Recently, I posted about a book dealing with Inés de Castro, a purportedly very beautiful woman who caught the eye (and heart) of Pedro of Portugal. Now, it would seem the de Castro genes were very good genes, because Inés had a younger half-sister named Juana whose beauty also caught the eye (but not the […]
Some of the sadder stories in history are about children who are caught up in the wars of their elders. Take, for example, the sad story of Manfred of Hohenstaufen’s very young children, who were locked up (and purportedly blinded) by Charles of Anjou in 1266 after he killed Manfred and claimed Sicily as his
I generally plan my trips round things I want to see—and most of the time, what I want to see is historical. I can spend hours tracking down an obscure medieval gate or finding the few, sad ruined remnants of what was once a proud castle. I have recently been travelling in Spain. Málaga, Alhambra,
The disappointments of a travelling history nerd Read More »