Joanna Arman's Blog, page 3

Those Terrible Middle Ages by Regine Pernoud

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As she examines the many misconceptions about the “Middle Ages”, the renown French historian, Regine Pernoud, gives the reader a refreshingly original perspective on many subjects, both historical (from the Inquisition and witchcraft trials to a comparison of Gothic and Renaissance creative inspiration) as well as eminently modern (from law and the place of women in society to the importance of history and tradition). Here are fascinating insights, based on Pernoud’s sound knowledge and extensive experience as an archivist at the French National Archives.

The book will be provocative for the general readers as well as a helpful resource for teachers.Scorned for centuries, although lauded by the Romantics, these thousand years of history have most often been concealed behind the dark clouds of ignorance: Why, didn’t godiche (clumsy, oafish) come from gothique (Gothic)? Doesn’t “feudal” refer to the most hopeless obscurantism? Isn’t “Medieval” applied to dust-covered, outmoded things?

Here the old varnish is stripped away and a thousand years of history finally emerge — the “Middle Ages” are dead, long live the Middle Ages!

Translated by Anne Englund Nash, Ignatius Press, March 1st, 2000

This book by the late French historian and archivist Regine Pernoud proved to be a real gem. It is the first translation into English of a book first published 40 years ago, entitled  Pour en finer avec la Moyen Age, and despite its age, proved to be a fascinating read.  Some of the early chapters were not quite what I expected. The one on the supposed ‘Clumsiness and Awkwardness’ was mostly about architecture, and the following on literature.

Also, as the book was originally written is a translation, some of the grammar and word syntax is a little dubious though this does improve.

The later chapters, especially those on women and the controversial issue of religious inquisitions, I found far more informative and useful. Debunking some myths, and establishing such ideas in the context of the beliefs of the times

Especially the theory that many of the practices for which the Middle Ages are condemned, such as slavery, actually developed as a response to the reintroduction of Roman Law in the early Renaissance and Early Modern period. The obsession with all things classical actually did more harm than good.

On the contrary, the growth of Christianity is argued to have resulted in the development of rules on free consent in marriage, and the outlawing of slavery in many European slaves. Serfdom, it is argued was not equivalent to slavery as slaves in the Roman Empire were not free to marry, or indeed own land whereas this was theoretically possible for medieval serfs. Indeed, it is further asserted nobles were as much ‘tied to the land’ as serfs for they could not abandon their estates and their responsibilities than could peasants.

Some of the later chapters on methodology and the theoretical aspects history were of particular interest and relevance to me.Altogether, this was a good book challenging a lot of generalizations about this period and recommended for any who wish to develop a more well-rounded view of the time, removed from Hollywood and popular myth.

Regine Pernoud’s short work has particular resonance today, when ‘Medieval’ has become a byword for all things regarded as barbarous, brutal, uncivilized and backward. Yet is this adage deserved?

Certainly there were acts of violence and questionable ideas in the Middle Ages but the author argues that it was also in which the church legislated against forced marriage “that everywhere progress in free choice of a spouse accompanied progress in the spread of Christianity“.1 In England free choice actually caused problems for a mere verbal contract between two parties could constitute a valid marriage. Pernoud argues that today, it is largely in the formerly Christian lands that freedom of marriage persists rather than others where it has only recently been granted….this right is recognized in Magna Carta, which forbids forced marriage of widows. 1

Women could run businesses and take up a variety of occupations “schoolmistress, doctor, apothecary, plasterer, dyer and so on…abbesses” and female landowners had powers that would perhaps be envied today. Although not entirely ‘tolerated’ according to the modern understanding, sexual misdemeanors were rarely punishable by death.

In spite of some of the undoubted inequalities of Medieval society, the way in which some states and groups today which might be denounced as ‘Medieval’ entirely exclude women from formal education or attempt to do so is hard to reconcile with the fact that the Medieval Period have us Europe’s first professional female author Christine de Pizan alongside other women who composed works of poetry, history or religious devotion.

