Guest Post

Author Spotlight: John Marshall

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment
History...the Interesting Bits
Othon de Grandson

Today, it is a pleasure to welcome historian John Marshall to History…the Interesting Bits to chat about his writing and what attracts him to History. John’s third book, Othon de Grandson: Edward I’s Loyal Knight of Renown, has just hit the shops. A close rival to William Marshal for the Greatest Knight accolade, I’m looking forward to reading Othon’s story. But first, a chat with John about what inspires his writing…

Sharon: How did you start your writing career?

John: A midlife career change, some would say a midlife crisis, but an increasing dissatisfaction and boredom surrounding my career of thirty years within the corporate travel business. In short it was not fun anymore, nor was it in anyway stimulating intellectually. I had had a lifelong interest in history, so the first step was a master’s in history. More than anything, this taught me how to organise my thoughts and conduct research professionally, especially that in reading the most interesting stuff was usually in the footnotes. A relocation for personal reasons brought a move from England to Switzerland. There, I kind of fell down the rabbit hole of the relations between Savoy and England in the thirteenth century, I was looking for a writing project as a historian and within a week of arriving in Switzerland my partner and I visited the castle at Yverdon in the Canton of Vaud. Hidden away in the small print of a panel was the throw away line that the castle had been built by Maître Jacques de Saint George. I had recently visited Conwy castle before leaving the UK and for some reason the name immediately registered as the man who had built Conwy. “Do you know who this is?” I asked my partner, receiving a puzzled look. I then emailed the castle to be given an erroneous answer. I then discovered the works of the late Arnold Taylor, and the more recent criticism which I thought unfair. So, the research for my first book, Welsh Castle Builders began.

Sharon: What is the best thing about being a writer?

John: We all write to understand something better, we all read for the same reason. We also, as was the case with me, write a book we would have wanted to read ourselves. In beginning the research for Welsh Castle Builders I was frustrated that the available evidence, the story, did not seem to be in one place. I also felt that the people I wanted to write about in the distant past had not had their story told well enough. So, the best thing about being a writer is being able to write books you would want to read yourself and to tell the stories of forgotten people.

Sharon: What is the worst thing about being a writer?

History...the Interesting Bits

John: For a history writer the worst thing is the sheer volume of detail, and the ease with which you can make mistakes by saying castle x is in county y when it’s now in county z. My previous career had involved a whole lot of data analysis, so this helped, but the sheer volume of detail can be daunting. I would also add that the hours involved in research can also be daunting.

Sharon: What got you into history?

John: My dad was the one who got me into history, it was very much a father and son thing. He had a real passion for history; we covered many miles visiting castles and battlefields. Indeed, my earliest childhood memory is a vague one of walking by an enormous castle by a river and wondering who built that. As a five-year-old boy a medieval castle had a “wow” response that never left me. We were on holiday in Rhyl, I now know the castle has a name, Rhuddlan Castle.

Sharon: What drew you to Othon de Grandson’s story?

John: Days after visiting the castle at Yverdon my partner and I visited the cathedral at Lausanne. My partner is from Lausanne, and she was and is very proud of the cathedral. Just by the altar is the tomb of a knight, with no reference to who the knight is. Asking my partner she replied, “Oh that’s Othon de Grandson” But she was not able to add much more. Reading Arnold Taylor, in connection to the Yverdon visit the name Othon de Grandson kept coming up time and time again. So, I began to learn Othon’s story and realised quickly that without Othon there would have been no Maître Jacques de Saint George in Britain. More research told the story of a boy who came to England, a crusading knight, a top-level diplomat, someone at the very heart of European affairs. Perhaps it was the little boy in me, but this had all the hallmarks of a Boy’s Own adventure story. So, once I had done with Maître Jacques and Pierre de Savoie, Othon’s story had to be told. There was an excellent book written in the sixties, but this story needed to be told again, maybe one day the Swiss will even put a marker on the tomb to say who it is.

Sharon: How influential was Othon to Edward I’s reign?

History...the Interesting Bits
Othon de Grandson from an altar screen from the Cathedral in Lausanne now displayed in the Bern Historic Museum.

John: I think it comes down to one word – loyalty. The book is called Othon de Grandson: Edward I’s Loyal Knight of Renown. Edward I could inspire incredible lifelong loyalty in those around him. It is remarkable to see how loyal these band of brothers; Edward, Edmund, Othon de Grandson, Henry de Lacy, Jean de Vesci et al were to one another. The epithet that seems to come up time after time in their regard is loyalty. Edward in March 1278 described Othon as someone who could ‘do his will … better and more advantageously’ than ‘others about him’, as well as ‘if he himself were to attend to the matters in person’. Delegation, even in our own day is an art, and Edward chose wisely those around him. Being a monarch in the Middle Ages was no easy task, and having people you could trust to do something exactly as you would do it yourself was like gold dust. Loyalty was foundational to medieval ideas of knighthood. It was not just important it was central to their identity, purpose, and honour. What stands out about these band of brothers is that their bonds were formed through shared hardships: crusades, rebellion, foreign war, and dynastic tension. Loyalty was more than service—it was a mark of faith, honour, brotherhood, and identity. French historian Charles-Victor Langlois wrote of Edward:

“We cannot admire the activity of the English king too much; he was both in the breach on the side of the Rhône valley and of Wales; the threads of all European intrigues, in Castile, in Aragon, in Italy, were connected in his hands; and he still found the leisure to watch over his interests on the continent as Duke of Aquitaine.”

How could Edward do this? He had an Othon.

Sharon: How do you conduct your research?

History...the Interesting Bits
The former Templar Commanderie at Épailly in Burgundy which passed to Othon on the Templars suppression.

John: The answer is reading, reading, and reading. But more than that paying especial attention to primary sources and more that that especial attention to sources in other countries. The subjects of these histories, especially Othon de Grandson, lived their lives across the whole of the European theatre, and so their story is to be found everywhere. But I would sound a note of caution, to be careful in handling medieval chroniclers, like writers today they usually politically span stories, omitted things they didn’t like, only including things they liked. We should use medieval chronicles very carefully. A good case in point is the conduct of Othon de Grandson’s conduct in the Fall of Acre in 1292. Some chroniclers praise him, others are very critical, some even accuse him of cowardice. But by giving greater weight to eyewitness accounts and especially those like the Templar of Tyre who seems to have been with the English knights at the end, we can arrive at the truest picture. Spoiler alert, he was not a coward.

I would also add that it is vital to get out from a book and walk in the steps of those you are writing about. To this end my partner and son have spent many hours under a hot sun in the deep undergrowth of the French countryside looking for castles that are today nothing more than a few stones on top of a steep hill. But it is crucial in understanding the people of the past to visualise the landscape in which they moved.

Sharon: What attracts you to the thirteenth century?

John: The thirteenth century is foundational in many ways to the world we know today. In Othon’s time we see the beginnings of the clashes between church and state. We also see knights like Othon who were of their day, the feudal system, that is loyalty to a suzerain not a nation state. Whereas we see at the French court of Philippe le Bel the likes of Nogaret who are outlining nascent ideas of nation as primary identity. It is the century where we begin to move from the Middle Ages to the modern. In Britain, the relationships between England, Scotland, and Wales are beginning to be set. Indeed, why Wales employs the English legal system and Scotland does not are founded in the thirteenth-century. We also saw in my previous book to this, Pierre de Savoie, the beginnings of our parliamentary system and sadly xenophobia too.

Sharon: The 13th century is just the best! But,are there any other eras you would like to write about?

John: I became a medieval historian on my arrival in Switzerland, but prior to that my university concentration and dissertation was the American colonial period. I might return to that at some point, but I may by typecast.

Sharon: What comes next? Are you working on a new book?

History...the Interesting Bits

John: My fourth book, the story of Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster has just been written, the task of editing, especially on the part of my long-suffering partner, now begins. There has been a journal article written of Edmund, but it was written a century ago. During 2026 we plan to return from Switzerland to England, and in particular my hometown of Lancaster, so the subject of Edmund appeared like a bridge back to Lancaster – although he seems to almost never to have been there. The story of Edmund in many ways parallels that of Othon de Grandson. But Edmund’s story is one that fits into a brief period when it was not considered unusual for a Plantagenet prince to marry a Capetian queen and to rule French counties ((Champagne and Brie) that were so close to Paris. Edmund is the ancestor of our royalty today, both through his stepdaughter Jeanne I de Navarre but also in bloodline through his second son Henry. Edmund of Lancaster emerges as a very Anglo-French character, one that could only have existed in the rapprochement between the 1259 Treaty of Paris and the 1294 Gascon War. He is in many ways a model of a future that was not to be, where Plantagenets and Capetians happily coexisted, the road not traveled.

