Links
Resources
This page is for those who would like to dig more into the actual information, scholarship, and popular culture surrounding these people I'm interested in. Personally, research is very important to me because I feel like to understand their characters and personalities, one must become deeply acquainted with the world they lived in. Over the past few years I've been fortunate to learn more, to grow my personal library, and to get a better and deeper sense of this time period and the major players involved. And yet, there is still so much more to learn. My yaoi doujin journey has led me to some amazing works, and I have the deepest respect and appreciation for the work of all the scholars, artists, and writers, that has been done over the years.
This page will probably continually be under construction; I have many more links and books I would like to log here as well, so keep an eye on it. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact me at tithetohell@gmail.com.
Web
- • For the complete beginners, honestly perusing the Wikipedia Pages is pretty entertaining and informative on its own (and ALSO free) and is how I got more into the historical and scholarly side of things. You get to see all their wild personalities and also the fascinating and uglier sides of who they were and the world they lived in from a kind of bird's eye view.
- • The Henry The Young King Blog by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik is probably one of the blogs that I consulted the most when I first started my own venture! It was really neat to read posts focusing on this niche figure as well as other subjects tangentially related to Plantagenet and 12th century subjects. A venture that has been going on for over a decade!
- • Medievalists.Net is of course an invaluable resource for all sorts of articles and information about the medieval era as a whole.
Books
These are mostly various academic books and may be harder/more expensive to get your hands on. Some are available on the Internet Archive, but some may also be available in either academic or public libraries.
Biographies
- •The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones - Recommended often for beginners, and for good reason! It's a very good general overview of the dynasty that would later be known as the "Plantagenets." They are full of colorful, dramatic figures and exciting stories. Jones is good at keeping the narratives exciting keeping it grounded in the current research.
- •Henry the Young King 1155-1183 by Matthew Strickland - One of my favorite books and general resources for learning about this period. The book covers the life of the titular Young King, and places the events of his tumultuous but short life in the greater political and societal context of the Angevin Empire at the time. A great overview of the general complicated relationships between the Plantagenet brothers, but also a great introduction to the early tournament and style of warfare as well.
- •Henry II by W.L. Warren - A massive work that goes not just into the life of Henry II, but approaches the various details of the structure of government, vassalage, and other structures that contributed to his reign and the political decisions he made. (This is also the book from which the Wikipedia page takes most of its citations from last I checked; I thought it valuable to have a copy for myself.). Most general discussions of Henry II (such as Dan Jones' video series about him) focus a lot on creating a simplified narrative focusing on his personality; I find it more informative to see a breakdown of the political contexts that informed his decisions.
- •Richard the Lionheart: King and Knight by Jean Flori - One of the first books I read that really got me into the subject. Flori is an entertaining writer who tells the events of Richard's life while also presenting an analysis of the emergence of the concept of chivalry as it came to be known in later medieval eras.
- •Richard I by John Gillingham - Angevin scholarship would not be what it is without Gillingham's contributions. He also provides a very detailed biography of Richard, and is one of the first to really use Arabic sources when discussing him in his work. Gillingham takes a somewhat defensive approach to Richard and his character, and seeks to place Richard's military and political decisions in the context of his time and contemporary pressures, rather than attributing it to romanticized narratives.
- •Saladin by Anne-Marie Eddé - A book that discusses both the historical rise and life of the man himself, but by necessity discusses his role as a figure of legend as well, both in the western and Arab world. Makes great use of various sources discussing the culture of interaction between crusaders and locals in the Levant.
- •Berengaria of Navarre: Queen of England, Lord of Le Mans by Gabrielle Storey - A really unique recent publication with a focus on an oft-ignored figure in history here. Berengaria's life offers interesting insights into the roles and expectations surrounding medieval queens, and the ways in which noblewomen navigated their social and economic life in widowhood. Berengaria was not as much of a disruptive or infamous female figure as others in this era, but she still made informed decisions on how to live her life, especially after the Death of Richard.
Culture and Society
- Angevin England: 1154-1258 by Richard Mortimer
- War and Chivalry: The Conduct and Perception of War in England and Normandy, 1066–1217 by Matthew Strickland
- Social France at the Time of Philip Augustus by Achille Luchaire
- The Government of Philip Augustus by John W. Baldwin
- The World of the Troubadours: Medieval Occitan Society, c. 1100-c.1300 by Linda M. Paterson
- The Knight, the Lady, and the Priest by Georges Duby
- Brittany and the Angevins by Judith Everard
- The Loss of Normandy by Sir Maurice Powicke
- The Siege of Acre by John D. Hosler
- Peasants of the Middle Ages by Werner Rösener
- Scholastic Culture of the Middle Ages, 1000-1300 by John W. Baldwin
- • English Costume of the Early Middle Ages by Iris Brooke - I have a VERY old copy from 1936 that I found from a library discarded pile, but it should still be in print or available online! This has been extremely helpful to me in drawing and depicting some of the aspects of 12th century dress. There are lots of reference images drawn in very simple manner and with descriptions contextualizing changes in clothing over the centuries.
Contemporary Texts
- • The Deeds of Philip Augustus: An English Translation of Rigord's Gesta Philippi Augusti by Larry F. Field - A very informative text that covers the life and titular Deeds of Philip Augustus, starting from his miraculous birth to his later military and political campaigns and achievements. It is one of the most important documents chronicling the events of his fairly long life, and provides great insights into the priorities of the Medieval audience of the day--with references to miracles, holy observances, and emphasis on the deeply religious context in which the sacral kingship was considered.