_________________________

Regine Pernoud, Anne Englund Nash (trans.) Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths (Ignatius Press, 2000), p103.
 Ibid, p104. See the sixth and seventh clauses of the Magna Carta.
Ibid, p105, 111.

 

Reviewed: What Regency Women Did For Us by Rachel Knowles

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Regency women inhabited a very different world from the one in which we live today. Considered intellectually inferior to men, they received little education and had very few rights. This book tells the inspirational stories of twelve women, from very different backgrounds, who overcame often huge obstacles to achieve success.

These women were pioneers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs, authors, scientists and actresses women who made an impact on their world and ours. In her debut non-fiction work, popular history blogger Rachel Knowles tells how each of these remarkable ladies helped change the world they lived in and whose legacy is still evident today. Two hundred years later, their stories are still inspirational.

Pen and Sword Books, April 22nd, 2017

This was a good book with short biographies of each woman, some well known, like Jane Austen and Elizabeth Fry, but many unknown and forgotten. Which is sad, because so many of them made important contributions to society as scientific pioneers, writers, and even an engineer who patented the first suspension bridge.

Even where they have been commemorated in our modern age, many aspects of their lives are sidelined or ignored, such as the Fossil Hunter Mary Anning’s strong religious faith.

For me, this book was outside my comfort zone. People might even ask what a Medievalist is doing reviewing a book on the Regency era, but I don’t believe in restricting myself to only one period. Even for someone like me, whose familiarity with the period is minimal, to say the least, this could prove an enlightening and encouraging read.

Thanks to Pen and Sword Books for providing me with a PDF copy to read and review. I was not required to write a positive one, and no incentive was given.

Reviewed: The Sister Queens, Isabel and Katherine de Valois by Mary McGrigor

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Hardcover Edition Published May 1st, 2016, The History Press, 288 Pages

Two sisters: born nine years apart to a mad French king during the turbulent years of the Hundred Years War, the bitter series of conflicts that set the House of Plantagenet against the House of Valois. Catherine de Valois, the beautiful young bride of Henry V, conducted a passionate love affair with the young Owain Tudor, with whom she was to found the entire Tudor dynasty.

Her sister Isabella was married aged seven to Richard II, subsequently fled England following his murder, only to find her country fatally divided. This is a gripping tale of love, exile, and conflict in a time when even royal women had to fight for survival.

In some ways, this book was good, as an interesting account of the lives and times of two of the daughters of King Charles VI of France, Katherine de Valois and her far less famous sister, Isabella. Both were Queens of England, Katherine, of course, was the wife of Henry V of England and mother of Henry VI, and Isabella was briefly married to Richard II at the age of 12. 

The poems composed by French Charles of Orleans at the time of his imprisonment in England and some of the details about Henry V’s relationship with the King of Scotland really interested me. 

However, as other reviewers have pointed out, the number of errors and mistakes in the book was a real let down. Some have estimated that up to one-third of the dates are wrong, and there are some glaring errors. In one place Edward of Norwich Duke of York was called the Uncle of Henry V (they were in fact cousins), and John of Gaunt and Henry IV were described as ‘brothers’. They were father and son. 

Also, I sometimes found writing style and tone of the book disagreeable, rather gossipy and making assumptions about what historical characters thought and felt. In some places, it almost read as if it was aimed at teenagers.  It’s a shame, as there are few books specifically related to this subject, that this one proved such a disapppintment.

Thanks to The History Press for giving me a copy of this book to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review, and these opinions are my own. 

Reviewed: Blood and Blade by Matthew Harffy

[image error]635AD. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical thriller and third instalment in The Bernicia Chronicles. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.

Oswald is now King of Northumbria. However, his plans for further alliances and conquests are quickly thrown into disarray when his wedding to a princess of Wessex is interrupted by news of a Pictish uprising.

Rushing north, Oswald leaves Beobrand to escort the young queen to her new home. Their path is fraught with danger and uncertainty, Beobrand must try to unravel secrets and lies if they are to survive.

Meanwhile, old enemies are closing in, seeking brutal revenge. Beobrand will give his blood and blade in service to his king, but will that be enough to avert disaster and save his kith and kin from the evil forces that surround them?