Sharon: Ooh, I like the idea of a book on Edmund. Good luck with that John and thank you so much for speaking with me today.

About the book:

History...the Interesting Bits

There were once two little boys – they met when they were both quite young; one was born in what’s now Switzerland, by Lake de Neuchâtel, his name Othon de Grandson, and the other was born in London, his name Prince Edward, son of King Henry the third of that name. Othon was probably born in 1238, and Edward, we know, in June 1239. These two little boys grew up and had adventures together. They took the cross together, the ninth crusade in 1271 and 1272. Othon reputedly sucking poison from Edward when the latter was attacked by an assassin. In 1277 and 1278, they fought the First Welsh War against the House of Gwynedd, Othon doing much to negotiate the Treaty of Aberconwy in 1278, which ended hostilities. When war broke out again in 1282 they fought the Second Welsh War together. Othon led Edward’s army across the Bridge of Boats from Anglesey and was the first to sight the future sites of castles at Caernarfon and Harlech. Edward made his friend the first Justiciar (Viceroy) of North Wales. When Edward and Othon went to Gascony in 1287, Othon stayed in Zaragoza as a hostage for Edward’s good intentions between Gascony and Castille.  Later, in 1291, when Acre was threatened by the Mamluks, Edward sent Othon as head of the English delegation of knights. When Acre finally fell to the Mamluks bringing the Crusades to a close, who was the last knight onto the boats? Othon de Grandson, helping his old friend, the wounded Jean de Grailly onto the boat. When Othon returned from the East, he found England at war with Scotland and France; he would spend his last years in Edward’s service building alliances and negotiating peace before retiring to his home in what is now Switzerland after the king’s death in 1307. Grandson lived in the time of Marco Polo, Giotto, Dante, Robert the Bruce, and the last Templars. He was right there at the centre of the action in two crusades: war with Wales, Scotland, and France, the Sicilian Vespers, and suppression of the Templars; he walked with a succession of kings and popes, a knight of great renown. This is his story.

Othon de Grandson: Edward I’s Loyal Knight of Renown is available now from Amazon.

About the Author:

History...the Interesting Bits

Having moved to Switzerland, and qualified as a historian (Masters, Northumbria University, 2016), the author came across the story of the Savoyards in England and engaged in this important history research project. He founded the Association pour l’histoire médiévale Anglo Savoyards. Writer of Welsh Castle Builders: The Savoyard Style and Peter of Savoy: The Little Charlemagne both available from Pen and Sword Books Ltd. Member of the Henry III Roundtable with Darren Baker, Huw Ridgeway and Michael Ray.

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My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

Royal Historical Society

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

A Slice of Medieval

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Our first ever episode was a discussion on The Anarchy Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

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©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and John Marshall

Guest Post: Tudor Princes and Princesses by Aimee Fleming

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Today, it is a pleasure to welcome Aimee Fleming to History…the Interesting Bits. Aimee’s first book, The Female Tudor Scholar and Writer: The Life and Times of Margaret More Roper was a wonderful biography of Thomas More’s famous scholarly daughter. Aimee is now back with a second book, looking into the lives of the first royal Tudor children, Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. And she has written a little piece as a taster of the treat that is this wonderful book. Over to Aimee…

When Henry VII and Elizabeth of York married in January 1486, it was clear to them that their most important task ahead was to stabilise England, and the best, perhaps easiest way available to them was to produce an heir, and quickly.

However, bearing a child in the fifteenth century was not an easy feat, even for a Queen. Science and medicine were far from helpful, and the practices of the time meant that pregnancy and childbirth were dangerous to everyone involved. Elizabeth had her family around her, her mother who had had twelve children would have been invaluable to her, but the risks to herself, her child, and to her husband’s reign would have been very clear indeed.

In this extract we see how the couple prepared for their new arrival, and what Elizabeth herself was required to do, even before the rigours of birth.

Extract from Chapter 2 of Tudor Princes and Princesses

Elizabeth of York

Following the wedding ceremony in January 1486, the royal couple remained in London and held court over celebrations in their honour, with spectacular banquets and dances. The celebrations were held all over London and further afield. As Bernard André describes:

‘…the most wished day of marriage was celebrated by them

with all religious and glorious magnificence at court, and

by their people, to show their gladness with bonfires,

dancing, songs and banquets throughout all London,

both men and women, rich and poor, beseeching God to

bless the King and Queen and grant them a numerous

progeny.’

This outpouring of support for the marriage of the king and queen was welcomed by all, especially by Henry and Elizabeth themselves, who knew just how important it was that their union, and rule, be accepted. It became apparent that their marriage represented the potential for peace in the form of an heir who would have their claims combined within him. Hall’s Chronicle shows what was expected.

‘By reason of whiche manage peace was thought to discende out of heaue into England, consideryng that the lynes of Lancastre & Yorke, being both noble families equiualet in ryches, fame and honour, were now brought into one knot and connexed together, of whose two bodyes one heyre might succede, which after their lyme should peaceably rule and enioye the whole monarchy and realme of England.’

Confident in their position early on, the king and queen worked to secure the future that so many hoped for and very soon after their wedding took place it was announced that the queen was with child. Whether that be out of duty, mutual respect, or genuine affection and love between them, the conception of a child was joyous news for all involved. Calculating from the date of their wedding, and Arthur’s birth, it is reasonable to assume that they conceived quickly, if not on their wedding night itself. When Henry departed for a progress around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the early spring of 1486, he did not take Elizabeth with him, most likely because she was suffering from morning sickness, or other symptoms associated with the early stages of pregnancy. As a first-time mother, it would have been new to Elizabeth, but luckily, she had her experienced mother and mother-in-law both around to support her. While Henry was travelling, he sent regular letters to his new wife, and would send gifts to her while she stayed at the Palace of Placentia.

Elizabeth would have been familiar with the palace, having spent a lot of time there as a young girl. It would become one of the most favoured for the king and queen and would be renamed by Henry as Greenwich Palace. Both names emphasise how the palace was surrounded by green parks and fields, isolated from the hustle and bustle and potential diseases of London itself.

As soon as it could be confirmed that Elizabeth was with child, the wheels began turning to arrange yet more elaborate ceremony, intended to cement Elizabeth as queen, the Tudor dynasty as the ruling family, and rightfully on the throne. This started with Elizabeth’s care while pregnant.

While it was not common for pregnant women to receive medical or ante-natal care in this period, Elizabeth’s health would have been monitored and her diet checked, and healthy habits encouraged by her ladies and physicians. Pregnant women were discouraged from heavy activities or stressful situations, and sometimes forbidden to eat certain foods; for example, if a woman complained of morning sickness, she may be told to limit her intake of fish or milk, both of which modern doctors would recommend she eat.

Pregnancy was dangerous, as was childbirth, for both the mother and the child, so royal women were given the best possible conditions in which to give birth, according to the science of the time.

Elizabeth of York

As a woman’s due date got closer, she would be expected to enter confinement. This was a time where the pregnant woman and her household would isolate themselves in the woman’s bedroom. Windows would be barred and draped, and air flow would be completely stifled as it was believed that illnesses were carried on the air. For a queen, preparations for confinement would be made by the king according to traditions laid out during the reign of Edward IV, Elizabeth’s father. She would have been very familiar with the work that needed to be done, and the fact that the arrangements would be made for her by her husband.

Henry took his role in arranging Elizabeth’s confinement very seriously indeed. He purchased clothes and bedding for the chambers, all made of furs and velvet, and the most luxurious cotton sheets. He arranged for new furniture for her rooms and cushions stuffed with feathers, and even, bewilderingly, two velvet-covered saddles.

However, by far the most important decision that Henry made regarding his wife’s confinement and birth experience was to choose the location, and for Henry there was only one place that it could happen and that was the city of Winchester.

About the Author:

Aimee Fleming is a historian and author from North Yorkshire. She is happily married, with three growing boys and a whole host of pets. She studied history at the University of Wales, Bangor and then later completed a masters in Early Modern History at the University of York as a mature student. She has a passion for history, particularly the Tudors, and worked for over a decade in the heritage industry in a wide variety of roles and historic places.

Books by Aimee Fleming:

The Female Tudor Scholar and Writer: The Life and Times of Margaret More Roper

Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Where to find Aimee:

Website; Facebook; Threads and Instagram: @historyaimee; Substack.

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My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

Royal Historical Society

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

A Slice of Medieval

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. 

