The travels of Perkin Warbeck take him to Scotland, marriage and war; which leads to taxes, which leads to rebellion. T’was ever thus. Whether Perkin was an imposter and pretenderRead More
David Crowther
201 Poyning’s Law
Ireland in 1495 was almost 3 societies living side by side. We take a trip to Ireland, hear about the Great Earl, and the law that became known as Poyning’sRead More
200 Printin and Perkin
The appearance of a new pretender – Perkin Warbeck in Ireland was to distort Henry VII’s domestic and foreign policy for the rest of the 1490’s. Some Dramatis Personae CharlesRead More
199 The New Men
Henry VII’s ambitions were to rule in the French style – to better control and increase his income. He gathered around him bureaucrats – new men he could trust and whoRead More
198 Mothers and Wives
In 1485 and 1486 Henry established the foundations of his reign through parliament, and established his household. The relationship between his wife and his mother would always be a matter of someRead More
197 The Story of Henry VII
When he won the throne of England, Henry had spent most of his life under guard, and was an adventurer. His efforts were therefore bent towards establishing the legitimacy ofRead More
10 English Reconquest
The story of a brother and a sister – Æthelflæd and Edward, and their bid to reclaim the lands of the Danelaw, the north and east of England being settledRead More
9 Pillar of the Western People
In 892, the vikings returned – and found a very different, much better prepared Wessex waiting for them. Until in 899, Alfred died to be succeeded by his Son, Edward,Read More
8 Reconstruction and Defence
Alfred had earned Wessex and period of respite, between 878 and 892. In this time, Alfred laid the foundations not just for the defense against renewed invasions, but for theRead More
7 Alfred and the Fight for Survival
Between 871 and 878, Wessex came close to extinction, as the Great Heathen Army, the Great Summer Army, and Guthrum the Dane came to conquer. The Campaigns In 870 theRead More
6 The Great Heathen Army
Everything changed for Anglo Saxon England in 866; the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok came for conquest, not just treasure and slaves. The Arrival in East Anglia, 866 In 866, aRead More
5 The Noble Wolf
Æthelwolf hasn’t always had the best press. None the less he laid the basis of an effective and well organised state centred on the traditional heartlands of Wessex, and one betterRead More
5a Pirates from the North
The Vikings visited fire, destruction – and trade – on a bemused and terrified 8th C Europe. Who were they, where did they come from, where did they go andRead More
4 Greater Wessex
The death of Offa & his son led to the bloodletting normal when the succession was a bun fight. But this time round, it would have longer term consequences for theRead More