The third instalment in The Bernicia Chronicles was the first that I requested to read from Netgalley, so I figured it was best to get through the first two beforehand and purchased the audiobooks. I have a weakness for the Seventh Century, so of course I want for it because it was set during the reigns of the legendary Kings Oswald, Edwin and Oswui for Northumbria.

Certainly, the Bernicia Chronicles and the latest instalment are exhilarating adventure stories peopled with a host of colourful and interesting characters. They do bring the period of warriors and warlords, blood-feuds and heroism, saints and superstition at a time when the distinction between myth and history were not easily distinguishable. The author has done a good job creating characters who are true to the time, but relatable and real in their emotions and desires.

However, whilst this series was enjoyable historical fiction, it’s far from my favourite. Perhaps it’s because this series is cast in the mould of Bernard Cornwell’s Warrior Chronicles, with almost invincible hero sporting a Thor’s Hammer pendent, who trudges along from battle to battle with his trusty band of very manly warriors. I couldn’t get on with the Warrior Chronicles or Uhtred of Bebbanburg the hero of that story, which sort of prejudices me against this.

With the exception, perhaps of Sunniver, Beobrand’s wife, who was genuinely strong and interesting, one gets the impression that most of the female characters in the series as only there as ‘Romantic interest’, or as extras. Really, I don’t need all the detailed descriptions when the hero remembers back all the ‘action’ of the night before, as he does in many scenes.  I get it, the warrior who the ladies fall over themselves for might have been some ideal, but that content just doesn’t appeal to me.

Also, some of the incidents in Blood and Blade did not seem consistent. I don’t recall Beobrand and Oswui being on bad terms in the last story, but suddenly, the Northumbrian atheling is arrogant and totally hates him? Why, just to create more tension and conflict I suppose. Also, there were a few historical details I disagreed with. For instance, Cadwallon, the King of Gwynedd in the second book, is described as a pagan when Bede and other observers are quite unequivocal that he was a Christian. Many historians seem to agree that most of the Welsh and remaining Britons identified as such by the seventh century. Beobrand’s Welsh slave girl is also a pagan, as is his adversary Toran, who is meant to be of the Goddodin, which from that I recall was a British tribal Kingdom which has also been identified as predominantly Christian by the time this book is set.

I may read the next books in the series, but they’re not entirely my cup of tea. Personally, I prefer Edoardo Albert’s Northumbrian Thrones Trilogy

The Last Kingdom Annotated- Final Two Episodes

Yes, yes I know. Late again. Things tend to build up, but here it is at last the (possibly) long-awaited conclusion to my series. So without further ado.

Episode 7 & 8

The final episodes had to be for me, the most frustrating of all. The attempt at a corny love story, Aethelflead becoming a stock character, and the treatment of the West Saxon nobility in general not to mention that so much of it bears little resemblance to the known historical facts of the time.

So for a brief summary, Aethelflead gets captured by the Vikings camped at Benfleet, and Alfred has to raise a ransom. They lock her in a cell, but she is won over by the courtesy and kindness shown to her by the Viking leader Sigefrid, who protects her from attack by his fellows, and allows her brief excursions outside the camp. 

By the end of Episode 7 the unhappily married damsel in distress has fallen madly in love with Sigefrid, made love to him in a meadow, and formulated plans to run away (or more correctly sail away) with him to start a new life. Which thwarts her father Alfred’s plans to secure her release, but the ever accommodating Uhtred is willing to help.

Meanwhile, discontent is brewing in Wessex. Earldorman Odda is not happy with Alfred’s plans to pay off the Vikings to get his daughter back- suggesting that she should instead be encouraged to kill herself to preserve the family honour: and of course save the good people of Wessex money. Horrid, unbending religious fanatic Alfred won’t listen, and proceeds to fleece peasants to raise the necessary dough.

Meanwhile, he sends everyone’s favourite superhero Uhtred to Benfleet along with Lord Ethelred to make sure his daughter is OK, and to commence negotiations. Ethelred gets into an argument, gets knocked on the head, and ends up being tied up naked in the pigsty to get laughed at and to give the audience some satisfaction in seeing the villain humiliated.