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

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©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and Aimee Fleming

Guest Post: Feisty Females: Writing Lincolnshire’s Medieval Women by Rosanna McGlone

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment
The great Cowcher Book
The Great Cowcher Book

It is a pleasure to welcome my good friend Rosanna McGlone to History … the Interesting Bits to chat about her new book, Feisty Females, a series of short stories inspired by The Great Cowcher Book. Although Feisty Females is Rosanna’s ‘baby’, I feel like its Godmother as we have chatted frequently, over coffee, about the women she included, included Nicholaa de la Haye, Alice de Lacey, Blanche of Lancaster and Gwenllian of Wales – women my readers, I know, are well acquainted with!

Rosanna would meet me, armed with questions about the history of these women and the world they lived in. Then she went away and came back having put her own mark on their stories. And what a fascinating collection of stories it is!

It is a joy to see this project come to fruition. So, over to Rosanna to tell you a little about the process of researching and writing Feisty Females: Old Bolingbroke through our Imaginations.

Feisty Females: Writing Lincolnshire’s Medieval Women by Rosanna McGlone

Henry IV effigy
Henry IV, Canterbury Cathedral

You’ve heard of the Domesday Book, right? But do you know the second most important medieval record book? If you don’t, let me reassure you. Until I received this commission, neither did I. According to staff at the National Archives it’s The Great Cowcher Book, a medieval land registry commissioned by Henry IV to provide a record of lands within the Duchy of Lancaster. Receiver General John Leventhorpe was assigned to visit the 18,000 hectares of rural estates in England and Wales including Cheshire and Lancashire in the West and The Honor of Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire in the East which make up the Duchy of Lancaster. In doing so, he gathered a total of 161 folios and 2,433 charters written in either Latin or medieval French.

What exactly do the two volumes of The Great Cowcher Book contain? As well as including transactions such as the bestowing of Old Bolingbroke Castle to John of Gaunt and his wife Blanche of Lancaster, the book also covers more minor land transactions between people of much lower status.

Additionally, the Great Cowcher Book provides a record of disputes which had been brought before the court seeking resolution.

I was commissioned, and funded, by a number of organisations including the Arts Council, Lincoln County Council, the community of Old Bolingbroke and others to write a creative response to this unique material. Thus, it is from this medieval register that my book of short stories, Feisty Females: Old Bolingbroke through our Imaginations was crafted.

Feisty Females

The beautiful medieval manuscripts have recently been translated into English and I received the information on a rather less romanticised, Excel spreadsheet! The columns display the following headings, however not all of them have been populated for each of the more than 5,000 entries: regnal year, name of vendor, name of buyer, land to be purchased; witnesses to the contract; any special conditions, the original language of the manuscript.

As I poured over in excess of 1,200 entries pertaining to The Honor of Bolingbroke, my key focus, I was struck by the names: Walter son of Andrew; Adam, Hugh, Odo Galle of Saltfletby; Gilbert, Ranulf, Clement Prior of Spaldying, William de Rusmar, Henry de Lascy, Simon le Bret, God and his church.

Where were all of the women? As I note in the introduction to my book, His-tory is so often that, a record of the past through the male lens. For me, it was important to offer a different perspective. Out of the more than 5,000 entries within the Great Cowcher Book there are few female landowners. Yet, I was mindful that any females who did appear would have something remarkable about them to succeed in the male dominated medieval world.

Nicholaa de la Haye effigy
Tomb effigy of Nicholaa de la Haye

Women such as Nicholaa de la Haye, the first female Sheriff of Lincoln and Castellan of Lincoln Castle who withstood not one, but three separate sieges on the castle and earned the respect of King John himself.

Another feisty female for whom I have particular affection is Alice de Lacy, a woman whose story is too incredible to be true, at least that’s what I thought when I read it. Kidnappings, rape, imprisonment by the king, threats of being burnt to death, really how could I possibly capture all of Alice’s turbulent life in a mere 3,000 words? The answer is, I couldn’t. Therefore, I focused upon the catalyst for her troubles, her inheritance. Two bizarre childhood accidents occurred to her brothers which, in my opinion, determined the course of Alice’s life. Firstly, her young brother Edmund fell down a well at Denbigh Castle and died. Then, barely six months later, her other brother, John fell off the battlements at Pontefract Castle. He too perished leaving Alice- still a child herself- as sole heir to her parents, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and Margaret Longespee, Countess of Salisbury.

Whilst all of the other stories are set in medieval times, for Alice’s story I use the framework of a police interview in which she is pushed to reveal the truth of those inciting incidents.

The women with the most charters in the Great Cowcher Book is Hawise de Quincy, first Countess of Lincoln, who has a remarkable 40 entries. Whilst the vast majority of these relate to land acquisitions, the one upon which my tale focuses concerns a dispute was between Hawise and Philip de Kyma. To quote the Great Cowcher, this disagreement was

‘…concerning a certain obstruction of a certain watercourse made by the said Philip in Torp to the nuisance of the port of the said Hawise in Weynfled. Because it was then clear the land of both sides of that watercourse towards the port of Weynfled is of the said Philip…’

And so on… In essence, Philip de Kyma was preventing Hawise de Quincy from accessing her port and, therefore, the valuable port fees. So, what was she to do? This is what my story explores. Does pragmatism work, or must Hawise resort to womanly wiles?

Gwenllian of Wales
Memorial to Gwenllian, Sempringham Priory

An incredibly wronged female in Feisty Females is Gwenllian, the last Princess of Wales who was incarcerated in a Lincolnshire Priory from which there was little chance of escape, unless she had inside help…

In all cases, bar one, the women come from the Great Cowcher book, however in Matilda’s case my desire to write on the specific topic of that story arose first, based on a certain building referenced in The Great Cowcher. Matilda’s Story begins thus:

It was the day after Candlemas that we held my brother’s funeral. There was just one problem: he wasn’t dead.

It has been a pleasure to learn more about these characters and to bring them to life for readers, giving them voices after 800 years, or more, of silence. The book is a celebration of the female power which was understood by Chaucer who, himself, makes an appearance in Blanche’s Story. In the epigraph to my book Chaucer describes women thus:

‘And what is better than wisedoom? Womman.

And what is better than a good woman? Nothyng.’1

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Notes: 1. Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Tale of Melibee’ The Canterbury Tales.

Images: The Great Cowcher Book (DL 42/2, fol. 231r, the property of His Majesty The King in Right of His Duchy of Lancaster and is reproduced by permission of the Chancellor and Council of the Duchy of Lancaster.); Photos of Henry IV, Nicholaa de la Haye and Gwenllian of Wales are ©Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS.

To Buy the Book:

Just click on the link to buy: Feisty Females

About the Author:

Rosanna McGlone

Rosanna McGlone is a writer and journalist. Her book, The Process of Poetry -which explores the development of early drafts of poems by some of the country’s leading poets- was number 1 on Amazon and featured on Radio 4’s Front Row. The sequel, The Making of a Poem, focuses on the work of Australian foremost poets. She has written more than 100 features for the national press, including: The Guardian, The Independent, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. Rosanna has written memoirs, community plays and collected oral histories. Feisty Females, a creative response to The Great Cowcher Book, a medieval book, is out on June 8th 2025.

To find out more follow Rosanna at @rosannamcglone.bsky.social

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My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

Out Now! Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

Royal Historical Society

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

A Slice of Medieval

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. 

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

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©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and Rosanna McGlone

Wordly Women: Toni Mount

Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

In today’s spotlight on Wordly Women, I welcome my good friend, novelist and historian, Toni Mount back to History… the Interesting Bits. Toni writes the fabulous Seb Foxley mystery novels and the non-fiction series How to Survive in…

Sharon: What got you into writing?

Toni: I’ve always been a story-teller. Aged 6, when the teacher was called away – before the days of teaching assistants – she would have me sit at the front of the class and tell them a story. It was usually a mix of various fairytales with princes, princesses, witches and dragons. I like to think I became more sophisticated when I started writing them down in English Composition lessons aged 7 or 8. My imagined ‘First Flight of Concorde’ – the supersonic plane – won the school prize and my head has been full of stories for as long as I can remember. A good many have made it to the page but not all.

Sharon: You write both fiction and non-fiction – is one harder than the other?

Toni: Fiction needs your own ideas; in non-fiction the facts are there, waiting for you to use. Since my novels are as authentic to the period as I can make them, but without the ‘gadzooks’ and ‘forsooths’, they take as much research as the non- fiction books. In both cases, I’m looking to tell a good story. The difference is that non-fiction may have gaps where historians don’t know the answers, such as what was Edward II thinking when he gave Piers Gaveston the queen’s jewellery but in a novel the writer is allowed to tell you why.

Sharon: Tell us about your books.

Toni: I’ve had 30+ books published, half of them novels. My most successful non-fiction books are ‘Everyday Life in Medieval London’ and ‘Medieval Medicine’ both published by Amberley, and ‘How to Survive in Medieval England’ published by Pen & Sword which was recently a no.1 best seller on Amazon. The How to Survive series – my fourth: ‘How to Survive in Ration-Book Britain’ is due to be out in November 2025 – is written for the armchair time-traveller and puts a light-hearted slant on history. ‘How to Survive in Tudor England’ and ‘How to Survive in Anglo-Saxon England’ are the other titles.

