Had such a lovely time last night at Cheddington History Society talking about Women in the Middle Ages. Such a friendly, warm group and some really great discussions!

I had so much fun writing this piece about the power of pregnancy for a medieval queen, and how this directly impacted the life of Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England. Make sure to take a read! #medieval #WomensHistory

... And now that I'm back, I must promote this amazing study day I'm taking part in next month! Scandalous liaisons from the 14th and 15th centuries - what could be better? #medieval

A red, blue and gold Egyptian necklace sits against a black board. Overlaid is the text "The Newsletter Returns!" with a link to the substack article.

I'm finally back from my book writing hovel, so thought I'd kick things of with a newsletter. I chat about my recent visit to the Ramses II exhibition in London, and the fantastic artefacts that lie within: justhistoryposts.substack.com/p/the-newsle... #newsletter #history

An Interview With: Leon Mitchell, Filmmaker and Author After a busy few months finishing off my fourth book (more on that later this year!) I am excited to finally be back to writing on Just History Posts. And we start the year with a great interview from a perspective we haven't yet heard on the blog, that of a filmmaker. Leon Mitchell is an award-winning British author and director recognised for his interdisciplinary approach to storytelling and the human experience.

🌟New Post!🌟
I'm back on the blog, and we are chatting to filmmaker Leon Mitchell about his upcoming documentary and fiction novel about Empress Matilda, the woman who tried to claim the English throne in the 12th century. Hear about his inspiration and process, and why he chose Matilda.

A pile of books sit within an opened package. One of the books is held to camera: The Queen and the Mistress by Gemma Hollman. On the cover is a medieval manuscript drawing of two lovers reclining under rose vines.

Book post is always the best post 🌟
The Queen and the Mistress comes out in paperback next week, and they are looking beautiful!! If you want a story of female power and passion at the medieval court, make sure to check it out: www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-Mistre...
#medieval #WomensHistory #books

Had such a lovely time chatting about medieval women this afternoon! And I always love an excuse to get out loads of images of and by them 😊

A projector screen in a library with a slide show entitled "The Queen and the Mistress"

A screen with a medieval carved chess piece of a queen, with the title "'Alike in Appearance but not in Scope': Queens and the Making of Europe". In front is a table with a blue tablecloth and the Royal Historical Society logo.

A great day of talks on medieval queens! At lunch I gave a talk at Shoe Lane library in the City of London on my second book, The Queen and the Mistress, then this evening on to the @royalhistsoc.org talk on Queens and the Making of Europe by the fantastic Charles West! Feeling inspired.

Predatory Opt-Out Scheme ClaimsHero Targets Anthropic Settlement Participants: What Authors Need to Know - The Authors Guild In recent weeks, a third-party law firm, ClaimsHero, has launched an aggressive online campaign urging authors to opt out of the Bartz v. Anthropic copyright settlement. ClaimsHero—which has no litiga...

A heads up to any other authors part of the Anthropic AI class action - I've just received an email from ClaimsHero trying to get me to sue through them, but a quick check online exposes it's a very poor and misleading option - if you get the same, check this first!
authorsguild.org/news/claimsh...

A golden crown heavily embellished with pearls and precious stones.

With book deadline rapidly approaching my head is full of everything Richard II, so have a pic of one of my favourite medieval artefacts, the Crown of Princess Blanche - thought to have originally been owned by Anne of Bohemia, Richard's first wife. It is the oldest surviving royal crown of England.

Aw that's great to know!

The review reads: As a non-fiction author, I also read a lot of non-fiction, and cannot write a Best Books of 2023 without including my favourite non-fiction book of the last few years. So much detail! The Queen and the Mistress is illuminating. A truly remarkable dual biography of the two very different women who held Edward III's affections; his queen, Philippa of Hainault and his mistress, Alice Perrers. Gemma Hollman delves deep into the lives of both to paint vivid portraits of these amazing women. The beauty of this book is not just in the incredible story but in the depths of research and attention to detail that shines a light into the darkest corners of the lives of these two fascinating women: the consummate queen and the savvy businesswoman. Gemma Hollman challenges much of the misinformation and misconceptions which have surrounded both women for centuries; she draws the veil from across their lives and provides us with a new and refreshing interpretation of these remarkable women. A triumph of historical research and interpretation. A must-read for fans of the medieval period and the fourteenth century in particular. It really is a fantastic book. I have truly loved reading it.

This amazing review of The Queen and the Mistress by @thehistorybits.bsky.social came up on my social media memories today and I just had to share it again! One of my favourite reviews from anyone 🥹

If you want to see what Sharon loved so much, try it yourself! www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-Mistre...

Spanish Woman Scorned, Then Loved, for Botched Fresco Restoration Dies at 94

Rest in peace, Mother of a Thousand Memes. We owe so much joy to you!

