Pierronne of Brittany
Pierronne of Brittany was a contemporary of Joan of Arc. Like Joan, she was involved in military campaigns, and was also executed by being burnt at the stake. Pierronne was a visionary, claiming to have…
Dan Moorhouse
Margaret of Bavaria
Margaret of Bavaria was married to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. The couple ruled over not only the county of Burgundy but also a large number of other territories in the Low Countries. This…
Julienne du Guesclin, Warrior Nun
Julienne du Guesclin was the sister of Bertrand du Guesclin, the famous French military commander and Constable of France. Julienne had entered into a religious life, becoming a nun in the religious of of the…
Eleanor Cobham
Eleanor Cobham is famed for being a royal witch. Born in 1400, Eleanor Cobham was the fourth eldest child of Sir Reginald Cobham and his first wife, also called Eleanor. From this position as a…
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault
Jacqueline of Hainault was born in The Hague in 1401. She was born into an illustrious family. Her father was William, Duke of Bavaria, her mother was Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Duke Philip II…
Protecting Merchant Shipping in the Hundred Years War
Protection of Merchant Shipping The English treasury relied on duties charged on goods coming through English ports. It was the subsidies on items such as wool, granted by parliament, which were the primary source of…
Chaucer’s ‘Wife of Bath’
Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Wife of Bath’ is one of the best known verses of the later medieval era. The Wife of Bath is one of the many pilgrims who are travelling in Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’. The…
Joanna of Flanders
Joanna of Flanders was the daughter of Louis I, Count of Nevers and Joan, Countess of Rethel. Sister of Louis I, Count of Flanders, Joanna married John of Montfort in 1329. Though this was quite…
Maritime Logistics. Naval Planning, Part Four
English planning for naval superiority in the Hundred Years War The English navy was on the whole not owned by the crown. The typical method of creating a fleet was through the requisitioning of English…
Jeanne des Armoises (aka Claude of)
Jeanne des Armoises (aka Claude of) From 1434 to 1440 Jeanne des Armoises, also known as Claude des Armoises, was presented as being Joan of Arc. Despite the Maid of Orléans having been publicly executed,…