My Sebastian Foxley Medieval Murder Mystery series has quite a following – book 13 ‘The Colour of Darkness’ has just gone off to the publisher MadeGlobal. Seb is a London-based scribe and illuminator in the 1470s-80s whose eye for detail means he spots clues that others miss to solve crimes. Many are true crimes which were recorded in the Mayor’s Court Rolls and remain unsolved – until now. I love the way my characters take over the story, sometimes doing things that never occurred to me. Seb has become a family member, so much so that my sons commissioned a portrait of him for my 65th birthday and it hangs above the fireplace.

Sharon: What attracts you to the period?

Toni: Whether fact or fiction, the Plantagenet period from the 1150s to 1485 is by far the most intriguing for me. Who doesn’t love to puzzle out a mystery? But modern policing is too boring to write about with so much paperwork, hours of CCTV footage to trawl through, fingerprinting, DNA, ballistics, etc. Give me Sherlock Holmes with his magnifying glass every time. The medieval period has even fewer technical complications.

Sharon: Who is your favourite medieval or Tudor personality and why?

Toni: Richard III obviously. I love the controversy. Was he a saint or a sinner? Or simply a human being?

Sharon: Who is your least favourite medieval or Tudor personality and why?

Toni: Henry VIII – a vicious paranoid megalomaniac. What’s to like? (Sharon: I could not agree more!)

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

Toni: I read all I can around the subject; get a feel for the period and ‘live it’ in my head. As I write, if I realise I don’t know something, I make a note of it, check it out and list sources as I go. This is vital for a book which will have references and footnotes but even if I’m working on a novel, I may want to return to a source for further info or to mention it in my Author’s Notes – this is where I tell readers what’s true in the novel, which characters really existed, etc. In ‘The Colour of Darkness’, I did additional research into Medieval Mystery Plays and the ‘Duke of Exeter’s Daughter [a torture device], among other things. For the next novel, I’m reading up on medieval ships and firearms – I think it’s time somebody got shot with a ‘gunne’.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ medieval or Tudor story you have come across in your research.

Toni: John/Eleanor Rykenor was a cross-dresser in the 1390s. He claimed to have had sex with nuns ‘as a man’ and didn’t charge them for it but did charge a group of Oxford priests-in-training for his services ‘as a woman’. He/she also said he’d spent a year or more living as a man’s wife. When caught in flagranti in a stable, wearing women’s attire and charging a man for sex, as Eleanor she appeared in court. The authorities weren’t sure what crime to charge her with – homosexuality wasn’t made a criminal offence until Tudor times – so she was charged with misrepresenting the product for sale, i.e. advertising her services as a female without having the appropriate ‘equipment’ for the job. She had to pay a fine for flouting what we would call the Trades Description Act. John/Eleanor is a character in my Foxley novels although he/she lived a century before they’re set. I couldn’t resist using such a fantastic character.

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ medieval or Tudor story you have come across in your research.

Toni: The discovery of RIII’s skeleton in a Leicester car park ruined my first ever trilogy [written in 1980s and unpublished]. My premise for the series of novels was that Richard, though wounded, survives the battle of Bosworth and goes on to have further adventures. Henry Tudor, frustrated when he can’t find Richard’s corpse to prove the king is dead, substitutes a crippled beggar to be buried instead. I was about to rewrite the trilogy when the dig discovered the bones and DNA proved it was Richard. How annoying!

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

Toni: Apart from writing about the medieval and Tudor eras, I’ve also written a Victorian who dunnit – ‘The Death Collector’ – making use of unsolved murders from the 1880s, including those attributed to Jack the Ripper. That was great fun to write and I fancy doing a sequel. Also, I wrote a non-fiction book ‘The World of Isaac Newton’ and I think Isaac, with his brilliant brain, has definite possibilities as a sleuth. I’ve published books ranging from Anglo-Saxon England to the 1950s and everything in between has at least been touched upon. Maybe more on the Anglo-Saxons would be interesting.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Toni: The next novel is brewing: ‘The Colour of Malice’ and two self-published booklets are being prepped. ‘Medieval Christmas’ will do what it says on the tin. ‘Warriors – Men-o’-War’ is a very different beast as a collection of my short stories, something I’ve not done before, from Agincourt to Afghanistan. There are no new titles for non-fiction books at the moment.

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

Toni: Playing God with characters [in fiction] and the beauty of words – choosing how best to express your ideas and imaginings on the page. Marvellous!

About the Author:

Toni studies, teaches and writes about medieval history. She is a successful author writing the popular Sebastian Foxley medieval murder series and several non-fiction volumes, including her collection of How to Survive in books. She has created several online courses for http://www.MedievalCourses.com, she teaches history to adults and is an experienced speaker giving talks to groups and societies. Toni enjoys attending history events as a costumed interpreter and is a member of the Research Committee of the Richard III Society.

Toni earned her Masters Degree by Research from the University of Kent in 2009 through study of a medieval medical manuscript held at the Wellcome Library in London. Her first-class honours degree, Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing and her Diploma in European Humanities are from the Open University. Toni also holds a Cert. Ed (in Post-Compulsory Education and Training) from the University of Greenwich.

Find Toni Mount’s books here

Find Toni on Social Media:

Amazon; Website; Seb Foxley website; Facebook: Medieval England Facebook; Seb Foxley Facebook; Twitter

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My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

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©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and Toni Mount

Wordly Women: Paula Lofting

Sharon Bennett Connolly2 Comments

In the third episode of my Wordly Women interviews, I welcome Paula Lofting to History…the Interesting Bits to talk about her writing journey. Paula is the author of the Sons of the Wolf series of novels and has recently published her first none fiction work Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King: Harold Godwinson, England’s Golden Warrior.

Welcome Paula….

Sharon: What got you into writing? 

Paula: When I was a little girl as soon as I could write straight, I used to come home from school sit at the coffee table in our lounge on my feet and write stories. I was particularly fond of ‘composition’ class at school where the teacher would put several titles up for us to choose from to write about. I often had my stories read out to class. 

I guess it was something I always wanted to do. I remember in my teens, writing an epic historical fiction based on the years after the Romans left Britain, but I hand wrote it because I hadn’t learned to type and the typewriter, I had was useless. I thought I was never going to submit because it never occurred to me to just type with one finger! So, I gave up on that idea. I’d written plays, poems, and all sorts of stuff, but I was also in a bad relationship with a man who didn’t want to share me with a pen, so it was difficult until the relationship ended, and I had moved on. It was when the advent of personal computers came along when I realised that I could actually achieve my dream if I wanted to. 

    Sharon: Tell us about your books. 

    Paula: I have been writing a series set in the years leading up to the Norman Invasion of 1066. There are currently two books I have published in the series, and of course a nearly finished 3rd WIP. The series is called Sons of the Wolf, which is the name of book 1 and book 2 is The Wolf Banner, and 3 which I am working on is called Wolf’s Bane. As you can see there is a recurring theme. The theme is not something to do with real wolves but has its origins in my hero’s family history whose ancestors believed that they were descended from wolves. 

    The books tell the story of Wulfhere, a Sussex thegn, and follows the fortunes of his family in the years before the Battle of Hastings took place. It explores the lives of the ordinary people who lived against the backdrop of the political landscape of the time. 

    The series is a chronological account of events that are woven into the tapestry of the family’s lives and also tells the story of the main historical players of the time, such as Harold Godwinson and his clan. The two men’s lives run parallel alongside each other, and their contrasting stories are intricately woven together as is their fate.  

    The books all run consecutively, and you will find there are no gaps in the saga, so where one book ends, the new book starts. I have plans to continue after the catastrophic events of 1066 into the rebellion years. 

    Sharon: What attracts you to the 11th century? 

    Paula: I think that there is a lot of romance around the whole story of two men who fought over their claims to be king of England which people are drawn to. There is the tragedy of the last ‘Anglo-Saxon king’ who is butchered to death on the battlefield: the tall, handsome, charismatic, affable, warrior who fights for his people and his country. There is the underdog and the overdog theme which comes after the conquest and lasts for some time before England begins to melt as though seamlessly into the new regime.  

    Then you have the original Robin Hood type story of Hereward who sort of appears from nowhere to fight the good fight against the baddies after coming back to England from abroad to find a lot of things have changed and his ancestral lands commandeered by invaders. There is so much to play with there, a passionate conglomerate of rich history that evokes and inspires in the most amazing manner. It is an era that sets itself apart from what happens later – the cusp of change from the old world to the new. 

