Britain in the Middle Ages: A History for Beginners

The world is very old, and it has taken a long time to discover much of the ancient story of Britain. Scholars have found out many things because they are able now to read the s...

The best soldiers in the world were the Romans, who came from the great city of Rome, far away in Italy. Everybody had heard of their mighty deeds, for they had conquered nearly...

These sea robbers were the Angles and the Saxons, and Britain became Angleland or England. They were fine men, tall and strong, with long fair hair and blue eyes. The Britons ga...

Though the Saxons loved fighting, they soon learned to love peace and to rule their kingdoms well. They divided the spoil amongst themselves and the chiefs rewarded their soldie...

Some there were who had heard of Christ in the old days, but a band of monks landing on the coast of Kent brought the news again to this country. Pope Gregory had sent Augustine...

After the Saxons had been in England many years, when their weapons had grown rusty and they had almost forgotten how to fight, bands of Danes came sailing over the North Sea to...

Edward the Confessor, the Saxon prince, had taken refuge in Normandy in the days when the Danish Kings ruled in England. There he learned to speak Norman French and to love Norm...

The strong men of the north had not bowed to William the Conqueror on the field of Hastings, and when they heard that he was crowned, they armed themselves against him. The King...

The Norman barons who came to England with William the Conqueror were much disappointed, for they had hoped to share the kingdom with him and to be great lords. But William had...

There came one day, to the Abbey of Bec in Normandy, a great scholar named Lanfranc. The Abbot was building an oven, "working at it with his own hands. Lanfranc came up and said...

The Normans were soldiers and rulers and great builders too. With the white stone, which they found in their own land, they built magnificent cathedrals, abbeys and churches, fo...

In such troublous times when there was great fear abroad, when men feared the King, feared their neighbours and feared all foreigners, it seemed to them necessary that every lor...

If we want to know about the ways of men in those days, we must read some of their tales. Many stories were sung and told of knightly deeds and adventures. There are a number th...

Away to the west lay the beautiful country of Ireland. It was known in all the world for its riches, and the ships of many lands were seen in its havens. For the rivers and seas...

About this time, Francis, the son of a merchant, was born in Italy in the town of Assisi. When he grew up his parents were very proud of him and gave him much money, for he dres...

In the time of William Rufus, Peter the Hermit travelled from country to country calling all Christian men to follow him to Palestine; for the holy places where Christ and His d...

By the river Seine, on a high rock, Richard built a fine castle to guard Normandy. When the King of France heard of its building, he said, "If its walls were of iron I would tak...

IN the days of Henry III, the barons had become powerful, and his son Edward I remembered the days of Stephen and how the great lords had destroyed "the good peace" of the realm...

In the old days, the Britons had fled before the Northmen, who came conquering from the east-ward; but those who dwelt in the mountain fastnesses of the west had been secure fro...

The old King of Scotland, dying, left his kingdom to his little granddaughter, the Maid of Norway, who was only seven years old. Edward planned to marry her to his son the Princ...

In the days of "the courteous knight" and King, Edward III, a great war was waged with France, for the English merchants complained bitterly that the French had troubled them as...

Calais was the great port of Northern France. It was a strong town and the King besieged it. For eleven months it held out against him. The King was sore displeased that he shou...

In those days, the great men of the land were rich and they dressed gaily in silk and fur, gorgeous were their jewels, and their scabbards were decked with beauteous workmanship...

When Henry V was crowned King, he desired much to revive the glories of Crécy and so he summoned his nobles to war. Then he built a great fleet to carry them to France, cutting...

The barons came back from France. They were practised in the art of war and they turned their homes into strong forts and their servants into soldiers. Of these, they found many...