Links
Resources
For people curious about who the hell these historical people are and want to dig more into them, here are my quick intro resources for newcomers.
- • 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 dynasty but I mostly just focus on the first part. It's goofy and oversimplified but entertaining and gets the point across.
- • Jones also has a book, "The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England" which is a little less sensationalist and more detailed, but still a pretty fun approachable beginner read. He also has a podcast, but I'm not sure how available it is, and seems to be also more on the sensational side.
- • 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.
Fictional Works
- • 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. There is also a 2003 movie that I believe is on youtube.
- 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.
- • 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.
Books
These are a bit more on the research side and may be harder/more expensive to get your hands on. Some are on IA, but depending on your library you may be able to find some of these (and more!)
- Henry the Young King 1155-1183 by Matthew Strickland
- Richard the Lionheart: King and Knight by Jean Flori
- Richard I by John Gillingham
- Saladin by Anne-Marie Eddé
- War and Chivalry: The Conduct and Perception of War in England and Normandy, 1066–1217 by Matthew Strickland
- The Deeds of Philip Augustus by Rigord, translated by Larry F. Field
- Berengaria of Navarre: Queen of England, Lord of Le Mans by Gabrielle Storey
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.
- "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.