Nothing to Say?

(Markus Winkler @markuswinkler / Unsplash)

I haven’t added anything to this blog for a few months now, and you might be wondering why.

Well, you probably aren’t wondering at all, in fact, you’ve probably forgotten that the blog exists, but there we go!

So, why haven’t I been adding content?

Well, the first reason is that I am not a natural blogger. It is not a writing format that comes easily to me. I am pretty poor at putting content together. I have lots of stuff to share: about my armour, about Goodrich Castle where I am a guide, about medieval swords (on which topic I have been writing for quite a while now), and about medieval warfare in general. What I have not been able to do is quite work out how to convert those ideas into attractive and interesting blog posts that I feel that you will want to read.

Secondly, things have been a bit tough personally, which has taken mental energy and a major shift in priorities. I am pleased to say that I feel in a better and more positive place than I have been for quite some time, and am more focused and productive in my work and hobby outputs too.

This brings me to the third reason why I haven’t posted much. I have been working on other stuff.

The sword book

I still haven’t found a decent title for it yet (all suggestions would be gratefully received).

This is the next academic book, a socio-cultural history of the sword in the high middle ages, and it is moving steadily towards completion. There has been a lot more to consider and cover than I initially thought (which always seems to be the case with my academic projects!) However, I now have all but one chapter and a conclusion written, which needs to be followed by a good run through to make sure that the over-arching themes do indeed arch over the whole work, and that I have all the references filled in, t’s crossed and i’s dotted.

The deadline for submission is August, and I am confident that it will be in on time, with publication in late summer 2022 at the earliest.

(Joao Cruz @jcruzweb / Unsplash)

Conference Papers

I have a few of these coming up in the not-too-distant future, and two that are confirmed.

I am speaking online at the International Medieval Congress in July, one of three papers in Session 1520 at 9 am (UK time) on Thursday, July 8th. I shall be talking about the less-than-mystical swords of the high middle ages, alongside papers by Jacob Deacon on a fifteenth-century fencing master of London, and Rob Runacres who is querying whether the Bolognese tradition of swordsmanship was truly distinctive.

In November I should be travelling again, speaking about using swords as symbols of authority, at a conference in Bern, Switzerland on martial culture in medieval towns. (There’s a conference page on the project website, but the details are still forthcoming).

(Chris Montgomery, chrismontgomery.ca / Unsplash)

Teaching Online

Since Advanced Studies in England (my day job) sent its Spring 2019 students back home, about a year ago), I have been regularly teaching online. I completed my tutorial on castles, taught another on the cultural history of the British Army, and have run classes on chivalry, castles, and tournaments as part of ASE’s new continuing education programme. I am currently putting together another five-week class on the Agincourt campaign.

This has been a new departure for the organisation, offering five-week online classes to alums of the ASE programme, and their friends and family. As well as teaching my own courses I have been coordinating the whole thing, which has been a really interesting new challenge, and a very rewarding one, as the alums have really taken to it. The vibe between the tutors and the students is really positive and all are clearly loving the courses, whether they be exploring medieval history, Jane Austen, detective fiction, creative writing or Harry Potter!

(Author’s photo)

Castles Tours

Over last summer and into the autumn, before Lockdown closed it to the public, I was regularly at Goodrich Castle, offering guided tours as a volunteer for English Heritage. With the easing of restrictions coming up I am very much looking forward to getting back there and sharing my love of this beautiful site, and its fascinating history. It is also possible that I might be able to get back into my harness, with some impromptu demonstrations of the arming of the knight…

In October this year, I will be leading my first touring holiday, for Promenades Travel, around the ‘Wye Valley castles of the Marcher Earls’. This is five days of castles, including the great stone edifices of Goodrich, Chepstow and Raglan, the beautiful late medieval hall at Tretower, and the smaller, but no less impressive, fortresses of Skenfrith, Grosmont, Whitecastle and Longtown.

(Author’s photo)

Wargames

Not something I have made much mention of on this site, but still very much a part of my love of medieval military history, is wargaming. Effectively playing with toy soldiers (‘little tin men’ as my wife refers to them), it has been likened to a mash-up of chess and model railways.

I have been working on a set of rules to fight the battles of the Wars of the Roses, using my research and understanding of the history of medieval warfare to inform the rules, and have reached the point where I am keen to share them. I have decided the best way to do this is to add to the website, and so writing about wargaming will become another of the things that I do on this site.

More to Come

So, as you can see, whilst I haven’t had much to say here, that hasn’t meant that I have not been busy.

As all of these projects move forward I will endeavour to keep you up to date here, adding content that will hopefully pique your interest and encourage you to sign up for a conference, pick up one of my books, or come and visit me at Goodrich!