[image error]Spikes!

Uhtred learns of the threat of a new Viking army, and Sigefrid comes home to the hall to find his big brother Erik has now consigned Aethelflead to a cage suspended from the ceiling. True to their Biker-Gang clothing style, said cage is equipped with some ugly-looking spikes protruding from the top. So, when Uhtred and co. including the Welsh warrior priest Father Pyrig  come to the rescue, plans have changed and they now have to rescue her from a cage. As an aside, what was going on with the armour worn by Uhtred’s latest companion, Alfred’s supposed illegitimate son? I can’t have been the only one who noticed what looked suspiciously like a Crusader Cross on his breastplate.

Meanwhile, naughty Odda has bought an army to Benfleet in contravention of Alfred’s orders, and the angry King follows close on his heels. Uhtred raids the hall at Benfleet, lots of fighting ensues, Aethelflead hugs lover boy Sigefrid, who gets stabbed by his angry brother, leaving a weeping Aethelflead to be taken back to the Saxon ranks.

[image error]Is that the Cross of Jerusalem? As in the 11th century Cross of Jerusalem

At this point, remembering she was meant to be a warrior woman, Aethelflead shouted out for someone to give her a sword, but wicked daddy won’t let her, and she is taken to safety.

Finally, Aethelflead having returned home and sported the same dress she has worn for most of the series, gets Uhtred to swear fealty to her. In a final twist, worthy of the notorious Mel Gibson movie Braveheart , ‘Fleda reveals she is pregnant by Sigefrid implying that her daughter Elfwyn who will feature in the next series, was actually fathered by a Viking adventurer. Naturally. Who can resist a handsome Viking with a snazzy hairdo?

Whilst the closing sequence of the series might be considered an example of good storytelling, it’s no more than that. There is a much later legend which has it that Aethelflead fended off a Viking attack on the way to her wedding, but no evidence exists of any capture. Fans, desperate to defend their belief in the ‘accuracy’ of the series will assert that this is because the whole episode was so shameful that Alfred would have wiped out all record of it.   Contrary to popular opinion, it would not have been so easy to do this considering all the money supposedly involved. Not to mention that an experienced warrior such as Ethelred would hardly have been so careless as to take his wife with him on campaign only to leave her  unprotected.

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The depiction of Aethelflead as a vulnerable damsel in distress desperate for ‘love’ and fulfillment outside of marriage is a trope of the fiction genre, and should be taken as such. At the time of the attacks on Wessex and Mercia in the mid to late 880s, Aethelflead attended a conference related to town planning in London, from which she learned much that she would later put into practice in Mercia. She then returned to that Kingdom, where she would have been learning to run her household and lead the Mercian court. Might not make for such an interesting story, but it’s what high-born women did down the centuries, and its more useful and fulfilling then mooning over the nearest blue-eyed Dane. 

What about Alfred, was he just sitting at home like a coward, antagonizing his nobles? Unlikely. In fact, his new system of shoring up the defences of his Kingdom seem to have worked, when the people of Kent were able to fend off a raiding for in 885, whilst the King’s army mopped up any remaining opposition. The sources tell us that after this a portion Danes who camped at Benfleet feel to fighting amongst themselves and eventually just returned to France from whence they had come. Shortly thereafter came Heasten, who proved more of a permanent thorn in Alfred’s side. He’s the blonde guy with excessive guyliner in this series.

So, in conclusion, Aethelflead’s appearance has been less than satisfying in this series. I appreciate that a storyteller must fill in the gaps, and use their imagination, but few of the characters in the series, new or old came over as very remarkable or memorable. Aethelflead was too much of a typical over-romanticized, vulnerable, pretty heroine. Fathey Pyrig had his moments, but even the ostensibly Welsh priest, like his countryman Asser in series one, showed no sign of a Welsh accent. An aspect surely as frustrating for our Welsh neighbours as for viewers in the rest of the United Kingdom. 

Release Day!

