Tag: martyrs

Book Review: “Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, Weregild, Revenge” by Annie Whitehead

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

What’s better than snuggling up on a cold winter’s day and reading a murder mystery? How about an entire book about historical murders and the laws about murder and revenge? While we do have murder mysteries in every century and every walk of life, the farther back into the past we go, the more difficult it can be to discern fact from fiction. Take, for example, the stories of murder, betrayal, and revenge in Anglo-Saxon England. Annie Whitehead hopes to reveal a deeper understanding of this period through numerous murder cases in her latest book, “Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, Weregild, Revenge.”

I want to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. I have read a few of Annie Whitehead’s books, including “Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom,” and “Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England,” so when I heard that she was writing a new book about this era, I knew I wanted to read it. Whitehead has always been able to make this era come alive, so I hoped to learn more about this period in English history.

Whitehead begins by explaining that she will cover close to a hundred cases of murder and revenge in this book from the 7th century to the 11th century. Each chapter focuses on a different kingdom: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, and Wessex, as well as a different concept like laws, women killers, and Anglo-Saxon saints. It is a lot of ground to cover in a book, but she also decided to include the different law codes that defined the era and how murder was dealt with in a legal sense. Whitehead also decided to take on myths and legends of how saints and martyrs were killed, as well as the mythological killing method of the Blood Eagle employed by the “Vikings.”

There are so many colorful stories full of betrayal, political intrigue, and legal implications. These stories and myths of killings tell us more about the period of the past. Anglo-Saxon England was not a lawless society as we do see how taxes like weregild and their punishments for murder evolved. These were not just some stories written down on paper. The men, women, and children lived and ultimately died at a time when England was figuring out its identity. Although most of these incidents are isolated cases of murder and revenge, the St. Brice’s Day Massacre saw the execution of many Danish men on English soil.

I found this book extremely informative and easy to follow. Whitehead does it again and makes the world of Anglo-Saxon England come alive with her extensive research and her writing style. I may be a novice to the Anglo-Saxon period in English history, but it is books like this that make me want to continue to study this era. If you are interested in murder mysteries from the Anglo-Saxon world, I highly recommend you read “Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, Weregild, Revenge” by Annie Whitehead.

Book Review: “On This Day in Tudor History” by Claire Ridgway

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

16125013The Tudor dynasty and the stories of those who lived during this time have drawn novices and experts alike to explore the history surrounding these events for hundreds of years. These tales can seem fictional, but the truth is often stranger than fiction, which is why it is important to understand when and why these events happened. The “when” can often be difficult to remember for any student of history because there are a lot of dates to deal with when you are dealing with a whole dynasty. That is why resources, like this particular book, can be so invaluable to have in one’s collection. Claire Ridgway has taken the time to give readers a day-by-day guide to the Tudors in her book, “On This Day in Tudor History”.

Ridgway has taken the concept of history books that explore what life was like in a year for a typical person in a certain time and she has expanded to cover an entire dynasty. Like these books, this one is divided by each month of the year and then by chronological order of the year. She covers all of the Tudor dynasty, with some dates before and after, to show how this one era truly impacted European and world history. Of course, she covers the big names of the dynasty; like Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (which is a given since Ridgway is known for her other project, the Anne Boleyn Files), Mary I, and numerous courtiers and diplomats who made this time so fascinating for many of us to study.

What caught my interest in this book was the numerous figures that many might not know a lot about. There are the monarchs from all around Europe whose stories are often looked over for their English counterparts. And then there are the English scholars, explorers, martyrs, and playwrights that are often forgotten for more colorful figures. Their births, deaths, trials, tribulations, and triumphs are just as important as those who make the headlines. I did not know about so many of their stories and it made me want to learn more, to dive even deeper into the study of the Tudor dynasty.

Although I did enjoy reading this book, it is one that you need to take your time to read. It is a book that should be used as a resource for research into this time period. I did notice that with a few of the dates, some of the years were out of chronological order (which did bug me a bit since I like chronological order), but it is a minor issue. There are also some grammatical and spacing mistakes, but they do not take away from the context of this book. Ridgway does use some typical stories that have been debunked by recent biographies, but the dates are relatively accurate. I did wish that Ridgway included the major holidays and festivals into the actual book, instead of being at the beginning of the book, so that we could get a sense of what was going on during these significant events.

Overall, I found this book informative and fun. Claire Ridgway combined the trivia of Tudor dates with an easy to understand writing style. It is a massive tome, but a labor of love. If you want a book full of terrific Tudor trivia, I would recommend you read, “On This Day in Tudor History” by Claire Ridgway. It is a great addition to any Tudor collection.