If you’re passing through London and want something to do that is very quick, free, and historical, check out this great little Magna Carta exhibit at Burlington House hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Magna Carta Conference Offers New Insights Into The 800-year-old Document
June 22, 2015 By
Magna Carta just celebrated its 800th birthday this past Monday. In honour of this incredible milestone, King’s College London, and the Magna Carta Project, hosted a 3 day conference dedicated to this historic document.
Henry III and Magna Carta 1225
June 16, 2015 By
Now at the end of 1215 you would have thought this charter was a failure, without a future. Why is that?
KZOO 2015: Session #42 – Magna Carta in Context
May 18, 2015 By
This coming week I’ll be featuring summaries on some of my favourites sessions and papers from #KZOO2015. I kicked off my first session on Thursday with the Magna Carta.
CONFERENCES: Arnold Fitz Thedmar: an Early London chronicler
October 4, 2014 By
Another fascinating paper given at the Institute for Historical Research in central London. For those of you interested in chronicles, urban history and London, this paper was definitely for you. Ian Stone discussed his dissertation about thirteenth century London through the eyes of wealthy Alderman, Arnold Fitz Thedmar.
The Great Parliament of 1265: Medieval origins of modern democracy
September 24, 2014 By
On the eve of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta – the charter recognised as laying the foundations of England’s modern democracy – new research by a medieval historian from the University of Lincoln, reminds us that 2015 also marks 750 years since the earliest forerunner of a modern parliament was held.
Mapping the Medieval Countryside
June 18, 2014 By
My summary of a Institute of Historical Research session on the digitization of records in Late Medieval England.
Like Father Like Son? Henry III’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey as a Case Study in Late Thirteenth-Century English Kingship
June 7, 2014 By
Who was this king, and who made this grand monument to him? An inscription around the edge of the upper tomb chest identifies its occupant as Henry III, the English king who died in 1272 after a reign of fifty-six years.
Power relations in the royal forests of England patronage : privilege and legitimacy in the reigns of Henry III and Edward I
May 28, 2014 By
The England of the Plantagenets (1189–1377) which honed the royal forest system was a typically medieval land. Its ultimate foundations lay upon the long established notion of the three estates: those who fought, those who prayed, and those who worked.
The Montfortian bishops and the justification of conciliar government in 1264
December 23, 2013 By
In 1266, five English bishops were suspended from office for supporting Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, in rebellion against King Henry III.
A Captive King: Henry III between the battles of Lewes and Evesham, 1264-5
December 2, 2013 By
For a period of fifteen months, between the crushing defeat of the royal army at Lewes on 14 May 1264, and Montfort’s brutal murder at Evesham on 4 August 1265, Henry III lost control of his seal, his household and his kingdom as he was forced to accept the appointment of new officials at the centre and periphery of government.
Matthew Paris and the Royal Christmas: Ritualised Communication in Text and Practice
November 24, 2013 By
In the Chronica majora, and its abbreviations, Paris opened each year with a description of how and where the king held Christmas.
Henry Ill’s Plans for a German Marriage (1225) and their Context
November 24, 2013 By
In this paper I would like to investigate how these and other factors influenced the two major marriage projects pursued by Henry III in 1225: the king himself was to marry a daughter of the duke of Austria, and his sister Isabella the son and heir of Emperor Frederick I, Henry (VII).
Matthew Paris and Henry III’s elephant
September 5, 2013 By
Matthew Paris’s drawings of Henry III’s elephant are well-known, and popular accounts of the Tower of London often mention the elephant’s brief residence there.
English government bought “many millions” of crossbow bolts during the 13th century, historian finds
August 1, 2013 By
A new study about the medieval military industry shows that the English Royal government was making and purchasing as much as hundreds of thousands of crossbow bolts each year, revealing how important this weapon was to the medieval armies of England.
The First of Century of Magna Carta: Three Crises
July 31, 2013 By
The First of Century of Magna Carta: Three Crises Ralph Turner (Florida State University, Department of History – Emeritus) Paper given at Presbyterian College, South Carolina (2004) Abstract Magna Carta is one of the key documents of the Anglo-American political tradition, yet it seemed a failure by the summer of 1215, repudiated by King John […]
Chaucer’s Arthuriana
March 18, 2013 By
The majority of medieval scholars, including Roger Sherman Loomis, argue that the popularity of the Arthurian legend in England was therefore on the wane in the latter half of the fourteenth century; as a result, the major writers of the period, such as John Gower and Geoffrey Chaucer, refrained from penning anything beyond the occasional reference to King Arthur and his court.
Innocent III and England
December 16, 2012 By
This paper begins with the dispute between England and the papacy over an election to the see of Canterbury. The beginning of the quarrel, seemed simple enough: King John’s refusal to accept Stephen Langton as archibishop of Canterbury.
“Engineers of the Angevin Empire (1154-1242)”
November 6, 2012 By
This paper was also featured in SESSION III: The Medieval Experience of Siege at the Haskins conference. It explained the importance and contributions of Angevin engineers during the twelfth century.
A Historiography of Chastity in the Marriage of Edith of Wessex and Edward the Confessor
October 4, 2012 By
While records of Edith’s life and her marriage to Edward are poor, the historiography of those who narrated her life after her death is rich. In some ways, the historiography of her life was directly related to that of her husband’s.
Llywelyn ab Iorwerth : the making of a Welsh prince
April 26, 2012 By
Finally, this thesis seeks to address the limitations on Llywelyn’s successes, in light of succeeding events and concludes with a discussion of Llywelyn’s legendary status in the modern world.
The Stealing of the “Apple of Eve” from the 13th century Synagogue of Winchester
April 21, 2012 By
In January 1252, King Henry III sent a remarkable writ to the sheriff of Hampshire.
Girard d’Athee and the Men from the Touraine Their Roles under King John
January 9, 2012 By
Although Magna Carta 1215 says very little about the personnel of John’s government, Clause 50 (which was based on chapter 40 of the Articles) does proscribe by name a group of men who originated from the Touraine.
The evolutionary dynamics of the credit relationship between Henry III and Flemish merchants, 1247-1270
December 13, 2011 By
Within England, the royal household was by far the biggest single customer for cloth,
wax and other high-status goods.
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