(Awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion) The Novel Welcome to The Fenland Spell, my second novel in the Father Eadred series. The book has recently been released and is available from Troubador and Amazon and all good booksellers. As with Murder at Elmstow Minster, it blends historical fiction with murder mystery, and is set in the Fens …
The Fenland Spell – An Anglo-Saxon Murder Mystery Read More »
The Anglo-Saxons did sometimes build with stone, although the overwhelming number of their structures were of wood. This post looks a little deeper into when and why stone (and brick) were used in their buildings. The broader context is about what was different about the period following the end of Roman rule in Britain that …
In my novel, Murder at Elmstow Minster, I depict a minster (an important church/monastery) in the 830s, divided between pious nuns and those who are worldly and decadent. It certainly makes for a good story, but the bones are accurate. A mistake often made when considering early and middle Anglo-Saxon monastic life, is to imagine …
In my recently released novel, Murder at Elmstow Minster, set in a community of nuns in the 830s, there is an Anglo-Saxon trial by ordeal. What were such trials? When were they applicable. How did they attempt to identify whether a person was innocent or guilty? They may seem completely bizarre to the modern Western …
Selection Criteria (Acknowledgement. I am grateful to Dr Francis Young for kindly taking the time to read an earlier version of this article and making helpful suggestions to correct several factual errors. I take full responsibility, of course, for any remaining errors or omissions and interpretations about Anglo-Saxon saints). The Anglo-Saxon Church was awash with …
