Jean Le Bel describing the Jacquerie uprising in mid 14th century France; "I dare not write the horrible deeds that they did to ladies and damsels; among others, they slew a knight and then put him on a spit and roasted him at the fire in sight of the lady, his wife and

The Jacquerie uprising of 1358 being brutally put down

Bodiam castle in East Sussex, built in 1385

Henry VIII with the pope Leo X and Emperor Charles V

Prince Louis, son of the mighty French king, Philip II Augustus, had his eyes set on a crown. But not the one that his father still held. After all, that would be his in due course when Philip eventually died. No, the crown that Louis had his eyes set on was the English crown.

The battle of Ashingdon (Assandun) was fought #OTD (18th October) as Edmund Ironside falls foul of the treachery of Eadric Streona and his rival, Cnut, benefits. Edmund, a few weeks later, would be dead and Cnut the sole ruler in England

Confusing a dog for a bagpipe

Melrose Abbey in Scotland, founded in the first half of the 12th century by king David I

King of Scots David I (R. 1124-1153) during a knighting ceremony

20th century verdict on William The Conqueror; "He must be judged by his acts, but his acts are sufficiently illuminating. They leave no doubt of his greatness, but they reveal also a man who was harsh and unlovable, perhaps even personally repellent."

He has a good personality at least. dates early 14th century

A medieval nobleman dining

Women at work in the 14th century

The painful reign of king John comes to an end #OTD (19th October) 1216 as he expires from dysentery, having lost his crown jewels only a week earlier and still on the run from his own nobles. A king of such incompetence only Aethelred The Unready matches him in English history.

Tomb of Joan of Navarre, queen of Henry IV, lying next to her husband at Canterbury Cathedral

Henry VI sitting on his throne

Catherine Parr's tomb at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire

St Oswald's priory in Gloucestershire, founded by Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred The Great, and her husband Aethelred in the late 9th century. The Lady of the Mercians, one of the most brilliant women of early English history, was buried here in 918, alongside her husband who

Depiction of the battle of Poitiers, 1356