    I find it fascinating. Love… Betrayal… Battles… Bloodfeud. 

    What’s not to love! 

    I have also written a book about Harold Godwinson which is due for release any day now with Pen and Sword. 

    Sharon: Who is your favourite Anglo-Saxon and why? 

    Paula: There were so many extraordinary characters, and a lot I could choose from. For now, I have to go with Harold Godwinson, simply because, although we will never know what his true nature was for certain, what is written in the sources is constant and conjures up a vision of a man who loved his wife, his family, and his country. A man who avoided internal conflict, forced to navigate intrigue, family skirmishes, and the jealousy of the other aristocracy. He was not a perfect man, but in comparison to many rulers and sub rulers in medieval times, there were a lot more who were far more undesirable. During his early tenure as king, knowing that his country was in danger on many fronts, he acted swiftly to gather his armies together and deploy them to defend the shores. He even found time to see to some of his admin duties, all this in the early weeks of his reign. Who knows what he might have achieved if his life had not been so cruelly taken from him so early into his reign. 

    Sharon: Who is your least favourite Anglo-Saxon – or Viking – and why? 

    Paula: Ooo – Can I have one of each?  

    In that case I have to say, the Anglo-Saxon Ealdorman Eadric Streona whose betrayal of King Edmund lost him the battle of Assandun.  

    My least favourite Viking would have been Sweyn Forkbeard who was invading England from the 990s up until 1013. He became king for about 6 weeks before he died in February 1014. His pillaging and burning of England really stank. 

    Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic? 

    Paula: Well, currently I am taking notes from the two major annals, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and the Chronicon ex Chronicis which was the work of the monk, John of Worcester and also in part, someone called Florence. I plan to augment them with other sources that I read, both primary and secondary, to try and find sources that correlate and contradict each other so I can make sure I have all the facts in one place when I come to write the narrative. I am always very grateful to those historians who came before me for having done the hard part of digging through the foundations of the information available to me and try to see the original sources for myself. Its helpful that these authors give guidance in their own work for us new historians to build upon and come up with new ideas. 

    For Historical fiction I have the privilege of being a reenactor and learning the everyday tasks and the little detailed things that experimental archaeology gives us like clothing, food, buildings and battle strategies that often history texts can’t give us. This helps me to build my world as authentically as I possibly can.  

    Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ Anglo-Saxon story you have come across in your research? 

    Paula: Oo I love this question! 

      I have a few, actually: The research carried by Dan Armstrong regarding the Papal Banner. It seems there is little evidence for it in 1066. Readers will need to read the book to find out more about what Armstrong uncovered. 

      Another is the version of Harold’s trip to Normandy that the English chronicler, Eadmer of Canterbury writes in his History of Recent Events in England, a story that makes far more sense, even though it is the only version of this you can find. And considering that Eadmer was not particularly pro Harold, I think it is far more reliable than the Norman sources. 

      I also love the anecdotal tale of Bishop Wulfstan who carried a pair of snips with him to cut the hair long hair of the young men who came before him. He didn’t approve of men with long hair, obviously. Can you imagine, you’re an elite, well-respected member of the elite huscarls kneeling before him as you get to the front to receive holy communion and he reaches over your head and grips your neatly combed and beautifully tied back pony-tail and with one snip, you lose it! And there was nothing you could do about it!  

      Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ Anglo-Saxon story you have come across in your research?  

      Paula: Oh gosh, I can name lots, but probably the worst, I have to say, is the cruel propaganda used by the Norman scribes such as Poitiers, who was the first one to mention the Papal Banner, and the way they defiled Harold’s character to detract from William’s regicide of an anointed king and make him seem like a saint! 

        Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about? 

        Paula: Yes indeed, but I’m probably never going to achieve them all, here are just a few: 

          Staying in the so-called dark ages, I once started to write an epic about the post Roman Britain era, centring on Ambrosius Aurelianus. It never came to anything because my circumstances were not right at the time, but I would love to give it ago one day.  

          Another is Macbeth, and coming right out of my comfort zone, a story about a highway man. 

          Sharon: What are you working on now? 

          Paula: Edmund Ironside is my new project for Pen and Sword – a non-fiction book, and fiction wise, I am working on finishing the third novel in my series, Wolf’s Bane 

            Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer? 

            Paula: Escaping into other times, other places, and building a different world. It gives me a sense of release and I enjoy creating characters I love. 

            It has never really been my aim to sell loads of books and earn loads of money from writing because its not going to be achievable in this day and age. Its more of a hobby really, but if people read my work, then I am very happy, especially if they enjoy it. That’s the most important part to me.  

            About the author:

            Paula was born in the ancient Saxon county of Middlesex in 1961. She grew up in Australia hearing stories from her dad of her homeland and its history. As a youngster she read books by Rosemary Sutcliff and Leon Garfield and her love of English history grew. At 16 her family decided to travel back to England and resettle. She was able to visit the places she’d dreamt about as a child, bringing the stories of her childhood to life. It wasn’t until later in life that Paula realised her dream to write and publish her own books. Her debut historical novel Sons of the Wolf, was first published in 2012 and then revised and republished in 2016 along with the sequel, The Wolf Banner, in 2017. The third in the series, Wolf’s Bane, will be ready for publishing later this year.   

            In this midst of all this, Paula has acquired contracts for nonfiction books with the prestigious Pen & Sword publishers. Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, England’s golden Warrior is due to be published at the end of February, and a biographic of King Edmund Ironside is also in the pipeline. She has also written a short essay about Edmund for Iain Dale’s Kings and Queens, articles for historical magazines. When she is not writing, she is a psychiatric nurse, mother of three grown up kids and grandmother of two and also re-enacts the Anglo-Saxon/Viking period with the awesome Regia Anglorum. 

            Social Media:

            Website: www.threadstothepast.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wulfsuna?locale=en_GB, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulaloftingwilcox/, x: https://x.com/longshippub, Threads: www.threadstothepast.com, Blue Sky: @paulaloftingauthor.bsky.social 

            Book Links: Sons of the Wolf; Wolf’s Bane; Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King: Harold Godwinson, England’s Golden Warrior.

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            My books

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

            Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

            Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

            Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

            *

            ©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and Paula Lofting

            Guest Post: The Book and the Duchess by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik

            Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

            Last month, we lost one of the great historians of medieval history, Martin Aurell. A few years ago, I had the honour of translating one of Martin’s essays on Eleanor of Aquitaine for a compilation on England’s medieval queens. He had a wonderful insight into Eleanor and I would have loved to meet him. So, when my dear friend Kasia asked if I would publish her tribute to Martin, I jumped at the chance.

            The Book and the Duchess: Eleanor of Aquitaine and her Artistic Legacy….

            In memory of Professor Martin Aurell

            Eleanor of Aquitaine’s tomb effigy, Fontevraud Abbey

            Richard of Devizes called her femina incomparabilis “a woman without compare” and in many respects she was. Queen of both France and England respectively, duchess of a great duchy in her own right, rebel wife who openly went to war against her husband, Eleanor of Aquitaine needs no introduction. And yet very little is actually known about one of the most famous women in history. Thus we should not find it surprising that all the myths and misconceptions about her got so firmly established in the popular consciousness. One of them is Eleanor as a very active artistic patron. However, if we raise the question, her artistic legacy is rather modest. There are only few surviving objects that can be safely associated with her.

            First and foremost, there is her tomb effigy at Fontevraud Abbey, which is the earliest funerary monument that we know of to depict a woman with a book. Also, as it seems, it is the only one to depict a man or a woman in the act of reading. The book Eleanor is holding is a restoration. The original had been destroyed during the Revolution. It is probably devotional work…. book of prayers, psalter or gospel book.

            A noble lady kneeling in a psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine

            The effigy is one of the few instances when Eleanor can be safely identified as an artistic patron. She most probably commissioned it herself. Also the effigies of Henry II and Richard I the Lionheart (the one of Isabelle of Angouleme was commissioned more than forty years later) which were created at the same time (as stylistic similarities indicate). Made from tuffeau limestone from the Loire valley they successfully stood the test of time. despite different vagaries of history. What makes us believe Eleanor was a commissioner? First and foremost, Eleanor’s presence at Fontevraud Abbey at the time. After Richard’s death in 1199 she left the walls of the abbey, but stayed in Anjou, defending it for John. Later she retreated to the abbey again and spent her last years there. The effigies must have been created between the death of Richard and her own death in 1204 (also the year Anjou fell to the Capetians).

            Another object connected with Eleanor is the afore-mentioned Eleanor’s vase, which was a wedding gift she presented to her first husband Louis VII of France. It had stayed in her family since the reign of her famous/infamous grandfather, William IX the Troubadour, who had brought it with him from Spain. Louis gave it to Abbot Suger as a gift for St Denis. Suger added all the ornamentation. It was a classic crystal rock vessel when Eleanor presented it to Louis.