It’s out, Aethelflead is on the loose.  People who have pre-ordered should be getting their copies soon (in the UK, US readers have to wait until the 1st August), and an e-book edition should be following shortly for Kindle, Kobo and e-reader users. 

For those buying the traditional way, The Warrior Queen is now available for purchase on all online retailers, and should be available to order or directly purchase in all good bookshops too.

Of course, when you read and love the book, please feel free to write a review, and I might even share some of them on here, or on the FB page.

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Spread the word, recommend to friends, family members and anyone who wants to know the story of the great Lady of the Mercians – and the Lord of the Mercians too, for good measure.

Grateful thanks to my publisher Amberley, and all the people who helped me in the research, writing and editing process: you all get a mention in the acknowledgements. 

The Last Kingdom Annotated: Episode 4-6

I’m continuing my commentary on the second series of The Last Kingdom here.

Episode 4:

Uhtred gets revenge on his old enemy Kjartjan, who killed his adoptive Viking father and kidnapped his adoptive sister. Lots of fight scenes. Father Beocca, the former childhood Tutor to Uhtred, takes a liking to his long-lost sister. Not much of Alfred, or the family, except a chess match with Aethelflead, and Aethelwold, Alfred’s nephew being dispatched North and complaining about it. 

Episode 5:

Much more worthy of comment in this Episode.  Wedding bells as ringing, as father Beocca gets married, and a new Viking army lands, this being the second ‘Great Heathen Army’ Alfred fought, under the leadership a new Viking adventurer, Heasten. Although, at this stage, the Vikings are mostly sticking in their base at Benfleet in Essex, and so are not considered an immediate threat by Alfred, nor made any excursions into Wessex. I’m beginning to notice that said Vikings bear more than a passing resemblance to the Dwarves in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies though the Dwarves probably had better manners, and seem a whole lot more friendly and personable. I am tempted to refer to Uhtred, Sigefrid and their fellows as Thorin, Dwalin, Ori, Nori and Dori from henceforth.

One other aspect of this episode that is worthy of note is the claim, also made in the first series, that Aethelwold was somehow cheated out of his throne by Alfred, in what is implied to have been a usurpation. Was he? Well probably not, actually.

Contrary to the casting in the series, Aethelwold was probably only a young child at the time of death of his father, King Aethelred c. 871. Just like in 1066, in 871 ability and experience trumped birth, and the adult Alfred was chosen to be King by the witan because he was deemed capable of leading his Kingdom and a child was not. It was not a deliberate stitch-up, as Anglo-Saxon witans were extremely unlikely to choose an underage child to succeed a King, even if that child happened to be his son. 

Of course, it was a different matter as Aethelwold grew up to become and adult, and considered that he was in a position to succeed Alfred as King of Wessex because of his royal blood. Watch this space.

Episode 6:

There were so many reasons I wanted to yell about this episode. It was just wrong! Thehighlight was of course the wedding of Aethelflead to Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians. Lord Aethelred is depicted as a brutal and cruel man, and as a marital abuser, who beats his wife when she defies him.

[image error]Aethelflead and Aethelred on their wedding day

That’s the problem. With only a few exceptions, whenever he makes an appearance in fiction, which is not often, Lord Aethelred is usually depicted as an abusive and bad husband. He is vilified just as much as a certain Plantagenet monarch, but on an even weaker basis. There is simply to evidence that Aethelred was abusive, and to give Bernard Cornwell some credit, he does admit that particular detail was invented.

Of course, this does not stop the speculation and assertions of ‘it might have happened been like that’. I for one am not convinced by speculation being used to justify historical inaccuracy in fiction. If its unproven speculation, call it that: just because something ‘might’ have happened does not mean it did. Conversely, the opposite might also have been true.

One reason that people assume Aethelred and Aethelflead had an unhappy marriage is

[image error]Aethelred the abuser?

because they only had one child, but there could just as well have been some medical reason for that. I for one favour the Twelfth century Chronicler William of Malmesbury’s explanation that because the birth of her daughter, Elfwyn, was so difficult, Aethelflead took a vow of chastity, or meant that she was sadly unable to carry another child.

