The First Crusade
The Crusades, Christendom’s attempts to win back the Holy Land and Jerusalem, began in 1095 with the First Crusade. The Muslims had taken Jerusalem in 1076. Pope Urban incited the Christians of Medieval Europe with the words: “Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned.” The Crusaders had to follow an overland route to Constantinople, where they gathered in preparation for moving south to Palestine. By 1097, after a brutal journey to reach it, nearly 10,000 people had gathered in Constantinople. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm The Crusaders encountered little resistance for the most part, and reached Jerusalem by June 7, 1099. They began their attack on the 13th, and by the 17th, had Read more…
Forest Laws in the Middle Ages
One of the hallmarks of the feudal system that William of Normandy imposed on England after 1066 were laws. In the case of forest laws, Norman law superseded the prior Anglo-Saxon laws in which rights to the forest (not necessarily just woods, but also heath, moorland, and wetlands) were not exclusive to the king or nobles, but were shared among the people. Feudal forest laws, in contrast, were harsh, forbidding not only the hunting of game with in the forest, but even the cutting of wood or the collection of fallen timber, berries, or anything growing within the forest. The New Forest was set aside by King William in 1079 as his right, primarily for hunting deer. “‘Forest’” in a medieval sense was a legally defined area . . . where the “beasts of the chase” (deer & wild pig) and Read more…
Westminster Palace
Today, Westminster Palace is the seat of the British government. “The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its tenants, the Palace lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London. Its name, which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the Old Palace, a medieval building complex that was destroyed by fire in 1834, and its replacement New Palace that stands today. For ceremonial purposes, the palace retains its original style and status as a royal residence.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster No floor plans of what Westminster Palace looked like in the middle ages still exist, but we do know a few things: “When William the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus, came to the throne in Read more…
Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
Okay, this has nothing to do with Wales, but it does feature in my latest book AND is medieval 🙂 St. Paul’s Cathedral was initially built (maybe) in 604 AD, during a time that Christianity was just getting a foothold in Britain. That was the first church. There were several more between then and 1087, when the Normans began their church. “Old St Paul’s Cathedral was the medieval cathedral of the City of London that, until 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul’s Cathedral. Built in 1087–1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill.[1] Work began during the reign of William the Conqueror after a fire in 1087 that destroyed much of the city. Work took more than 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256 Read more…
Summer Splash Blog Hop!
The Summer Splash Blog Hop has winners! 10 lucky contestants won one of my ebooks and 1 will receive a Welsh flag mug! Thank you everyone for participating. If you won, you should have received an email from me 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Demons of the Ancient World
The Dark Age Celts had their share of supernatural creatures within the various mythologies (Welsh/Brittany/Ireland/Scotland), in addition to the pantheon of actual gods and goddess (for Wales, see Children of Don; Children of Llyr: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-sidhe/). Here are some notable demons from Celtic mythology: Cwn Annwn (Welsh hellhounds): Yes, they really do exist outside of the TV show, Supernatural (great show, by the way. Watch it at Netflix). The Cwn Annwn are the hunting dogs of Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld and are associated with the Welsh form of the Wild Hunt. “The Cwn Annwn resemble small wolves. The pack leader, Fflyddmyr, is black while the other three hounds are white with red-tipped ears. Their abilities include super-speed and super-strength.” http://otherworldseries.wikia.com/wiki/C%C5%B5n_Annwn The Fomori: “In Celtic mythology, the Fomori are demons that live in the impenetrable darkness of the sea’s depths and in lakes and Read more…
At Indie Chicks Cafe … celebrating my 44th birthday!
I have an article about learning new things posted over at Indie Chicks Cafe today … As children, we were expected to learn something new every day. Whether it was math in school, or a better way to hit a baseball, it was part of how we did things. Some kids react better than others to an initial failure to learn new things easily, but even so, you can’t be a child without learning all the time. Kids learn as easily as they breathe. Adults—maybe not so much. Read more: http://indiechickscafe.com/learning-something-new-at-44/
Guest posting about historical fiction today ….
Writing Historical Fiction Back in high school, I overheard two girls lamenting how awful their classes were and how they ‘hated’ history. Since I was hiding in a bathroom stall at the time, I didn’t give voice to my horror at their sentiment, but it has stuck with me in the thirty years since. How could they ‘hate’ history? Unfortunately, all too easily if by ‘history’ they meant the memorization of facts and dates that had little or no bearing on their lives. Why did they care what year the Civil War began? Or who was the tenth president of the United States? Or what happened in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia (though knowing might clarify our wars in the Middle East today, but that’s a different topic). That’s not what history is about. History is about people. It’s Read more…
The History of Chicken Pox
Sadly, this post is relevant because my youngest son, who is eight, came down with chicken pox two days ago. I have no idea where he got it and even worse, he has had it before, though as a five month old child, which seems to be why he was able to get it again. I’d hoped that having it a second time might mean a milder infection, but it’s not looking good right now. He has spots in some VERY uncomfortable places. Chicken Pox, so named, has been around for a long time. From the CDC: “Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is an infectious disease. Chickenpox is highly contagious and spreads from person to person by direct contact or through the air from an infected person’s coughing or sneezing. A person with chickenpox is contagious 1-2 days before the Read more…
Dryslwyn Castle
Dryslwyn Castle is built on the same ridge as Dinefwr Castle. It is likely that Lord Rhys, the ruler of Deheubarth in the 12th century, maintained a stronghold in both places, although both castles were rebuilt in stone by later rulers. Dryslwyn Castle as it exists today “stands on top of a hill overlooking the Tywi valley. Its date of construction is unknown but the similarity between it and neighbouring Dinefwr Castle suggest that it was built at a similar time and possibly by the same person. The most likely builder was Rhys Gryg who occupied Dinefwr in the early 13th century, or possibly his son Maredudd, who inherited Dryslwyn from his father. By the late 13th century the castle at Dryslwyn had developed into the largest native Welsh castle in South Wales. In 1277 the English king, Edward I sent an Read more…
Sheep, baaaaaa…..
To say that there are sheep in Wales is like saying there is salt in the sea. Some of them are even smart, apparently: “Professor Morton put a flock of Welsh mountain sheep through a series of tests to measure their intelligence … [they] can map their surroundings, and may even be able to plan ahead. The discovery shows they have the brainpower to equal rodents, monkeys and, in some tests, even humans … Professor Jenny Morton from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge says the beasts’ ‘stupid’ reputation may be unwarranted. She told BBC Wales: “Our tests showed they can do what is known as executive decision making. We looked at whether they were able to understand rules and got them to do what is known as a choice discrimination task. But when we changed the rules, they behaved pretty Read more…
10 months …
When my father died, last August, my husband made a wonderful video in his memory (here). That was 10 months ago. I’m still dealing with his death emotionally, and financially as the executor of his estate. I’ve blogged over at the Indie Chicks Cafe about the kinds of things that might be helpful for every child to discuss with his/her parent BEFORE it is too late … ….. A will and a lawyer. My father had a will and established a trust for his estate to protect my mom. He had a relationship with a lawyer he trusted. Thank goodness. An accountant AND an investment manager: My father did not, however, have either an accountant or an investment manager. He liked to manage his money himself, which was great when he was alive and able to see to it himself, but added to the Read more…
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