89 The Great Famine

<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px;">The modus tenendi parliamentum is a very unusual document from around this time. It describes how parliaments should be held, but also includes a number of very interesting claims about the primacy of the commons. It's interest ...  Show more

<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.63636302947998px;">In the 1310's, Robert Bruce's ambitions grew - not simply content with throwing the English out of Scotland, or burning the north of England - he now wanted to establish his own Empire. And so his brother Edwa ...

Had there been a version of the Forbes list in the early 14th century, a 20-something-year-old Malian king would reign supreme. Dubbed the “richest man of all time," Mansa Musa’s wealth is unmatched to this day. However, Musa paid a hefty price for his position. In the early year ...  Show more

Born into a world of treachery, violence and death, William of Normandy defied all expectations, forging a legacy that lasts to this day. Born out of wedlock and dismissed as an upstart, he was originally known as William the Bastard. Inheriting the Duchy of Normandy at just eigh ...  Show more

Two men stood in a large room shouting at one another, raging over family and war or accusing each other of incompetence and cowardice. A third man stood nearby, servant of one and friend to both. In a corner, a young woman cowered with her face bruised and her body shaking. A ...

The Abbasid fall from grace was long and messy. It’s been a while since the dynasty produced a powerful caliph, the last one being the almighty restorer al Mu’tadid who reigned until the opening years of the 10th century. The subsequent decades saw a sustained and accelerating er ...  Show more