penman's Falls the Shadow.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

20 November 1407 John the Fair-less

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

20 November 1407 – A truce between John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans is agreed under the auspices of John, Duke of Berry. Orléans would be assassinated three days later by Burgundy.

Read about this in John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power (History of Valois Burgundy)

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

19 November 1096 Urban Planning

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

19 November 1095 – The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins.
Read about it in Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

Excwepr

"Now you two, come sit with your mother and me. You as well, Albrecht. This concerns you too." Sigismund returned to his own chair next to Adalberta. The three young people took seats usually reserved for guests. Elias and Albrecht normally served at table, being squires, and Elisabeth stood behind her mother during meals to see to her needs.
"His Holiness has had a plea from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios," Father was saying. "There have been attacks on pilgrims to the Holy Land, hundreds killed, hundreds carried off to the slave markets. The Paynim no longer protect the pilgrimage routes, but let brigands have a free hand. There are rumors that some of the Turk leaders are sending their own guards to attack larger bands of pilgrims."
Adalberta put her hand to her lips, "No, how horrible. Why?"
The three young people turned their eyes back to Sigismund in unison.
"Well, there have always been brigands, but they have attacked randomly. Pilgrim bands that hired armed men to protect them could turn brigands away. No one really knows why that has changed, but Peter the Hermit said . . . "
Elias interrupted his father. "Peter the Hermit?" Elisabeth noted not for the first time how deep his voice had become.
"A French priest. He is in Cologne to gather pilgrims for a journey to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem," Sigismund said.
"Not much of a hermit, is he?" Elias quipped, earning a short laugh from his sister and a glare from both parents.
"Show some respect," Adalberta corrected. "He is a very holy man."
Sigismund took a gulp of the wine a servant had brought. His men, having seen to the disposition of their horses, were wandering into the hall and taking seats or leaning up against the timber walls to listen to their lord's account of the hermit's tale.
"He tried to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before, but he was captured by the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia and tortured."
Adalberta's eyes grew round.
"Why?" asked her daughter.
Sigismund sat forward, shaking his head. "They are heathens. They are devils. Cruel and rapacious. They are the enemy of all good Christians."
"But a priest!" his wife cried unbelieving.
Albrecht shyly spoke up. "Mayhap they are even more violent with our holy men?"
The knight nodded. "It will seem so, lad."
Adalberta's eyes were guarded as she asked, "And this Peter . . . from Amiens, you say? He is gathering a multitude? To do what, my lord?" she asked.
"To return to the Holy Land and take Jerusalem back."
"He is gathering an army?" Elias's voice held a note of excitement. Elisabeth cast an alarmed look in his direction. Elias had been itching to be in a fight. He had been disappointed when their father had failed to take him and Albrecht to Cologne for the meeting with the Emperor's representatives. Both boys hoped the meeting was to plan war.
"No, not exactly," his father replied, noting Elias's crestfallen reaction. "He is calling it a People's Crusade. Just the poor, the destitute who are under the care of Holy Church. But to hear him speak! It was inspiring. He said, 'Deus lo volt.' God wills it. We could not help but shout it back to him, every one of us in the throng."
Elias leaned to Albrecht and whispered, "I would wager the local bishops would not be sorry to see their burden thus eased. . . . "
"Elias!" Sigismund's eyes were flaming. "Enough with your impious comments!" The knight glared at his chastened son, then slowly turned his face back to his wife. "Liebchen, I am going."
Adalberta hid her dismay. "I thought you might," was all she said.
"Then it is not just peasants going?" Elisabeth asked.
Her father sat up straight, squaring his shoulders. "They will need protection. Many of the Emperor's commanders and officers are asking for leave to go with them." He looked sharply back at his wife. "I shall not go, if you are ill and need me here." His eyes revealed his reluctance to make such a promise. In a gentle voice meant only for her ears he added, "But it is in large part to kneel at the Sepulcher and pray for your health and long life that I wish to go."
Before the lady could reply, Elias burst out, "Then Albrecht and I are coming with you?" He beamed at his friend, who returned the smile, but with anxiety written on his face.
Elisabeth looked from her father to brother to Albrecht and back again. A glance at her mother's averted face told her Adalberta would not hold her husband back, no matter her misgivings.

