Living in Medieval England

A month-by-month account of what life was like for the everyday person just before the Black Plague wiped out most of Europe. 1326 was one of the most dramatic years in English history. The queen of England, Isabella of France, invaded the country with an army of mercenaries to destroy her husband's powerful and detested lover, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and brought down her husband, King Edward II, in the process. It was also a year, however, when the majority of English people carried on living their normal, ordinary lives: Eleyne Glaswreghte ran her own successful glass-making business in London; Jack Cressing the master carpenter repaired the beams in a tower of Kenilworth Castle; Alis Coleman sold her best ale at a penny and a half for a gallon in Byfleet; and Will Muleward made the king "laugh greatly" when he spent time with him at a wedding in Marlborough. England sweltered in one of the hottest, driest summers of the Middle Ages; a whale...

About the Author: Kathryn Warner holds a BA and an MA with Distinction in medieval history and literature from the University of Manchester, and is the author of biographies about Edward II and his queen Isabella. Kathryn has had work published in the English Historical Review, has given a paper at the International Medieval Congress, and appeared in a BBC documentary. She runs a popular blog on Edward II and is an expert on Edward II, Isabelle of Castille and Richard II.