Being a medieval king was a surprisingly dangerous job. You had wars to fight, nobles who might change sides and kill you, relatives who wanted your throne, which meant killing you, and diseases that nobody really understood but would kill you. There were no antibiotics, no intensive care and, if somebody stabbed you when you were on the toilet, nobody was calling an ambulance.

By Princess Charlotte (Medieval Battle Expert) This is the fifth instalment in my medieval battle series. So far we have covered the battles of Hastings, Crecy, Agincourt and Bosworth but I have yet to cover anything beyond England's northern border and up into Scotland. It was rather busy up there. Here is my account about one of the most important battles that took place during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296-1328) - Bannockburn. In June 1314, Robert the Bruce faced

A few nights ago my daughter declared loudly that she is obsessed with Robin Hood because he helps people, can shoot arrows and has lots of friends. She also mentioned that he was a fox, all very accurate points if we are basing all of our Robin Hood knowledge entirely on the 1970s Disney film, but Robin Hood wasn't really like that. This one might just surprise you! Spoiler Alert - if my daughter knew that I wrote a medieval history blog, could navigate the internet to fin

By Jack the Good Knight There is a question that I get asked an awful lot. Who was the greatest knight who ever lived? The answer, according to Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury is William Marshal. The Archbishop said this shortly after William Marshal died in 1219. He was the most senior churchman in England. And he described William Marshal as the greatest knight that ever lived as though it were a simple statement of fact rather than a compliment. Eight hundred

By Princess Charlotte (Medieval Warfare Specialist) There's something I need to clear up. The Hundred Years' War did not last one hundred years. It lasted an impressive 116 years and ran between 1337 to 1453. And whilst I hugely appreciate that 'The One Hundred and Sixteen Years' War' doesn't have the same ring to it, accuracy matters. Now that is out of the system...why did it start? Like many medieval arguments, it started with land, power and a disagreement over who was en

The causes and symptoms of the medieval plague that killed half of Europe.