            Another work of art associated with Eleanor is the so-called Fecamp Psalter (or Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine), one of the oldest manuscripts preserved at the Dutch Royal Library at the Hague. With 27 full-page miniatures, 36 calendar miniatures depicting the Labours of the Months, and 11 historiated initials illustrating the major divisions of the psalter it is exquisitely beautiful. By the end of the 11th century Fécamp was a leading centre for manuscript copying in Normandy and in the late 12th century (c. 1180) this beautifully illuminated psalter was probably commissioned by Eleanor herself. In 2016 student Jesus Rodriguez Veijo identified the figure on the Beatus page of the psalter with Eleanor, relying in part on the scholarship relating to the Radegonde mural. You can view the manuscript on the official site of Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Hague.

            An image of the chase in a fresco in the chapel of St Radegonde

            The so-called Poitiers Window is one of the few contemporary depictions of Eleanor. She, Henry and their four sons are shown in a small scene, being a part of a larger depiction of Crucifixion, in the area reserved for patrons. Eleanor and Henry hold an image that represents the window itself. This image is not a part of the original, but a result of 19th-century restoration by Adolphe Steiheil. The window must have been commissioned between 1166 and 1173, the birth of John and the outbreak of the Great Revolt, when the royal family was still undivided.

            The famous Radegonde Mural preserved in the chapel of Sainte Radegonde, Chinon has been a subject of heated debates since its discovery in 1964 by Albert Heron. This representation has been widely accepted as a depiction of the Plantagenet family, identifying the central ”crowned” figure as Eleanor. Later research, however, helped to determine that all the figures were actually male. This led the historians to believe that the central crowned figure was in fact Eleanor’s eldest surviving son, Henry the Young King.

            The Eleanor Vase

            In her article entitled Two reputed representations of Eleanor of Aquitaine from her lifetime – a re-evaluation Sara Cockerill, the author of the latest Eleanor biography, revisits the evidence for both these representations and formulates yet one more theory that the scene is in fact a representation of the characters from St Radegonde’s legend. This led her to the following conclusion: while the same person may well have commissioned both depictions, only one, the Psalter, should be regarded as attempting to portray Eleanor herself.

            By Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik

            About the author:

            Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik specializes in British literature and history, her area of expertise being the first Plantagenets (the Angevins). She lives in Poland. She writes for different magazines and websites on Polish and European Middle Ages. She runs a blog dedicated to Henry the Young King. She consulted a BBC documentary on William Marshal.

            *

            My books

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

            Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

            Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

            Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

            *

            ©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly, FRHistS and Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik

            Guest Post: James A. Hamilton and the Americas Cup by Samantha Wilcoxson

            Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

            Today, it is a pleasure to welcome Samantha Wilcoxson to History…the Interesting Bits with an article on James A. Hamilton. Samantha’s biography of Hamilton, James Alexander Hamilton: Son of the American Revolution.

            James A. Hamilton and the Americas Cup

            The America’s Cup has not always been called by that name. In 1851, an invitation came to the New York Yacht Club, the only yacht club in the United States at that time, from the Royal Yacht Squadron “to test the relative merits of the ships.” The British challengers did not anticipate any real contest from the Americans, given their relative inexperience in an arena long dominated by England’s seamen.

            It was the same year as England’s Great Exhibition with its Crystal Palace, and national pride was running high. The New York Yacht Club decided to send a schooner named America. One of the ship’s owners was George Lee Schuyler, son-in-law to James Alexander Hamilton.

            Schuyler was confident of the schooner’s capabilities and looked forward to seeing it compete against the British ships. Unfortunately, personal issues kept him at home, and he asked his father-in-law to join the crew of the America in his place.

            The crew greeting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, James is the man on the far left

            James was the third son of Alexander Hamilton, who had served as the first US treasury secretary and created the national bank. When traveling in Europe, James would often have official letters of introduction from presidents or cabinet members, but he recorded that he rarely used them. “My father’s name alone was my best passport to society.” In this case, it was his son-in-law’s boat that put him in the middle of historic events.

            Among a field of sixteen ships, the America took off in a light wind on 22 August 1851. James compared them to race-horses breaking away from the starting line. Shockingly, the America quickly jumped into the lead. When Queen Victoria was informed that the US schooner was in the lead, she asked which was second. The response? “Your Majesty, there is no second.” The America had left all competition far behind.

            The American schooner yacht

            Following the victory, the Queen and Prince Albert boarded the America to offer their congratulations and were greeted by four crew members, including James A Hamilton. The Royal Yacht Squadron Cup, which the US team was awarded, became known as the America’s Cup, as did the annual regatta.

            Read more about the 1851 America’s Cup and other James Alexander Hamilton adventures in my new biography, available through Pen & Sword and your favorite bookstore!

            About the book:

            Born in the year of the Constitutional Convention, James Alexander Hamilton was uniquely positioned to observe the early republic era and the formation of the experimental United States government. His father, Alexander Hamilton, had been the first US Treasury Secretary, an outspoken and controversial character who was killed in a duel when James was a teenager. With a lifelong devotion to his father’s memory, James advised men from Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren to Abraham Lincoln and Salmon P Chase on banking and constitutional matters.

            Through his own talents and with the advantage of his father’s name, James served as temporary Secretary of State and District Attorney of New York. James enjoyed a close-knit family life with his wife, Mary Morris, at his Hudson River home named Nevis for his father’s birthplace. He was part of the crew of the yacht America, for which the America’s Cup is named, and on the committee for New York’s Crystal Palace in 1853. More importantly, he served his country through the War of 1812, Western Expansion, and the bloody Civil War. His first-hand account of these transformative events gives readers a priceless look at America’s past. James supported the abolition of slavery and wrote a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation before settling down to write his own Reminiscences that cover the first seventy-five years of US history. 

            This biography makes James A Hamilton’s life and observations accessible to the modern reader and will leave you with a new appreciation for the Founders’ heirs who inherited the difficult work of building a nation.

            To Buy the book:

            James Alexander Hamilton: Son of the American Revolution.   

            About the author:

            Samantha Wilcoxson is an author of emotive biographical fiction and nonfiction featuring history’s unsung heroes. She loves sharing trips to historic places with her family and spending time by the lake with a glass of wine. Her most recent work is a biography of James Alexander Hamilton published by Pen & Sword History. Samantha is currently writing a Wars of the Roses trilogy for Sapere Books.

            Social media:

            Websitehttps://samanthawilcoxson.com
            Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/samantha_wilcoxson
            Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/PlantagenetEmbers/
            Amazon Author Pagehttps://amazon.com/author/samanthawilcoxson
            Newsletter Signuphttps://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/668153/107384163504489521/share

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            My Books

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

            Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

            Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

            Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

            *

            ©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS and Samantha Wilcoxson



            Guest Post: Was Harold of Royal Lineage? by Paula Lofting

            Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

            What do you do when 3 friends have books coming out all on the same day? You arrange a mini blog tour, of course. Myself, Paula Lofting and Samantha Wilcoxson all have new non-fiction books published this week, with Pen & Sword Books, so the 3 of us are hosting each other across our blogs, with an article and an interview from each. And I’m kicking us off today.

            It is a pleasure to welcome Paula Lofting to History…the Interesting Bits with an article on Harold Godwinson – King Harold II. Paula’s first foray into the realm of non-fiction, Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King, is now available.

            Was Harold Godwinson of Royal Lineage

            Some enthusiasts of the period have been quite taken with the idea that Harold Godwinson was able to trace his ancestry back to Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons. The original idea came from historian, Alfred Anscombe, and later, genealogist, Lundie W. Barlow. It was taken up as authentic by author Frank Barlow, who has written many works on the period. From his book The House of Godwin, we can read his take on this. Through the will of Prince Æthelstan, son and heir of Æthelred the Unready, we are able pinpoint the man referred to as ‘Godwin, son of Wulfnoth’ being the father of Godwin. According to Frank Barlow, Lundie Barlow (no relation) studied the descent of some of the estates that Wulfnoth held. By treating Wulfnoth, as the son of Æthelmӕr Cild, ealdorman of the western provinces, Anscombe and Lundie believed that the Sussex thegn inherited Compton from his mother, suggesting that the royal blood was passed on through her.

            But there is an issue with this theory. To make sense of the concept that Harold was descended from the royal House of Wessex, it was pertinent to explore theories that concern two males named Æthelmær. Both could be said to be candidates for Harold’s great-grandfather. The first Æthelmӕr listed in Anscombe and Lundie’s family tree we shall refer to as Cild. This chap was the son of Æthelweard the historian shown on the modified Anscombe/Barlow family tree.

