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From an obscure, misty archipelago on the fringes of the Roman world to history's largest empire and originator of the world's mongrel, magpie language - this is Britain's past. But, today, Britain is experiencing an acute trauma of identity, pulled simultaneously towards its European, Atlantic and wider heritages. To understand the dislocation and collapse, we must look back: to Britain's evolution, achievements, complexities and tensions. In a ground-breaking new take on British identity, historian and barrister Dominic Selwood explores over 950,000 years of British history by examining 50 documents that tell the story of what makes Britain unique. Some of these documents are well-known. M...
"A brilliantly fun and informative read. Dominic Selwood has taken the juiciest bits of history from the past two thousand years and put them together in one marvellous volume. Selwood is a rare blend of insightful historian and thrilling writer. Cracking along at a breakneck pace reminiscent of Dan Brown,Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers is as perfect for the beach as it is for serious historical background reading." Claudia Gold author of The King's Mistress: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I and Women Who Ruled: History's 50 Most Remarkable Women Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers unveils the history you were never taught at school. With a breath-taking sweep...
The military and religious orders of the Templars and the Hospitallers were a driving force throughout the long history of the crusades. Here, their daily business of recruitment, fund raising, farming, shipping and communal life is explored.
A militia attack throws an archaeologist into a world of chaos and intrigue in this gripping adventure thriller. When former MI6 agent turned archaeologist Dr. Ava Curzon is engaged by American intelligence to track down an African militia claiming to hold the Ark of the Covenant, she is plunged into a world where nothing is what it seems. Her breakneck descent into the shadowy realm of dark biblical magic hurls her across continents and into the opaque worlds of the Knights Templar, freemasons, occultists, and extremist neo-Nazis, pushing her mentally and physically to the limits. As the plot twists and turns across the centuries, she requires all her skills to solve a trail of ancient clues leading her inexorably towards a terrifying ritual. Taking center stage, she faces the ultimate battle against an age-old evil she must stop at all costs. A great choice for fans of Dan Brown and Kate Mosse. Praise for The Sword of Moses “The thinking person’s DaVinci Code.” —BBC Radio “A rollercoaster. . . . Move over Lara Croft!” —Daily Express
The twenty-seven papers published here represent a selection of those delivered at the Fourth International Conference on the Military Orders in 2005. Architecture, archaeology and the part which the orders played in Europe are well represented, along with work on northern and eastern Europe. Four papers deal specifically with military or naval matters, while another four deal with the spiritual life of the brothers and sisters. Family relationships represent a growing field of interest.
This annual Report on armed conflicts around the world provides detailed information on each conflict which occurred in 2014. The Report sets out the conflicts' classification, applicable norms, key actors, methods of warfare, and the number of casualties. It also analyses key legal issues that arose in the context of these armed conflicts.
**IAIN DALE'S LATEST COLLECTION OF ESSAYS: AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW** Praise for Iain Dale: 'Riveting and enlightening. A history lesson via a novel route. ' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Really enjoying reading this book. It is easy to dip in and out and each chapter is well written.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Illuminating yet balanced' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Were the signs that Putin is a ruthless dictator there all along? How should we deal with President Xi of China? Given the world seems to be moving more and more towards authoritarian rule, this is the right moment to seek warnings, and lessons, from history. In The Dictators, Iain Dale brings together 64 essays by historians, academics, journalists and politicians ab...
'We all know about Queen Victoria, Edward VIII and Queen Elizabeth II, but how much do we really know about other monarchs? Yes, we know William the Conqueror beat King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. We know George III was mad, but what else do we know about his 60 year long reign? We know Henry VIII famously had six wives, but do we know much more about him, other than he was very fat?' The British monarchy is one of the oldest in the world - dating so far back that even its origins are the subject of debate. Was William the Conqueror the first king of England, or was it Alfred the Great? In this third instalment of the series that began with The Prime Ministers and The Presidents, Iain ...
This volume presents 13 essays which examine womens roles in the Crusades and medieval reactions to them, including active participation, female involvement in debates surrounding the Crusade, women in the latin east, papal policy, and literary representations.
Founded to support Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and most famous for their support for crusading, the Military Religious Orders' activities and interests stretched far beyond the frontiers of Christendom. Representing some of the most recent advances in research, in this volume eleven scholars from Europe and North America explore important and hitherto under-researched aspects of the Orders' history, scrutinising their relations with the papacy, their organisational structure, their devotional practices, their fortresses and their presence in the localities of Western Europe. Particular attention is given to the Templars' trial of 1307-12 and the question of how the surviving Orders reorganised themselves after the loss of the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291. The majority of the papers consider the leading Military Orders, the Hospitallers and Templars, but there are also studies of the Orders of Mountjoy and of St Lazarus, showing how they adapted their activities to local requirements. These studies reflect the vitality of current scholarship on the Military Religious Orders.