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Gruesome Deeds Grimly Done: the London Medieval Murder Map
A review of the exceptional London Medieval Murder Map. The map is an exceptional research tool for discovering how people were murdered in early 14th century London. Continue reading →

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Lady Despenser’s Scribery! After taking a break, the blog will be back in full force again next year with lots of new posts about Hugh Despenser, the people around him, and everyday life in early 14th century England! Until then, enjoy the festive season! Best wishes from

Hugh Despenser the Younger by Kathryn Warner – A Review
It has always been a puzzle to me why there has never been a biography of Hugh Despenser the Younger before. A man who changed the course of English history during the early fourteenth century, who was the hated favourite of Edward II, and who was voted as one of

The Royal Art of Poison by Eleanor Herman – Review.
Some time back I was lucky enough to be offered an ARC (advanced review copy) copy of the above book by the publishers in order to do a review. It’s a bit out of my time period, but nevertheless, it looked interesting, so I said yes. The following review is

Punishment of the Pillory
The Medieval Pillory It is very easy to mix up pillories and stocks. Both involved public humiliation by being immobilised in a wooden contraption and being subjected to insults and anything else that could be thrown. If a person was condemned to some time in the stocks, this meant that

Corrections and Comments Re the Article ‘The Castle, the King, the Gay Lover, and the Fury of a Scorned Queen’
It was recently brought to my attention that an article titled ‘The Castle, the King, the Gay Lover, and the Fury of a Scorned Queen’ by Andrew-Paul Shakespeare had quite a few errors in it concerning Hugh Despenser the Younger. And, as you can see from the title, it was