Mix and Match

Medieval England

From the Norman Conquest to the Magna Carta

July 20, 2026

The Domesday Book: William I's Masterplan for Control

Riding on horseback with no maps, satellites, or database, William I's commissioners surveyed almost every manor in England within a single year, a...

July 19, 2026

Lanfranc: The Archbishop Who Normanised the English Church

William the Conqueror needed a lawyer, not a soldier, to remake the English Church. Lanfranc, a reluctant Italian scholar from Bec, spent nineteen ...

July 19, 2026

Towns in Norman England

Ninety eight Saxon houses were demolished in Norwich to clear space for a castle, while York, punished with two castles after repeated rebellion, s...

July 19, 2026

Hereward the Wake: The Last Anglo-Saxon Rebellion

In 1071, one Anglo-Saxon rebel held out against the full might of William the Conqueror from a fortress of marsh and reed. Hereward the Wake's stan...

July 18, 2026

The Feudal System Under the Normans: How William I Restructured England

The Normans did not invent feudalism. What they did was take a looser Anglo-Saxon custom and turn it into an enforceable system, backed by a survey...

July 18, 2026

Pickering Castle: Defence or Control? A Study in Norman Power

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Myths and Legends

Welsh Myths and Legends: Gods, Fairies and Folklore

May 07, 2026

The Mabinogion Decoded: How Ancient Gods Were Disguised as Medieval Kings and Queens

May 07, 2026

The Ceffyl Pren: The Wooden Horse Ritual That Was Medieval Wales's Version of Public Shaming

May 07, 2026

Mari Lwyd: The Snapping Horse Skull Tradition

May 06, 2026

Gwyn ap Nudd and Annwn: Why the Welsh Otherworld Was Nothing Like Hell

May 06, 2026

Rhiannon, Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd: The Three Welsh Goddesses Who Refused to Be Tamed

May 05, 2026

The Tommyknocker Connection: How Welsh Mining Myths Crossed the Atlantic

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Historical Events

Medieval Historical Events: Key Turning Points

August 27, 2026

The Peasants' Revolt: What Happened at Smithfield?

Wat Tyler met King Richard II at Smithfield on 15 June 1381, and within minutes he was dead, cut down by Mayor Walworth and the royal squire Ralph ...

August 25, 2026

Who Was John of Gaunt?

John of Gaunt was Edward III's son, the richest man in England, and the most hated. In June 1381 rebels destroyed his Savoy Palace, pounding its si...

August 20, 2026

Who Was John Ball?

John Ball spent decades preaching against serfdom before the Peasants' Revolt gave him an audience of thousands at Blackheath. A month later he was...

August 18, 2026

Who Was Wat Tyler?

Wat Tyler rose from obscurity to lead the greatest popular uprising in medieval English history, then died within days of reaching London. Here is ...

August 13, 2026

Causes of the Peasants' Revolt: Immediate and Long Term

Everyone blames the poll tax for the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, but the tax was only the spark. The real fuel was thirty years of grievance: the Bla...

August 11, 2026

Peasants' Revolt 1381: Full Timeline of Events

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 unfolded across seven weeks, from a tax collector's visit to Fobbing in Essex through Wat Tyler's rise in Kent, the st...

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Notable Historical Figures

Biographies & Legacies

April 04, 2026

Roger Mortimer: The Greatest Traitor Who Ruled as King

Roger Mortimer, Marcher lord and lover of Queen Isabella, escaped the Tower, invaded England in 1326, deposed Edward II, and ruled as regent with r...

Man in ornate regal costume with feathered headdress in a decorated room

March 14, 2026

Hugh Despenser the Younger: The Ruthless Favourite Who Ruled England

Hugh Despenser the Younger was the architect of his own meteoric rise and catastrophic fall. By exerting near-total control over the person and pat...

Piers Gaveston medieval courtier: The controversial favourite whose influence over King Edward II sparked baronial rebellion and his brutal execution

March 07, 2026

Piers Gaveston: The Favourite Who Sparked a King's Downfall

Piers Gaveston rose from Gascon knight's son to become Edward II's closest companion, granted the Earldom of Cornwall and immense power. His wit, a...

Tywin Lannister Edward I comparison: How Game of Thrones villain parallels the ruthless medieval king who conquered Wales

February 26, 2026

Tywin Lannister and Edward I: The Ruthless Realms of Power – A Stark Comparison

Tywin Lannister and Edward I share a chilling kinship: unyielding ambition, merciless conquest, and the ruthless forging of legacy. From the Red We...

King Edward I portrait: The English Justinian who transformed medieval legal system and established central law framework

February 07, 2026

Medieval Legal System Under Edward I

Edward I, the "English Justinian," transformed a fractured land of baronial whims into a nation governed by a central legal framework. Through radi...

Geoffrey of Monmouth medieval chronicler: Author of Historia Regum Britanniae, influential 12th-century historian and literary figure

February 07, 2026

Geoffrey of Monmouth: A Historical and Literary Figure

Geoffrey of Monmouth, an influential cleric and chronicler of the 12th century, significantly shaped the medieval understanding of British history ...

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Queen Isabella of France: England's Most Dangerous Queen

March 28, 2026

Mix and Match

Medieval England

The Domesday Book: William I's Masterplan for Control

Lanfranc: The Archbishop Who Normanised the English Church

Towns in Norman England

Hereward the Wake: The Last Anglo-Saxon Rebellion

The Feudal System Under the Normans: How William I Restructured England

Pickering Castle: Defence or Control? A Study in Norman Power

Myths and Legends

The Mabinogion Decoded: How Ancient Gods Were Disguised as Medieval Kings and Queens

The Ceffyl Pren: The Wooden Horse Ritual That Was Medieval Wales's Version of Public Shaming

Mari Lwyd: The Snapping Horse Skull Tradition

Gwyn ap Nudd and Annwn: Why the Welsh Otherworld Was Nothing Like Hell

Rhiannon, Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd: The Three Welsh Goddesses Who Refused to Be Tamed

The Tommyknocker Connection: How Welsh Mining Myths Crossed the Atlantic

Historical Events

The Peasants' Revolt: What Happened at Smithfield?

Who Was John of Gaunt?

Who Was John Ball?

Who Was Wat Tyler?

Causes of the Peasants' Revolt: Immediate and Long Term

Peasants' Revolt 1381: Full Timeline of Events

Notable Historical Figures

Roger Mortimer: The Greatest Traitor Who Ruled as King

Hugh Despenser the Younger: The Ruthless Favourite Who Ruled England

Piers Gaveston: The Favourite Who Sparked a King's Downfall

Tywin Lannister and Edward I: The Ruthless Realms of Power – A Stark Comparison

Medieval Legal System Under Edward I

Geoffrey of Monmouth: A Historical and Literary Figure

Queen Isabella of France: England's Most Dangerous Queen

The Deposition of Edward II: How a King Lost His Crown in 1327

The Mysterious Death of Edward II at Berkeley Castle

Edward I: The King Who Built Castles to Crush the Welsh

King Edward III and His Impact on England

King Henry VII: The First Tudor Monarch

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Mix and Match

Medieval England

Myths and Legends

Historical Events

Notable Historical Figures

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