The image shows fourty-four annular (ring-shaped) translucent turquoise blue glass beads strung on a modern circular thread and displayed against a black background. The glass beads were found in 1885 when a farmer ploughed up a cremation urn at Kongehøj in Denmark. The urn broke and was found to contain burnt bones, the 44 blue glass beads and two gold spiral rings. Recent analysis shows the beads were made in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), indicating far-reaching trade in luxury goods some 3,000 years ago.

Something lovely for the weekend!

Beautiful blue glass beads from the late Bronze Age 💙

Ploughed up by a farmer in Denmark in 1885, analysis shows the beads were made in Mesopotamia, pointing to long-distance trade in luxury goods some 3,000 years ago.

📷 National Museum of Denmark

#Archaeology

A colourful medieval fresco showing a castle in the background and nobles in gowns in the foreground having a snowball fight

Merry Christmas for those who celebrate! Hope you've had lovely days with lots of food and warmth. One of my favourites - a fresco depicting January at Castello Buonconsiglio, Trento, Italy, c. 1405-1410 #medieval

A really interesting point re: the rise in AI fake citations - as they become more prolific, how are they going to affect the real scholars whose names are being attributed to fake articles?

Wow, there's wonky and then there's that!

I'm so glad! I think it's just such a lovely, interesting story. Quiet histories like this don't always get shared

Historical Figures: Wilson Bentley, The Man Who Photographed Snowflakes With winter well and truly settled in, many places have been experiencing snowfall. Some places in the UK narrowly missed out on having snow on Christmas Day, bringing a much-desired White Christma…

If you're as interested in Wilson Bentley as I am, then you can read more about his life and work here:
justhistoryposts.com/2021/01/15/h...

Bentley went on to become an important meteorologist, and though many in the scientific community respected him and his work, others ignored him due to his humble background. By the end of his life, he had taken thousands of photographs of snowflakes.

Five snowflakes of different shape and patterns displayed in a line with a black background.

After extensive experimentation, on the 15th January 1885, Bentley took his equipment out in the midst of a snowstorm. Finally, all his hard work paid off. He had successfully taken a photograph. Bentley later said, “it was the greatest moment of my life”

But to his frustration, Bentley found he couldn't look at his precious snowflakes under the microscope: they melted too quickly. So, he set about experimenting with a camera. But still, speed was an issue - these were the days when photographs took minutes to take.

Born in 1865 to a farming family in Vermont, USA, Bentley held a love for snow ever since he was a child. When he was 15, his mother gifted him a microscope which she still owned from her days working as a teacher. It was his most treasured present.

A white man with a moustache, wearing a coat and hat, stands outside a wooden building in the snow with a 19th-century camera

Twelve photographs of snowflakes. They are on individual black squares, and they are a vast variety of shapes and patterns.

Every winter, I love to share the story of Wilson Bentley, the first person to ever take a photograph of a snowflake ❄️🧵 #history #snow

A manuscript image of King John, crowned, riding a white horse, with hunting dogs at his feet. Overlaid is the text "Merry Christmas from Just History Posts. Just History Posts's Substack. Justhistoryposts.substack.com"

It's my final newsletter of the year! We take a look at the lost treasure of King John, and I also look at the spate of high-profile heritage heists this year and why our historic collections are at such risk from thieves: justhistoryposts.substack.com/p/merry-chri...
#history #newsletter

A Brief Moment of History: King John and the Lost Crown Jewels King John is one of England’s most infamous kings. His reputation at the time of his death and afterwards was so disastrous that in the 800 years after his death, no other English king has taken the name John. King John is known for many things: his unusual ascent to the throne, the Magna Carta, his reputation as king, but perhaps most importantly to archaeologists and treasure hunters alike is the loss of his baggage trains containing the English Crown Jewels in what is known as the Wash in October 1216 shortly before his death.

🌟New post!🌟
King John is one of England’s most infamous kings. Shortly before his death, he reputedly lost England's Crown Jewels in The Wash in the east of the country. But how did this happen, and may the treasure be found?
#history #medieval #treasure

a black and white drawing of a cat playing drums with the words ba dum tsss below it ALT: a black and white drawing of a cat playing drums with the words ba dum tsss below it

Very good!

A Brief Moment of History: King John and the Lost Crown Jewels King John is one of England’s most infamous kings. His reputation at the time of his death and afterwards was so disastrous that in the 800 years after his death, no other English king has taken the name John. King John is known for many things: his unusual ascent to the throne, the Magna Carta, his reputation as king, but perhaps most importantly to archaeologists and treasure hunters alike is the loss of his baggage trains containing the English Crown Jewels in what is known as the Wash in October 1216 shortly before his death.

🌟New post!🌟
King John is one of England’s most infamous kings. Shortly before his death, he reputedly lost England's Crown Jewels in The Wash in the east of the country. But how did this happen, and may the treasure be found?
#history #medieval #treasure

Looking across the Presbytery crossing vaults at Salisbury Cathedral from the clerestory. The scissor arches are older than those at Wells Cathedral and may well have been the inspiration for them. On the roof can be seen the 'ghosts' of the original C13 murals and their C19 update.

Glad you enjoyed it!