- • The Lais of Marie de France by Marie de France, translated by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby (Penguin Classics edition). A collection of short poetic stories from the 12th century that all explore concepts of chivalric love and loss. While the stories themselves are stylized and fantastical in style, they reveal a lot of interesting things about social assumptions and norms from the time, making it a very informative and entertaining read.
- • The Song of Roland - An older poem from the previous century telling stories dating from the time of Charlemagne. However would have been a familiar text by the 12th century.
Video
- • "Advice for Time Traveling to Medieval Europe" and its Q&A Follow-Up by Premodernist are really wonderful introductions to the general social lifestyle of Medieval European towns (with a focus on 1100-1300s) Very friendly for beginners and entertaining watch, one of my top recommendations for sure.
- • "Aliénor & Conséquences (La 2ème Croisade)" and "Richard Coeur de Lion & la 3ème Croisade" by Confessions d'Histoire are very funny and entertaining edutainment videos about the principal figures of the Second and Third crusades. They are very silly but also pack a lot of details and information into the videos. Some of my favorites, since it shows some rare dynamics that I haven't seen in many other fictional video media before. (Videos are in french, but be sure to enable the autosubtitles if you can!).
- • Dan Jones' "Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty" series on the Plantagenets. Here's the first video on Henry II, Thomas Becket and his sons. It goes all the way through the later figures of the dynasty but I mostly just focus on the first part. It's goofy and oversimplified in some ways I am a bit critical of, but it's a fun introduction and gets the point across. I find the style kind of ugly as it seems to be trying to imitate that "game of thrones" grittiness, but it's more funny to me than annoying.
Fiction
Film and TV
- • The Lion in Winter (1968) is a classic and my personal intro into the narrative potentials and the weird freak dynamics between everyone. Aside from that, it's simply a very fun movie that's enjoyable without knowing anything historical beforehand. Original movie is best and classic to me, and should be easy to find. While it has some intentional anachronisms, it's a work that certainly continues to be appreciable the more one learns about the subject at hand.
- • The Lion in Winter (1966) play by James Goldman is still being performed today. If you can't catch a local performance, The original play script is available to buy on various places online, as well as to read on Internet Archive. You can also listen to the 2002 LA Theatreworks performance on Spotify or for free on hoopla. The Play has a lot more little details and nuances than the movies which are very fun to dig into.
- • Becket (1964), is available to watch on youtube and on free on Tubi. Not very historically accurate at all, but a certified classic passionate misogynist yaoi. I've written about my thoughts on it here and here. The original play (translated from French) is also available as an LA Theatreworks production on Hoopla.
- • Robin and Marian (1976) - A take on the classic Robin Hood story. The legendary Robin Hood returns from the Crusades and from the war in France serving under Richard the Lionheart, who is portrayed here as a cruel and bloodthirsty leader who is a walking corpse even before his anticlimactic death. Deeply romantic, with some fun action here and there, but infused with grief and melancholy throughout.
- • The Devil's Crown (1978) also known as La Couronne du diable, is a BBC TV show that covers the Reigns of Henry II, Richard I, and John I in a theatrical stylized way. It is incredibly detailed and researched, even if some aspects rely on dated historical conclusions, and dials up the homoerotic nature of the medieval homage and power dynamics in a very intense and entertaining way. Sadly, most of it is scrubbed off the internet except for episode 4, on youtube. It is available on Madelen streaming site, but only dubbed in French.
Literature
- • The Lute Player (1952) by Norah Lofts. One of my favorite reads of this year, it is not the most accurate rendition of the time it portrays, but seeks to tell an intriguing story of the relationship between Richard I and Berengaria, and of the legendary minstrel Blondel. It is a story that grapples with dissatisfaction, war, and the work of establishing one's place in society and within relationships. Also one of the earliest fictional depictions of a queer Richard the Lionheart, which tries to be compassionate even within the prejudices and limitations of both the medieval time period and midcentury period in which it was written.
- • Solomon's Crown (2023) by Natasha Siegel, or as I like to call it, "Lionheartstopper." A romance retelling of the relationship between Richard and Philip. A book I did not particularly care for, not necessarily for its inaccuracies but because I felt it did a great disservice to itself in trying to water down the personalities of such vibrant historical personalities to toothless, harmless figures. It's alright to desire a story of sweet romance, but it feels insidious when violent histories are erased in order to try and portray such a fantasy. Despite my strong dislike, I think it's notable that it exists since it's probably the first major work to depict the relationship in a romantic way in a long time.
Fanfiction
- • "kings. queens. knights everywhere you look" by damnedscribblingwoman. TLIWverse, mostly Richard/Geoffrey centric with some Richard/Philip. Alternate timeline. Very fun and sexy fantastical mixed with some alt history intrigue, with lots of angst and banter. Some of the situations are kind of exaggerated and silly but that's just how it goes with porn, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. ;D
- • "Then a knight should stay with his lord" by xochitl_kuu. Richard/Philip in 1173. I like all OP's fics (the only other person filling out the Richard/John tag on ao3) but this is one I keep returning to. Very tense inner feelings and sus dynamics, always my favorite to read.
Website Building Resources
- • I made this site using the Zonelets template, and with a lot of help from W3 Schools tutorials. I'm still really new to this whole website thing, but it's been really nice to have my own place to share my interests.
- • Guestbook is powered by atabook.