History has a habit of making the Middle Ages look surprisingly tidy. The Romans disappear. Castles start to appear (everywhere). Knights arrive. Everyone starts speaking in suspiciously Shakespearean English. Lots of fighting. That's not what happened.

Who were the Goths, Vandals, Franks and Anglo-Saxons? A child-friendly guide to four peoples who shaped medieval Europe, from Charlemagne to Alfred the Great, by the author of The Good Knight.

On the morning of 14 October 1066, King Harold Godwinson stood on a ridge in Sussex facing an invading army led by William, Duke of Normandy. By sunset, Harold was dead. England would never be the same again.

Everything you need to know before you go and visit the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum this Autumn

Essex does not have the greatest reputation for castles in the UK. But I think that is a disservice to the county, it is unfair, historically inaccurate - rather like the movie Braveheart - and since the author of The Good Knight series grew up in the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea I feel duty bound to correct this inaccuracy for his honour.

1066 was a rather big year for castles in England. Before this date there were four, maybe five, castles found in the whole country. By 1100, just thirty-four years later, there were over five hundred!