Napoleon and Bernard Cornwell

So what happened on September 12th in medieval history? Nothing I’ve written about, but of interest, nonetheless. On this date in 1213 an important battle was fought at Muret, in which Simon de Montfort (the father of “my” Simon) defeated Peter II, the King of Aragon, who was slain during the fighting. This battle doomed the people of southern France, for had Peter won, the so-called Albigensian Crusade would have sputtered to an end, many lives would have been spared and the Inquisition would not have gotten its claws into Toulouse. But whatever his flaws, de Montfort was a superb soldier, a better one than Peter, and history took a sad turn for the worst. Peter, by the way, was the son of a minor character in Devil’s Brood and A King’s Ransom, Alphonso, King of Aragon, Richard’s erstwhile friend.
Also on September 12th in 1369, Blanche, the Duchess of Lancaster, first wife of John of Gaunt, died of the plague. She was only 24, a great heiress, and appears as a sympathetic character in Anya Seton’s classic, Katherine.
Lastly, for the many Bernard Cornwell fans here, he has a new book out, his first non-fiction, Waterloo, which discusses one of history’s more important battles. It is already out in the UK, published yesterday, but will not be published in the US until next May. I really do not understand why publishers cannot co-ordinate these publications. But here is the link to the Amazon.UK book. And of course we are eagerly awaiting the new book in Master Cornwell’s Saxon series, The Empty Throne. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/00...