            This theory can be easily dispelled, for Æthelmær Cild was alive and active in the same generation as Wulfnoth himself, making him too young to have fathered Wulfnoth. Secondly, the interests of Æthelweard and Æthelmӕr Cild were concentrated in the areas west of Wessex, whilst Wulfnoth is specifically noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a ‘Sussex thegn’.

            The other Æthelmær, whom we shall refer to as Æthelmær Two, was one of several brothers of the infamous ealdorman, Eadric Sreona. Now their father was a man called Æthelric. The theory that this particular Æthelmær was the father of Wulfnoth Cild, originated with John of Worcester, which seems to have caused the confusion that led to Anscombe, then Lundie, being convinced that he was the father of Wulfnoth.

            There is also a problem with this Æthelmær, as we shall see. Eadric and his brothers were the sons of a man called Æthelric and not Æthelweard the Historian, said to be the patriarch of the previous Æthelmær Cild, whose pedigree can be traced back to former kings of Wessex. Confused? Yes, so was I. But there is more.

            ‘Gytha and Godwin’ portrayed by me and Jeppe Christensen

            Through the will left by Æthelstan, we have identified that Earl Godwin, (d. 1053) was the son of Wulfnoth Cild and Harold Godwinson’s father. Nothing is known of Godwin’s mother, but he has been cautiously accredited with possible siblings. One such sibling being the lady Æthelflӕd, named in the family tree that Barlow cites in his book. This woman was the owner of land in Buckinghamshire and was married to a man called Toki. The estate was gifted to his wife by her father, a man called Wulfnoth, who was connected to Godwin’s son, Leofwin, who held the estate thirty years later. This does not confirm, however, that this particular Wulfnoth was the chap who fathered Godwin. According to the Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England data base, there were sixty-nine individuals with the name Wulfnoth. Most of them were in the money minting business, so it is somewhat difficult to identify the right man however the link to Godwin’s son owning the lands of Toki and Æthelflӕd is intriguing.

            It has been mentioned that Godwin had a brother, Ælfwig, abbot of New Minster in Winchester. He is said to have died at Hastings and is referred to as an uncle of King Harold’s. If true, he would have been an old man to have fought in the battle, so it is unlikely he was the brother of Godwin.

            As it stands it is difficult to find any solid ground for believing that the Godwinsons were of royal pedigree despite the evidence produced by A. Anscombe/L. Barlow, and Frank Barlow, and it is unrealistic to assume that the family would not have known and used it to their advantage, especially against King William the Conqueror (r. 1066‒1087). We could say it is not impossible that Harold did, and it was suppressed by the Normans, but there is no supporting evidence, which makes it doubtful. It also seems unlikely that either of the two Æthelmӕrs had fathered Wulfnoth. As Ann Williams confirms, Æthelmӕr Cild, who appears in the royal family’s tree, was of the same generation as Wulfnoth. Furthermore, he was from Devonshire. Wulfnoth was referred to as a Sussex thegn by the E version of the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle (ASC).

            Harold and Eadith

            Æthelmӕr number two, can also be discounted because the father of this Æthelmӕr was called Æthelric and Æthelmӕr Cild’s father was known as Æthelweard. Also, number two does not appear in the royal family tree of Wessex, suggesting that he had no royal heritage at all. He was also of the same generation as Wulfnoth. As we see, there is nothing to connect either Æthelmӕr with Wulfnoth, apart from an error made by John of Worcester, which many historians confuse as the same Æthelmӕr.

            In contrast to efforts made to prove Anscombe’s and (Lundie) Barlow’s theory correct, Peter Rex, in his book on Harold’s life, refers to the Hyde Chronicle which describes Godwin as a man of low birth. This is not a contemporary source and was written in the thirteenth century for the de Warennes, whose dislike of Godwin is evident. Alternative stories of a ‘lowly’ Godwin’s rise to fame speak of him as a farmer’s boy, who, whilst cow–herding, came across a Dane called Ulf, lost and detached from his men after the Battle of Sherston. Godwin offered to help him, and a grateful Ulf took him into his service. These tales have more to do with myth than anything based in reality and do not account for Godwin being left land in Æthelstan’s will which is a whole other story for another time.

            You might say that not having English royal pedigree should have dismissed Harold from any right the throne. He was not the son of a king, and therefore this lack of royal blood would have discounted him. In fact, Harold was descended from royal stock. It was just not the right one. His mother, Gytha, was the daughter of the fascinatingly named Thorgils Sprakaleggr (strut leg) who was the grandson of Harold Bluetooth making Gytha the great granddaughter of a King of Denmark and Norway and a second cousin of King Cnut the Great. So, although Harold was of royal lineage, it wasn’t the right one. Therefore, we could give the same consideration to Duke William of Normandy, who fought against King Harold and claimed victory over him on the 14 October 1066. But William had no connection to England, or the lands or the language. The boy Edgar Ætheling, who had been proclaimed as Edward’s heir was too young to face the invasions threatening Anglo-Saxon England. A strong leader was what was needed at the time, and royal blood or not, Harold was that man.

            Do look out for the continuation of the blog tour tomorrow on Threads to the Past

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            About the book:

            Harold Godwinson occupied his place in the chronicles for more than twenty years after bursting onto the political sphere when he was barely out of his teens. His role in English history has always been overshadowed by his failure to defend his crown and country against the might of William the Conqueror and his invaders. His demise at the hands of a Franco-Norman hit squad wrought the death knell of Anglo-Saxon rule. Reigning for just ten months, Harold’s accomplishments as dux Anglorum, and later king of England, were undermined by the Norman propaganda that was waged against his memory, long after his grisly end in 1066.

            But just who was this man, who some historians recall as one of England’s greatest rulers? What were his origins? Is there any truth that he could trace his ancestry to the House of Wessex, and did he really usurp the throne from Duke William, the Bastard of Normandy? In this re-examining of this great historical figure of the eleventh century, we glean new theories and ideas not only about Harold’s life, but also questions historians have pondered upon for years. Did Edward really offer the throne to William? And how much of William’s claim was truth or fiction?

            Paula Lofting presents a thoughtful and careful critique of the previous research. Examining his life through a telescopic view of the primary sources, she offers the reader a more accurate evaluation of who he was, how he died, and what happened to his remains after his death on a field near Hastings on October 1066.

            About the author:

            Paula Lofting is the author of an eleventh-century saga, Sons of the Wolf, and is working on book three in the series. She has also written articles for magazines like Historical Times and contributed to Iain Dale’s recent Kings and Queens with an essay on Edmund Ironside. Lofting’s love for Anglo-Saxon/Viking/Norman re-enactment with Regia Anglorum is a great tool for her writing. She is also a psychiatric nurse with nineteen years’ experience and enjoys spending time with her family, three grown-up children and two grandchildren. This is Lofting’s first foray into the realms of historical non-fiction, and she hopes it will not be her last. She also has been commissioned to write a biography on Edmund Ironside with Pen & Sword which is currently in progress.

            Website : www.threadstothepast.com, Fb: https://www.facebook.com/Wulfsuna?locale=en_GB, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulaloftingwilcox/, x: https://x.com/longshippub, mybook.to/Haroldpreorder

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            My Books

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

            Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

            Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

            Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

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            ©2025 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS and Paula Lofting

            Guest Post: Nameless Not Faceless by Virginia Crow

            Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

            Today, it is a pleasure to welcome my friend and colleague at Historical Writers Forum, Virginia Crow, to History…the Interesting Bits to talk about her contribution to the latest Historical Writers Forum Anthology, To Wear A Heart So White: An Anthology of Historical Short Stories About Crime and Punishment.

            Nameless Not Faceless: The Possible Lives of the Bocksten Man

            The remains of the Bocksten Man

            I love a mystery. Right from childhood, I’ve been fascinated by the things we do not – and cannot – know. The quest for knowledge is human nature, but it can only be maintained so long as the unknown exists. Sometimes, this is frustrating, other times it is tantalising.

            Cue: one such example…

            Usually in history we know the names of people whose appearances we are left to imagine based on contemporaneous portraits or remarks made about them. But, when I discovered the story of The Bocksten Man, this was turned on its head. Here was a man who – through the wonders of forensic archaeology – we knew almost exactly what he looked like, and yet we have no idea what his name was.

            My imagination was piqued!

            Aside from his appearance, the one thing we do know for certain is that someone – or most likely more than one person – really didn’t like him. Aside from the blow to his head, which almost certainly killed him, he was pegged down at the bottom of the lake by two shafts, including one through the heart. It is this act which led this nameless man to become something of a celebrity 700 years later.

