Recent challenges to the traditional site of the Battle of Hastings have led to a surge of interest in the events surrounding England's most famous battle. This, in turn, has increased speculation that the titanic struggle for the English crown in 1066 did not take place on the slopes of what is today Battle Abbey, with a number of highly plausible alternative locations being proposed. The time had clearly come to evaluate all these suggestions, and...

In this compelling military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill explores England's birth amidst the devastation and fury of the Danish invasions of the ninth century. He provides insight into the English response to the new challenges of warfare in these years of turbulence and danger. Alfred the Great, youngest son of King 'thelwulf, took control of the last surviving Anglo-Saxon kingdom, bringing Wessex and the 'English'...

Originally warriors mounted on horseback, knights became associated with the concept of chivalry as it was popularized in medieval European literature. Knights were expected to fight bravely and honorably and be loyal to their lord until death if necessary. Later chivalry came to encompass activities such as tournaments and hunting, and virtues including justice, charity and faith. The Crusades were instrumental in the development of the code of chivalry,...

The unlikely king who saved England. Down swept the Vikings from the frigid North. Across the English coastlands and countryside they raided, torched, murdered, and destroyed all in their path. Farmers, monks, and soldiers all fell bloody under the Viking sword, hammer, and axe. Then, when the hour was most desperate, came an unlikely hero. King Alfred rallied the battered and bedraggled kingdoms of Britain and after decades of plotting, praying,...

In the reign of Edward I, when asked Quo Warranto, by what warrant he held his lands, John de Warenne, the 6th earl of Surrey, is said to have drawn a rusty sword, claiming "My ancestors came with William the Bastard, and conquered their lands with the sword, and I will defend them with the sword against anyone wishing to seize them" John's ancestor, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, fought for William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings...

An illustrated history and guide to the Battle of Hastings by two leading medieval military historians. The Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066, changed the course of English history. This most famous moment of the Norman Conquest was recorded in graphic detail in the threads of the Bayeux Tapestry, providing a priceless glimpse into a brutal conflict. In this fresh look at the battle and its surrounding campaigns, leading medieval military...

In medieval England, the bickering, bethroved duo, Arthur and Gwen, find common ground in their secret romantic interests, leading them to form an unexpected alliance while navigating Camelot's summer festivities.