Search results for ""author teresa cole""
Amberley Publishing The Anarchy
When the mighty Henry I died in December 1135, leaving no legitimate son, who was to replace him on the throne of England? Would it be Stephen, nephew to the king and showered with favours that maybe gave him ideas above his station? Or could it be a woman, Henry's own choice, his daughter Matilda, who had been sent away when eight years old to marry the Holy Roman Emperor, widowed, then forced into a hated second marriage for political reasons?Stephen was the first to act, seizing the throne that had been promised to Matilda, but he would find taking a crown far easier than keeping it. The resulting struggle became known as the Anarchy,' a time when fortune changed sides as frequently and dramatically as in any page-turning thriller, and with a cast of characters to match some passionately supporting Stephen or Matilda, others simply out to grab what they could from the chaos. These supporting players are not overlooked here: Henry of Blois, brother of Stephen, Bishop of Winchester,
£10.99
Amberley Publishing The Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror's Subjugation of England
1066 saw three kings of England, the last of whom was William, Duke of Normandy. Tradition tells us the conquest of England by the powerful Normans was inescapable, and suggests England benefited almost at once from closer links with Europe. But new discoveries have thrown doubt on these long accepted beliefs. The Battle of Hastings itself must be reassessed, its very site disputed, as must the whereabouts of the mortal remains of the defeated King Harold. As for the kings themselves; was Edward the Confessor as saintly and William as dominant as they have been portrayed, and was Harold more than just the hinge on which history turned? Nine and a half centuries later it is appropriate to look again at the course and outcomes of the Norman Conquest of England, the genocide committed in northern England, the wholesale transfer of lands to Norman lords, and the Domesday Book designed to enable every last drop of riches to be extracted from a subdued kingdom.
£12.99
Amberley Publishing Women of Power: Formidable Females of the Medieval World
The stereotypical medieval woman is a pious, helpless creature of little intelligence, and still less drive and ambition. Completely at the mercy of the men in her life, she was married young, had copious offspring and died, often in childbirth, to make way for another, younger model. At best she may have inspired music (made by men), art (made by men), or poetry (made by men), but clearly she were incapable of doing anything for herself. While this may have been true of many, it was certainly not true of the women featured here. Emma, Matilda and Eleanor were all queens of England wielding great influence in their time, while the Empress Matilda ruled northern Italy at the age of sixteen, and came close to seizing back the English crown, promised to her and then usurped by her cousin, Stephen. Matilda of Tuscany and Melisende of Jerusalem both ruled in their own right and with notable success, while Eleanor of Aquitaine was surely one of the most significant and powerful women of her age. In each case the choices they made and the lives they lived had a profound impact on their own times, while, for some, their influence lasted well beyond their own era. These women can truly be called Women of Power.
£20.69
Amberley Publishing Harry of England: The History of Eight Kings, From Henry I to Henry VIII
Eight kings of England were the named Henry, but only two of them were born as heirs to the throne and these – the third and sixth – proved to be the weakest. Two seized the crown by force of arms, one by craft and opportunistic speed, and one by skilful diplomacy and an early flowering of that great British virtue, compromise. Among their number are saints and monsters, the best known and the least known of English kings. One was a storybook hero, leading an army to triumph against overwhelming odds. Another sat out a battle, singing to himself and playing with his fingers while the arrows flew. Half of them have been accused of murder, though in general the actual killings were carried out by others. When we look at the contributions made by the eight kings of that name, we find they underpin almost every aspect of our nation and its institutions. To the first two we owe our legal system and department of finance, to the third, intentionally or otherwise, the origins of our parliament. The fifth decreed the widespread use of English in official documents, leading to dramatic developments in that language. The seventh transformed the tax system and introduced legal reforms that curbed the power of the nobility. The eighth, again arguably unintentionally, brought into being the Church of England. Between them, these English monarchs represent every possible shade of kingship, and each in his own time was ‘Harry of England’.
£20.00
Amberley Publishing Henry V: The Life of the Warrior King & the Battle of Agincourt
In the latter years of the fourteenth century a child was born, so unimportant that even his exact date of birth is unknown. Yet before his twenty-seventh birthday the turn of fortune’s wheel had brought him the crown of England. The kingdom he inherited as Henry V was deeply divided after the seizure of the throne by his father, Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. Within a short time, however, by sheer force of personality and will, Henry had mended the rifts, pardoned and released prisoners, and united the whole country behind his claim not just to be King of England, but also King of France. One staggering victory against all the odds on the field of Agincourt brought him lasting fame, and took him within touching distance of succeeding in his claim. Henry V looks at the life and legacy of a king whose heroic achievements and tragic early death may truly be said to have changed the course of British history.
£11.99
