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Medieval Period (1000-1500)

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The First Woman to Publish a Book in English Lived in One Room, Walled Off From Society. A statue of Julian of Norwich (Image: rocketjohn/Wikimedia) In 1413, Margery Kempe was embarking on a dangerous quest.

The First Woman to Publish a Book in English Lived in One Room, Walled Off From Society

She and her husband had agreed to be celibate: she was going to begin to live her life as a woman devoted to God, a mystic. She was about to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And she knew whose spiritual guidance she wanted: Julian of Norwich, the most famous anchorite of her day. In England, from about the 12th to the 16th century, an estimated 780 people chose to live permanently shut up in a room attached to a church.

But, in their way, they were powerful women. Before anchorites retired from the outside world to dedicate their lives to religious devotion, a priest would say a rite of enclosure, akin to a funeral rite. One of these windows would have had a practical purpose: an attendant would pass simple meals and other necessities through it. A hagioscope in a French church (Photo: Jean-Marc Pascolo/Wikimedia) St. The battle that history forgot: Sharpe creator Bernard Cornwell says a little-known victory more than 600 years ago was one of the greatest military triumphs in British history.

By Bernard Cornwell Published: 00:19 GMT, 4 October 2012 | Updated: 00:31 GMT, 4 October 2012 At dawn on September 19, 1356, an English army found itself trapped and facing battle outside the city of Poitiers in central France.

The battle that history forgot: Sharpe creator Bernard Cornwell says a little-known victory more than 600 years ago was one of the greatest military triumphs in British history

The soldiers were so short of water they had given their horses wine to drink just to keep the beasts alive. Even drunken horses were better than dead ones. There was a river close by, but it was impossible to carry enough water for 6,000 men and thousands of horses up the steep hill to the position where the English were trapped. It has always seemed strange to me that we remember the Battle of Crecy and we celebrate the Battle of Agincourt, but most people seem to have forgotten Poitiers — the other great victory in the Hundred Years War — yet it was just as remarkable a triumph.

Savage: A 14th century illustration shows the Battle of Poitiers, between the French and the English in 1356 The army advanced slowly across the countryside; killing, pillaging, raping. The unlikely search for King Richard III's body: Archaeologists begin dig under a council car park in Leicester. Dig hopes to uncover the church of the Franciscan Friary, known as GreyfriarsIf remains are found, they will undergo DNA analysis at the University of Leicester to confirm that they are those of Richard III By Paul Bentley Published: 07:22 GMT, 24 August 2012 | Updated: 11:08 GMT, 25 August 2012 The earliest surviving portrait of Richard III in Leicester Cathedral.

The unlikely search for King Richard III's body: Archaeologists begin dig under a council car park in Leicester

Archaeologists are hoping to find his grave under a council car park in Leicester. It seems an unlikely resting place for a monarch. Historians believe they have finally discovered where King Richard III is buried – under a council car park in Leicester. According to records, the last medieval king of England was buried in a Franciscan friary in the area after being killed by the army of Henry Tudor during the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Now, after closely examining ancient maps, archaeologists believe the most likely site for the church is a car park of a social services office in the centre of Leicester. Scroll down for video.