As you travel around medieval England you will come across a sport described by some contemporaries as 'abominable ... more common, undignified and worthless than any other game, rarely ending but with some loss, accident or disadvantage to the players… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“You might be offered oatcakes as well as bread (especially in the north). If these do not tempt you, consider eating "horse-bread." This is… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
W. H. Auden once suggested that to understand your own country you need to have lived in at least two others. One can say… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“You might find it alarming to think that your doctor will not actually need to see you in person but might make a diagnosis… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“the commons put forward an exceedingly detailed and comprehensive petition regarding the labour system. It resulted in the statute which made communities responsible for… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“The last day I was here, in eighteen forty-three, was the only time since the plague when we were not at war.” — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
Justice is a relative concept in all ages. The fourteenth century is no exception. — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“There's so much beauty in the world, don't close your eyes to it just because you've lost your own small patch of happiness.” — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“As a result of the Archery Act of 1542… Every man must shoot at the butts on every holy day, and parishes are to… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“In Elizabethan England you will only find small codpieces. Large ones, stuffed with wool and looking like an erect male member, are out of… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“As soon as Gaveston and Edward met they became great friends. Gaveston was witty, rude and enormously entertaining, with a Gascon accent and moreover… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“So much dung, filth, and entrails of dead beasts and other corruptions is cast into ditches, rivers and other waterways, and many other places,… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
“In parts of the country you will come across superstitious practices, such as lowering a infant with whooping cough into a cesspit and holding… — Ian Mortimer Copy Share Image
