Medieval history books

The author of The Maid and the Queen takes us on an enjoyable ride through European history, looking at well-connected women who outwitted their husbands or asserted their independence.

Women’s historical role in politics wasn’t always as limited as we might assume. Medieval historian Helen Castor tells us about powerful women in British history and how they were constrained or conspired against.

Rory McTurk, Emeritus Professor of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds, introduces us to the landscape of old Icelandic culture, addressing the Icelandic sagas, medieval Nordic history, and links to Anglo-Saxon England.

In telling the story of the Celts, it's challenging to separate history from legend, says writer and historian Simon Young. And yet, we do have evidence of cities burned to the ground and decapitated statues, as well as books written at the time. He takes us to the land of Boudicca, King Arthur and Merlin, and explains why Irish monks took to the sea to find deserted islands.