Of course, there is also the modern antagonism towards arranged marriage, which causes us to assume that such arrangements were inevitably unhappy when history often reveals something different. Of course, those familiar with the series will know Aethelflead is secretly infatuated with Uhtred, as with pretty much all the other females in the series, who find the long-haired superhero irresistible. 

[image error]Aethelred the weasel

I for one think the real Aethelflead was more pragmatic and level-headed and rather less inclined to romantic idealism. Anyway, the fictional version of her husband is not only A mean, abusive bully and coward with and obnoxious sidekick, but also a useless fighter, as pretty much everyone is in comparison to Uhtred. When sent by Alfred to deal the Viking army led by the troublesome brothers Erik and Sigefrid in London, he and his fellows are tricked, and the series ends with Alfred’s daughter fleeing for her life into the nearest wood clad  a very conspicuous and inconvenient flowing pink dress.

Tune in some time next week for  my commentary on the final two episodes (which no doubt subject the Lord of the Mercians to yet more character assassination), continued in my usual forthright and caustic manner. Once again, I recommend my lovely book for those seeking to learn what the husband of Aethelflead was really like! 

The Last Kingdom Annotated: Episode 1-3

I’ve decided to write a very brief commentary on Series Two of The Last Kingdom series, with a focus on those aspects which relate to King Alfred the Great and his family, who are of course the subjects of my book. As the question ‘Is it accurate?’ often comes up in relation to historical Fiction and Drama generally, I hope to provide a useful guide to sift at least some of the facts from fiction.

Be warned: I am no expert on period clothing, or architecture, so I cannot comment on these.

Episode One:

As the first series was in fact based on the first two novels in Bernard Cornwell’s Warrior Chronicles series, this is clearly based on the third one Lords of the North (and most likely the later episodes will be based on the fourth Sword Song. So, Episode one is supposed to pick up where the first one left off in early 878 after Alfred’s phenomenal victory at Edington.

The only problem is there are some serious discrepancies in the ages of the Characters. Or more spspecifically, one character, Aethelflead. She makes only a brief cameo in this episode, sparring with one of her father’s men but she is quite clearly grown up, by the standards of the time. A teenager. The problem is that Alfred married c. 868, so his firstborn daughter could not have plausibly been more than 10 years old.

I understand that making her older is necessary to move along her story, but there’s also the fact that none of her siblings seem to come into the story, such as Edward Alfred’s second surviving child. We don’t know what the difference in age was between them, and one can only assume he will be introduced at some later point, but at the moment one could be forgiven for thinking the West Saxon royal couple had only two surviving children. Aethelflead, and the baby who was saved by the witch last season.

Also, seriously, what is going on with Alfred’s crown? I mean with that Fleur de Lis on it. Even with my limited knowledge of livery and heraldry, I know that’s a symbol associated with the Kings of France in the later Middle Ages.

[image error]Alfred and His Historically Problematic Crown

Episode Two:

Pretty unremarkable. Uhtred the superhero has done superhero things, helped the slave get the throne of a place called Cumbraland (modern-day Cumbria), get the girl (his sister), but the wicked Abbott gets him sold as a slave.

Aethelflead again makes a brief appearance, at the table with her parents, petitioning them to send aid to everyone’s favourite action man. Readers of the books will know that she is there described as having Golden Hair, which is how I imagine her, although here his is a brunette. Oh, and her parents are planning her marriage.

Episode Three:

Uhtred is now a slave, and in some very Ben-Hur type scenes, is trapped in a Viking ship, where is basically a Galley slave, rowing his days away.  He strikes up a friendship with one Finian, and Irishman and fellow slave, who becomes a long-term companion. I’m in little doubt the reliable and steadfast Irishman is little more than Uhtred’s answer to Patrick Harper from the Sharpe novels. 

[image error]The Coming of the Mercians

Back in Wessex, Alfred’s court receives the King of Wessex and his nobles. Coelwulf, the last King of Wessex is depicted as an old man, on his last legs, who seeks military aid from Wessex, to repay the aid he gave them in the past. We don’t know how old the historical figures of Coelwulf (II) of Mercia was. In fact, we know next to nothing about him at all.Curiously in this episode Ceolwulf, mentions Mentions Mercian soldiers at Edington. Curious, because this is traditionally viewed as a West Saxon victory, in which the men of Wessex and their retainers rallied around their exiled King. There is no evidence I know of that Mercia had any involvement. 