            There are as many theories as there are theorists about who he was and why he was executed in such a way. Many of these ideas have him being a criminal, no doubt seeing it as easier to accept that he merited such an end, or as a sorcerer on a charge of witchcraft. Both these seem unlikely to me, as he was clearly well-cared for and appears to have had all the benefits of a backing from the Roman Catholic church. The only theory which stars him as an antagonist which I deem likely (just playing a game of probability, here!) is that he was discovered to be a charlatan, concealing himself behind stolen or falsely-gained clothing and belongings.

            The reconstruction of the Bocksten Man

            But I did not like the thought of him going to this watery grave without having someone to speak for him, albeit a few centuries too late. I’m a sucker for an underdog, and it was time to help him emerge from the shame of some of these theories. This is where his nameless status became a very handy tool. Usually I dislike writing real historical figures as so many people have preconceived ideas about them, so I have to invent my own characters to brush shoulders with the greats of history, tucking them in to various mysteries throughout the ages. But The Bocksten Man was the perfect balance between reality and possibility. How could any writer resist?

            I’m not going to tell you the story I created for him – you’ll have to read it in the anthology! – but I would love to know your theories about him. Better still, write him as you think he would have been. Whoever he was, he had an adventure, and isn’t that what we all look for in our stories? A fellow author wrote to me and said: you’ve got to love a bog body, and he was absolutely right!

            You can find out all about The Bocksten Man through the Halland Kulturhistoriska Museum: https://museumhalland.se/en/the-bocksten-man/

            Images:

            The Remains of The Bocksten Man (Peter Lindberg, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons); The Reconstruction of The Bocksten Man (Toxophilus, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

            About the book:

            To Wear A Heart So White: An Anthology of Historical Short Stories About Crime and Punishment

            A cost for every action, and a price for every deed.

            The Historical Writers’ Forum proudly presents seven stories of Crime and Punishment, from across the ages. From an anchoress to a war hero; from Italy to Missouri; this anthology has a story for everyone.

            Included stories are:

            The Ignoble Defence – Virginia Crow

            Agatha’s Eyes – Rachel Aanstad

            A Pact Fulfilled – Eleanor Swift-Hook

            Carte de Viste – Ronan Beckman

            A Dish Served Cold – Brenda W. Clough

            Shadows of the Adriatic – Tessa Floreano

            A Dangerous Road – D. Apple

            Click here to Buy the book: To Wear A Heart So White: An Anthology of Historical Short Stories About Crime and Punishment

            About the Author:

            Virginia Crow is an award-winning author of historical fiction. Her writing borders on the edge of reality, challenging the beliefs and superstitions of bygone days.

            She lives in Caithness, where her life is dictated by Orlando and Jess, her two spaniels.

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            My Books:

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

            Coming 30 January 2025: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

            Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

            Available for pre-order now.

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

            Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

            ©2024 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS and Virginia Crow

            Guest post: All the Queen’s Men by Carol Ann Lloyd

            Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

            Today, it is a pleasure to welcome my dear friend, Carol Ann Lloyd, to History… the Interesting Bits, with an article on the love life of Queen Elizabeth I. Carol Ann’s new book Courting the Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and Her Suitors is due to be released on 30 July by Pen and Sword. If it is anything like her first book, The Tudors By Numbers: The Stories and Statistics Behind England’s Most Infamous Royal Dynasty, it will be a fabulous read!

            “All the Queen’s Men: The Courtships of the Virgin Queen”

            Carol Ann Lloyd

            Elizabeth I, aged 14

            It’s ironic that the child of the most-married English monarch ever is the only English monarch to rule as an adult and never marry! Elizabeth I, daughter of the famous (infamous?) Henry VIII never married. But it was not for lack of options.

            The big question is “Why?” Did Elizabeth really want to marry anyone? What kept her from marrying? Did she ever intend to marry, or was she just keeping all her options open as she navigated the perilous landscape of European politics on her own?

            I think there are many ways on answering this question. Let’s start at the beginning of her reign. Elizabeth was the least likely of Henry VIII’s children to come to the throne, and when she did everyone had the same question on their mind. As the Spanish Ambassador, the Count of Feria, reflected in the early days of the reign, “The more I think over this business the more certain I am that everything depends upon the husband this woman may take.” Elizabeth was questioned about her choice of husband by her council, ambassadors, and parliament. It was considered a public not a private matter, and the queen was repeatedly encouraged and counseled to get married and produce an heir for the good of the kingdom.

            So, if everything depended on the husband her would take, what realistically were her options?

            Some people might be surprised to learn that one of her first suitors was the husband of her recently deceased sister. Philip of Spain had been married to Mary I until her death, and the couple had no children. Still committed to bringing England back into the Catholic fold, Philip believed he could marry and control Elizabeth. I was surprised as I read his correspondence how convinced Philip was that Elizabeth was desperate for a husband and eager for his offer. Many Catholics never accepted the validity of the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, so Elizabeth’s hold on the throne was possibly tenuous. Philip believed he was the answer to Elizabeth’s problem. He thought she would jump at the chance.

            Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

            Philip could not have been more wrong. Elizabeth knew very well that Philip would seek to involve England in Spain’s wars, as he had during Mary I’s reign. Using her skills in language, Elizabeth dallied with Feria and postponed giving a firm answer until it suited her. That answer was a definite “no.”

            The offer from Philip was only the beginning. I discovered in my research that Elizabeth used the many marriage possibilities as a way of strengthening her position with the international community. She managed to keep several foreign leaders eager for an alliance with England and a marriage with her. Over the years, the king of Sweden, European dukes and archdukes, and even all three of Catherine de Medici’s sons in France were offered as possible husband. And that doesn’t take into account the Scottish and English nobles who wanted to marry the queen.

            Speaking of men in England, was it really Robert Dudley who kept Elizabeth from marrying? He most likely was the love of her life, perhaps the only man she might have married if she had not been the queen. He was at the center of her life, from the day she learned Mary I had died, and she was queen. He became Elizabeth’s Master of the Horse, which meant he was always with her when she went riding, one of her favorite activities. And he was the only man in the kingdom with permission to touch the queen as he helped her onto and off horse.

            Queen Elizabeth I

            Even with Dudley’s favored position, there were a few problems in the way. For one thing, he was married. And then his wife died in very suspicious circumstances, making a future marriage potentially devastating for Elizabeth’s reputation. Dudley was unpopular among the council. And ultimately, I believe Elizabeth meant what she is reported to have shouted at him in anger: “I will have but one mistress here and no master.”

            So, did everything depend upon the husband Elizabeth took? Yes, it turns out it did. I realized through the research that the one suitor that Elizabeth courted throughout her reign was the husband she had declared herself wed to when she became queen: her country and her people. Early in her reign, Elizabeth had responded to parliament’s request that she marry by responding that she was “already bound unto a husband which is the kingdom of England.” From the time she became queen, Elizabeth wooed her nation and her people, seeking their approval, favor, and love. That was the husband she took, and it meant everything to her.

            About the book:

            The many courtships of the woman who became Elizabeth I began when she was an infant, displayed before foreign ambassadors who considered her as a possible clause of a contract between England and France. From such an unromantic beginning, Elizabeth grew to see her father marry multiple times and experienced frequent changes in stepmothers and status in the family. Eventually, she became the most eligible woman in Europe. From start to finish, her marriage prospects were as much political as they were personal.

            When she came to the throne in 1558, the primary question facing everyone from foreign monarchs to English nobles and ministers was which of her many suitors would finally win her hand. Through the longest Tudor reign, Elizabeth used courtship as a tool to consider foreign alliances, hold ambitious English courtiers in check, and navigate her role as a woman ruler in a world that considered her unnatural without a man at her side.

            Elizabeth was, in fact, always the ‘Virgin Queen’, from the early days as a twenty-five-year-old presenting herself as a potential royal bride to her final years as an ageing and unmarried woman who was destined to end the Tudor dynasty. Ultimately, she became the only monarch in England to rule as an adult and never marry. Through it all, as friends and potential lovers faded away, she clung to the one true love of her life: England.

            Courting the Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and Her Suitors is available from Pen and Sword and Amazon.

            About the author:

            Carol Ann Lloyd turned an obsession with the Tudors into a speaking and writing career. She shares her love of history with Smithsonian Associates, Royal Oak Foundation, Agecroft Hall, Folger Shakespeare Library and other organizations. She holds degrees in Literature and Education and hosts a popular podcast, _British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics_. She also offers workshops about using Shakespeare strategies to improve communication skills and is a member of National Speakers Association.

            *

            My Books

            Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

            OUT NOW! Heroines of the Tudor World

            Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.

            Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

            Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

            Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. 

            Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword,  Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

            Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

            Podcast:

            Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. There are now over 40 episodes to listen to!

            *

            Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

            For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

            You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter and Instagram.

            ©2024 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS