Alastair Redman’s Somerled, Lord of the Isles is an enjoyable and wide-ranging account of one of medieval Scotland’s most important, yet still surprisingly overlooked, leaders. Somerled emerges as far more than a fierce warrior. He was also a skilled politician, naval commander and kingdom-builder who brought Norse and Gaelic traditions together across the western Highlands […]

Ashley Sarah Firth’s Trailblazing Medieval Women is a lively and highly readable collection of stories about women who refused to remain in the background of medieval history. Instead of presenting the Middle Ages as a world shaped entirely by kings, knights and churchmen, Firth brings forward the queens, rulers, warriors and writers who influenced politics, […]