Tag Archives: Medieval

The Ransomed Crown

Posted on April 23, 2024 by smellincoffee

Sir Roland Inness is returning to the hills he fled from as an outlaw, as a boy who’d slain three Norman men-at-arms for murdering his father and burning his home. He comes here not merely to pay respects to the … Continue reading →

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Warbow

Posted on April 16, 2024 by smellincoffee

Three kings of Europe are leading a crusade in the Holy Land to retake Jerusalem following its fall to the master-of-war, Saladin — and young Roland Inness, a lad whose bow beat even that of Robin of Loxley, is joining … Continue reading →

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Elizabeth’s London

Posted on April 3, 2024 by smellincoffee

Let us travel to a city which, in great part, no longer exists: Tudor London, much of which has been erased by time, fire, and ‘progress’, which holds burying swimming pools under concrete as a capital idea. I first read … Continue reading →

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A Tudor Christmas

Posted on December 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Alison Weir’s A Tudor Christmas is a short social history of how Christmas was celebrated in the days of Henry VIII and his daughters. (And, ever so briefly, his son.) After some background information on the different cultural traditions that … Continue reading →

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Redcoats , los presidentes, and medieval making-merry

Posted on July 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

Alllrighty, short rounds time, featuring: British Soldiers, American War; The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women; and The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Secret Fraternity. First up, British Soldiers, American War. This is an interesting volume in which … Continue reading →

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Paradiso

Posted on June 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Paradiso© trans. 2007 Anthony Esolen, original 14th century by Dante Alighieri544 pages including notes & appendices I’ve gotta hand it to Dante, at least the character Dante. I though I’d fallen hard for a woman, but against him there is … Continue reading →

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The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights

Posted on April 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Acts of so-called Arthur King and his Noble Kannnnnigits© 1976 John Steinbeck364 pages It befell in the days of yore, as I rode by a book-stall in a great city, that mine eye was caught by a fair volume … Continue reading →

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Robin Hood and his men most merrie (and Welsh)

Posted on April 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

Enter into the greenwood and consider two tales of Robin the Hood! One, the triumphant finale of Stephen Lawhead’s “Hood” trilogy, setting the Lincoln green-clad figure betwixt the rivers Wye and Severn; the other,  an examination of Robin Hood ballads … Continue reading →

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Essex Dogs

Posted on April 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Essex Dogs© 2023 Dan Jones464 pages In 1066 Normandy invaded England: in 1346, England returned the favor. His majesty Edward III has come to make good his claim to the French throne, and in advance of England’s troops arriving, a … Continue reading →

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Purgatorio

Posted on March 28, 2023 by smellincoffee

Purgatorio© 14th century Dante Alighieri, translated 2004 by Anthony Esolen544 pages, including appendices and notes Seven years ago I descended into hell with Dante and his guide, Virgil,   and after that arduous descent into a valley of desolation and … Continue reading →

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