Steven Till

On this day, September 29th, in medieval history:

1227 - Pope Gregory IX excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II
1364- The Battle of Auray: English forces, under the command of John Chandos, defeat the French for control of Brittany, ending the Breton War of Succession

Filed under: Medieval Timeline, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 29th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
Paperback: 784 pages
Publisher: Bantam (October 30, 2007), *hardcover edition published November of 2005
ISBN-10: 0553582038
I finally got around to finishing A Feast for Crows (AFFC). I had read about 700 pages of the 1,000 page saga months ago, anticipating the new book A Dance with Dragons (ADWD) would come […]

Filed under: George R.R. Martin, Fantasy, Book Reviews on September 28th, 2009 | 23 Comments »

I posted a link the other day to a BBC article about the amazing Anglo-Saxon treasure discovered in Staffordshire. In a follow-up to that, Carla Nayland has a real nice post about it on her site that includes her own speculation about the origins of the treasure. She also a link to a flickr page […]

Filed under: Anglo-Saxons, Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 26th, 2009 | No Comments »

Vill
Etymology: Anglo-French vil, ville farmstead, township
1) Township, local district; small unit of lordship or fiscal assessment.
(Frame, Robin. Colonial Ireland, 1169-1369, 145)
2) The smallest unit of government covering the village, or township, and the surrounding countryside. It was roughly equivalent to the parish, the smallest unit in ecclesiastical administration.
(Waugh, Scott. England in the Reign of Edward […]

Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on September 25th, 2009 | 3 Comments »

According to the BBC today:
The UK’s largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire.
Experts said the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date to the 7th Century, was unparalleled in size and worth at least £1m …
… The Staffordshire Hoard contains about 5kg of gold and […]

Filed under: Anglo-Saxons, Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 24th, 2009 | No Comments »

According to KentNews:
A perfectly preserved pair of glass drinking cups was found when the grave of an Anglo-Saxon warrior was unearthed during building work on a new pub, Yourswale reports.
The burial place was one of more than 200 uncovered at a site in Sittingbourne, known as The Meads.
Other findings included swords, spears, shields, decorative beads […]

Filed under: Anglo-Saxons, Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Did anyone by chance see the episode “Holy Grail in America” that came on the History Channel this past Sunday (9/20)? It may have aired before then but that was the first time I had seen it. I actually only caught small chunks of it and will need to record it when it comes on […]

Filed under: Archaeology, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 22nd, 2009 | 20 Comments »

From TopCastles.com:
“In Europe and Asia more than 10.000 medieval castles can be found. Topcastles.com selected the most beautiful and interesting castles and ranked them in a top 100 list. You can contribute by voting on your favorite castles: find the castle, click on it and submit your rating. At the end of a year all […]

Filed under: Castles, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on September 21st, 2009 | 7 Comments »

“Fantasy Fanatics Take Medieval Make-Believe to Bill Schupp Park”
By Amy Nichol Smith
September 17, 2009
The Monitor
Bill Schupp Park in McAllen has become a battleground.
A warrior clutches his shield against his chest and lunges with his sword toward an enemy. His opponent, a besieged wizard, quickly casts a spell that freezes his nemesis in place – for […]

Filed under: Fantasy on September 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

Fee Simple
An estate of inheritance in land without limitation to any class of heirs or restrictions on alienation; the most extensive interest in property recognized by the common law. (Hogue, Arthur R. Origins of the Common Law, 256)
The following excerpt is from the prologue of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer:
The Man of Law’s Portrait […]

Filed under: Middle Ages History, Medieval Glossary, Medieval History on September 18th, 2009 | No Comments »