18 November 1188 All I Wanted Was the Keys to the Car, Dad

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

18 November 1188 - Prince Richard the Lionheart joins King Philip II, fighting against Richard's father Henry II in France. This conflict would end with the defeat of Henry II in the middle of 1189. As a result of the defeat, Henry II finally acknowledged Richard as his heir. The conflict weakened the aging king, and he died a few days after agreeing to terms.

Read about it in The Swords of Faith by Eichard W. Field.

Excerpt:

November 18, 1188
Bonsmoulins Castle, Eastern Normandy
Mid Morning

“Day three,” Jean-Paul said to Richard. They stood in a small sleeping chamber, preparing for the day’s events.

“The day push will come to shove.” Richard raised his chin. “Philip and I worked this out last night. Now it’s my father’s position that is foggy. We’ll clear that mist this morning.” Richard stretched, raising his arms up and clasping his hands. “Who else do we have with us this morning?”

“Charles the Strong from Poitiers, Francois from Limoges, and William the Axe from Winchester.” Jean-Paul paused and grinned, having left the best for last. “And Mercadier came in last night.”

Richard smiled at the mention of his favorite mercenary. “Good men. If things get hot again, and men are reaching for their swords, I do not intend to be outnumbered. And make sure everyone’s ready to move quickly.”

“Move quickly?”

“Yes.”

Jean-Paul shrugged and left.

Richard pulled his sword from its sheath. He looked at the blade and narrowed his eyes in determination. No, he hadn’t told Jean-Paul about all the possibilities for this meeting.

“The people of western Europe expect us to cease this fighting amongst ourselves and get on with rescuing Jerusalem,” Richard declared. “We cannot allow our own squabbles to prevent us from doing our Christian duty, or we will be damned to hell.” King Henry, King Philip, and Prince Richard sat around a large table. Each of them was accompanied by armed men with their hands not far from their swords.

Henry glared at his son. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have started a war after taking a vow to rescue Jerusalem.”

“I brought this to the appropriate overlord. But I cannot have my subjects abused—”
Philip interrupted Richard. “You came to me to arbitrate, but would not accept my solution.”

“Because your solution was a blatant attempt to extend your power—”

Henry interrupted Richard. “Because you have no business offering any solution. This is my family’s business and we have the ability to attend to it.”

Philip began, “I am sovereign ruler for that—”

Henry interrupted Philip. “I am a king. You are a king. I need no permission from you to take whatever steps are necessary to protect my subjects. My son acts in my territories, in my name. He is mistaken about submitting to your authority.”

“Those lands are part of the Kingdom of France,” Philip argued. “You may hold title to them, but they remain part of France, and any landholder in these areas is my vassal.”

“A king will never submit to another king, and a less powerful one at that!” Henry countered.

Philip bit his lip. “Then I’ll be required to come after you until you do.”

“This is not what we need to do!” Richard told them. “This is just a repeat of all the shouting and posturing over the last two days! We must settle this!”

Philip nodded. “Yes. Let’s settle this. Let’s agree to return all conquests and withdraw all armies to the lines before this unpleasantness began. I … will look the other way on the situation in Toulouse.”

“How can I agree to such a thing?” Richard asked. “The territories I captured are much richer than those you’ve taken in Berry. And some of those territories I have taken were wrongly taken from my jurisdiction in 1183. This solution confers the most disadvantages on me.”

“See what happens when you yield to some perceived superior authority who has only his own priorities?” Henry asked. “This was none of Philip’s business.”

“Raymond of Toulouse is my vassal and ally,” Philip said. “He requested my help. This is my business.”

“So why did you invade Berry in my northern territories with no connection to Toulouse at the southern end of Aquitaine?” Richard asked.

Philip smiled. “I would have had to fight my way through at least three of your family’s provinces to get to Toulouse.”