When things get a little heated, an angered Ceolwulf says that Alfred created ‘Daneland’ –  referring to the region that became known as the Danelaw. Well, yes, it’s technically true that a treaty between Alfred and Guthrum did create the Danelaw, but the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that Ceolwulf himself had agreed to a division of Mercia sometime around 877. Negotiations come to an end when Ceolwulf suddenly dies, right then and there in Alfred’s Hall (with some implication of foul play on Alfred’s part).

Again, the dearth of records allows some scope for literary licence here, as we don’t know what happened to Ceolwulf: he simply disappears from the records in the period between 878-880, to be replaced by Ethelred, Lord of the Mercians and the husband of Aethelflead. It’s widely believed that he died, how and why are not certain. Some speculate he may have been deposed by the Mercian nobility, others have suggested involvement by Alfred, perhaps even in collusion with Guthrum- but there is another, fascinating theory that he died in Battle against the Welsh. You can of course read more about this in Warrior Queen next month.

In the aftermath of all the ruckus, Alfred and Queen Ealswith commence negotiations with the new ruler of Mercia to marry their daughter. The marriage is shown in Episode Six tonight. Tune in here next week for a summary of the next three episodes up to Six.

How to Pronounce Æðelflǽd

Aethelflead- the heroine who’s name few can even pronounce.

Aethelflaed Rises

Opinions, or more often the practice of the pronunciation of the Anglo Saxon name Aethelflaed varies greatly, even amongst Historians. Note the difference of pronunciation between Martin Carver’s consistent /æðʊlflæd/ in his BBC Radio lecture and the pronunciations of Michael Wood in the video clip linked to on this blog. Prof. Wood varies between /æðʊlfled/ (once) and /eðʊlflɪ̈d/ (twice). I do not presume to be able to judge which is correct, however I have found the following to be quite useful in drawing my own conclusions and until corrected will be pronouncing her name /eiðʊlflɪ̈d/  ay thul fleed

The main cause of difference seems to be the correct pronunciation of the letter ash (æ) in accented and unaccented forms. Note these in the quote below:

Chr. Erl. 100, 30, states “Hér com Æðelflǽd, Myrcna hlǽfdige, on ðone hálgan ǽfen Inuentione Sanctæ Crucis, to Scergeate, and ðǽr ðá burh getimbrede; and, ðæs ilcan…

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Julian of Norwich: A Very Brief History by Janina Ramirez

[image error]Over six hundred years ago a woman known as Julian of Norwich wrote what is now regarded as one of the greatest works of literature in English. Based on a sequence of mystical revelations she received in 1373, her book is called Revelations of Divine Love.

Julian lived through an age of political and religious turmoil, as well as through the misery of the Black Death, and her writing engages with timeless questions about life, love and the meaning of suffering.

But who was Julian of Norwich? And what can she teach us today?

1st October 2016, 128 Pages, SPCK, Hardcover and Ebook

Medievalist and TV historian Janina Ramirez invites you to join her in exploring Julian’s remarkable life and times, offering insights into how and why her writing has survived, and what we can learn from this fourteenth-century mystic whose work lay hidden in the shadows of her male contemporaries for far too long.

This is an excellent guide to the first book written in English by a woman, which sheds light on the historical and social context of the famous work. It would be very useful for anyone who has read Revelations of Divine Love and wants to know more about Julian of Norwich (who may have been the sister of the Norfolk Knight Sir Thomas Erpingham of Henry V fame).

For all that I did not much care of the book. This was entirely a matter of personal taste: I read this as a women’s historian having little or no interest in Julian of Norwich or her writings otherwise, and I didn’t necessarily agree with all the author’s conclusions. I’m sure others will get more out of it, as it was not a bad book by any means.

I requested a copy of this book from Netgalley, I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.