Visit Cathar Country/ Occitanie
The regions controlled by Raymond VI of Toulouse, Raymond Roger Trencavel, and the Comte of Foix (and lesser nobles and vassals) are now...
How heavy was plate armor?
One of many dubious stories I heard in history class was that knights had to be winched onto horses because their armor was so heavy, and...
Sex and Sin in the Middle Ages
The Catholic Church had elaborate and (unenforceable) rules to control sexual behavior. This widely reproduced flow chart purports to...
Was Medieval Medicine Completely Worthless? Maybe Not.
We cringe when we read about the medicine of past eras. Often it sounds brutal, and likely to do more harm than good. The theory of the...
Was Everyone Filthy During the Middle Ages? Debunking a Popular Misconception
We were all taught that the Middle Ages were uncivilized, filthy, and brutal. Well... there was a lot of brutality. However, there were...
Background Music
I love to listen to period-appropriate music when I'm reading (and writing). In fact, my fascination with 13th century France began with...
Where does Journey of Souls take place?
Around the year 1200, France was divided among numerous warring nobles, several of them English. Richard I of England, the Lionheart,...
A (mostly) lost language
People in 13th century Southern France spoke a language they called the lenga romana; it was closely related to Latin and Spanish....
A Chinese sword and an embalmed heart
The hero Bon has a sword from China. I originally imagined this, knowing that it was not likely, and hoping that readers would forgive...