“And could it be you knew my father would make no effort to resist your moves in the north?” Richard asked.

“Why should I help you?” Henry asked. “You want to submit your grievances to the French king without my consent? Reap what you sow.”

“Aren’t we in the same family, dear father? Am I not your son, next in line to inherit? Shouldn’t we be working together?”

“And now we get to it.” Philip smirked with superiority. “There are deeper issues here, aren’t there—deep family rifts. Succession. Suspicion. A lack of trust. My, my….”

Richard squirmed uneasily in his seat. “You enjoy this too much, Philip.”

“Well, as a king, I would enjoy offering a solution. Not just to patch up the current hostilities, but to resolve all the differences among us for the near future.”

Henry was already scoffing.

Richard noticed, but also knew what was coming. The show for his father was over. Richard thought he and Phillip had performed very well. Maybe Henry had believed it; maybe not. But now Richard would learn what he needed to know, potentially resolving all issues that prevented them from starting on their way to liberate Jerusalem.

Philip spoke with the authority of a statesman. “I will remove my armies from the territories I occupy in Berry. In return Henry will take his army off of the attack against my army. All barons within the Kingdom of England, and within the Angevin French territories, will swear allegiance to Prince Richard, as sole heir to King Henry of England. And Richard will set a date, very soon, to marry my sister Alice, which will settle the ongoing dispute in northern France.”

Richard turned at his father for a reaction, then wondered if he had looked too quickly.

“I see,” Henry said to Philip. “And this is your proposal.” Henry turned and eyed Richard.

“A good one, I think,” Richard said to his father. “A generous one. A proposal that really does settle all questions.”

Henry barked a forced, mocking laugh. “My son and the French king. In agreement. How about that.”

“We should all be in agreement,” Richard said.

“Oh we should, should we?” Henry forced a chuckle. “Just like that. After three days of tantrums and tirades.”

“What part of the proposal do you object to?” Philip asked.

“You know very well what part,” Henry said.

“All right. Here and now, father. Moment of truth. Will you or will you not
confirm me as heir to the throne and to your titles in France?”

Henry’s face reddened. “I will not be pressured in this way. I will not be manipulated into making decisions about my dynasty’s future leadership.”

Richard stood and looked at Henry. “Then I have no choice but to believe that the impossible is true. You do plan to disinherit me, your worthy and loyal son.” Richard walked around the table toward King Philip, who also stood. Richard knelt in front of him. “I declare my loyalty to King Philip of France for all Angevin domains on the continent of Europe—Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou, Maine, and Berry.”

Richard stood and left. His men trailed behind.

“What was that?” Jean-Paul asked as they moved through the castle hall at a speed just short of a sprint.

Richard laughed. “I wish I could be there in that room to see my father. No doubt he is stunned, trying to figure out just what happened and what he will do about it.”

“He’s stunned? I’m stunned. What did just happen?”

“Philip will suggest a truce. My father will accept. It will run to the end of January. Then I’ll fight my father under Philip’s banner as Philip’s vassal until my father confirms my succession!”

“What a mess.” Jean-Paul shook his head.

“For now. But before I leave to take back Jerusalem for Christendom, I will be Prince Richard, heir to the throne of England and the Angevin lands in France! I will settle that issue once and for all!”

17 November 1558 Mary, Bloody No More

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

17 November 1558 – Death of Mary I of England (b. 1516)

Read about her in The Tudor Throne by Brandy Purdy to learn more about Mary, her life and her death. On http://www.amazon.co.ukl/ as The Tudor Throne by Emily Purdy.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

16 November 1384 She's the King

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

16 November 1384 – Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.

Read about medieval Poland in Medieval Polish Armies 966-1500 by David Nicolle and Witold Sarnecki .

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

15 November 655 Winwaed Whacker

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

15 November 655 – Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.

Read about Penda's warriors and his subjects in The Whispering Bell by Brian Sellars.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

14 November 565 Byzantine Emperor Dead at 80

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

14 November 565 – Death of Justinian the Great, Byzantine Emperor (b. 483)

Get a tour of part of Justinian's Constantinople with Global Treasures Hagia Sophia Istanbul, Turkey.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.

13 November 1002 "Unready, Eh? Take This!"

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

13 November 1002 – English King Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre.

Read about it in Helen Hollick's Forever Queen.

Excerpt

“I say we have paid enough in taxes already!”

“Aye, and what if Swein of Denmark comes again next year? Will we be asked to raise yet another geld to send him away? What do we, the market traders, get in return from the king, eh? Naught! That’s what we get, naught!”

The mood in the Moot Hall at Oxford was ugly.

“What have we to fear from Swein Forkbeard? He will not attack his own. We are of Danish blood; our fathers’ fathers were once men of Denmark and Norway.”

“Ja! Were it not for our forefathers bringing their skills and crafts, Oxford would have remained nothing more than a cluster of piddle-stinking bothies.”

“You speak for yourself, Olaf Olafsson! Your house has more of a stench than do all the privy huts on Market Street!”

There was laughter at the jest. Olaf scowled.
“What have we to fear from Swein of Denmark? Mayhap we would be better off if he were to be our king!”

That last voice stilled the hall into an uneasy silence. One thing to call a meeting to discuss a refusal to pay an increase in taxes, quite another to speak of treason. Yet it was not the content of the sentence that silenced the crowded place, but the implication. These traders, who lived through the buying and selling of necessities or trinkets, were all men whose forefathers had come in their longships from Scandinavia during the time of Alfred, originally to loot and plunder the wealth of the Saxon kingdoms, much as Swein Forkbeard was doing, but eventually to over-winter and then settle, take root. The thing had sailed full circle, and different men were now coming í-víking, under a new leader and with a new king ruling England. The reason was the same. For a man to do better for himself, in whatever way he could.

The fear for the English was that the northern and Mid Land boroughs were not thought of as Anglo-Saxon, but Anglo-Dane. Was the South, in particular Wessex, now also vulnerable? Would Angle-Land become Dane-Land?

“Why should we pay, and pay again, to protect these rich English of the South? If they were men, they would arm themselves and fight for their security.”

“It is cheaper for the King to pay for peace with our hard-earned coin than it is for him to arm and feed his army, that is why!”

Edwine Thursson, Oxford’s appointed trade reeve, his arms folded, his face grim, sat in the shadows at the rear of the hall, listening. As a freeborn resident of Oxford, he was entitled to attend any of these trade moots called to discuss important matters, although there were some among the folk here who resented his presence. He was a king’s man, but. no one could deny that he had, as vociferously as the rest of them, complained against this excessive tax demand. If it was to rebellion that the wind was turning though, would he decide to haul in his sail?

To add to the general grievance, there would soon be a new minting of coin, another legal way for Æthelred to become richer and the poor poorer. Whenever the royal mints gathered in the old money and stamped a replacement the new coins were of a lesser silver content, a lesser value. They used the excuse that these frequent mintings were to prevent fraud by counterfeiters, but who was there to stop a king’s blatant fraud of clipping the coin?

As he listened to the debate, Edwine found himself growing more uneasy. Swein would not risk tramping so far inland to bother this shire, nor their immediate neighbours, but Oxford had been expected to pay the heregeld. Other areas, too, were grumbling: northern Mercia, Deira, Lindsey, Bernicia. The grumbles becoming louder, more insistent, and more prolific, like a single spear falling in the spear rack, one knocking against the next until one spear after another was tumbling and crashing in a great muddled clamour to the ground.

And the hardest part for a king’s man to swallow? Edwine had to agree with the undercurrent of feeling that was swirling with the disturbed dust and candle smoke in this echoing, draughty hall. Would Swein be a better king than Æthelred?

12 November 1028 Famous Last Words: "Dearly Beloved..."

2011-11-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

12 November 1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe marries Romanus Argyrus according to the wishes of the dying Constantine VIII.

Read about Byzantine empresses in Lynda Garland's Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204.

Did women fight in the Crusades? Elisabeth did! Read Beloved Pilgrimby Nan Hawthorne, available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.com.