Dan your Friday Facebook bits helped keep me sane during Covid. Now I’m trying to understand WTF is happening in Trumpland. You have a gift for pointing out historical similarities. Can you think of other times in history when such crazy shit was happening on a daily basis, other than during war? I thought I’d ask something easy 😇
Hi Dan!! On another podcast about Genghis Khan (Legacy) they said that:
“Christian bishops who were part of the Mongol Empire came to England. They celebrated Mass with King Edward. And there was a discussion about whether there's a way in which the Mongols and the English and others could work together to squeeze the Muslims out of the Middle East”.
Is there any evidence for this “mongol envoys” coming to England?
Hey Dan - I recall you mentioned previously that when setting out to write Powers and Thrones (I think!) you were aiming to tour various locations and cities as part of the writing process but covid put pay to that. Is there anywhere you were aiming to go and have not managed to since? If so, which of those would you most like to visit? (Or if I’ve completely fabricated the above, where is on your professional field scouting bucket list?). Cheers, Ben.
Hey Dan, I hope you’re well? My 13 year old son is excelling in History at school at the moment (very proud mum alert!) and so I wondered at what age you realised you wanted to make a career out of your love for history and what your career journey was like … (eg how did you make the leap from historian/writer to historian/broadcaster etc?). Sorry for the long winded question! Take care and thank you! Louise x
Richard II Vs Edward II. Both widely considered to have been two of England's most useless kings but who in your opinion was worse, least competent or most evil. Similar characters in many ways but also very different.
Hello Dan, my question is about the black death and Poland. I watched a lecture that said Poland wasn’t affected by the Black Death. Do you have any thoughts or feelings on why not? Also, do you think this affected them economically since there would be fewer resources due to the fact, there wasn’t a downsizing of the population? Curious 😊
[Update: Dan, you can ignore this. Someone answered it for me.] I've seen some information on the Internet that 1) Henry V's grave was opened in the 1950s and 2) they found a second coffin with Henry's. Is this true?
a. That's a lie. Up till this day no one had opened Henry's coffin. b. The grave of Richard Courtenay bishop of Norwich was found in 1953 when "a small hole had been noticed at the edge of a Purbeck marble slab in the floor of the Confessor's Chapel. On probing this hole,and by the light of a torch, it was seen that there was quite a considerable cavity beneath this slab. As there was some danger of a subsidence the Surveyor had given orders that the slab should be carefully lifted. It was then that the ring was found some little way beneath the surface lying in loose earth together with two human leg bones... Further investigation revealed the outline of a skeleton lying in a grave lined with Reigate stone and apparently extending almost to the foot of the steps of the north turret of Henry V's Chantry Chapel." (L. E. Tanner, Recollections of a Westminster Antiquary (1969), 179-81.) It was a seperate grave in the Confessor's chapel.
I’ve been looking for some good Plantagenet historical fiction to sink my teeth into. I’ve settled between two series from Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman. Any recommendation on the better one? Also, do you have any thoughts of writing a full fledged Henry II book? Between his life and his children, it’s completely fascinating.
Hi Dan! I wonder what languages you are able to use (active or passive), what languages you need to handle for your work and if learning languages is something you personally enjoy or you do it out of sheer necessity. How about Latin? ;-) Love from Czechia
What would be your favorite medieval work of literature? Also...I'm still chuckling about your corrupt abbot comment. I love me some facetious Mr Jones.
Hi Dan, I'm a new subscriber. I love the idea that Edward II wasn't really murdered, but lived out his life in exile. Is there any plausible evidence for this?
Any sign of the excellent Essex dogs becoming a tv series ?
I second this question! And who would play the Dogs?
There's have to be at least a walk on part for Dan.
Dan your Friday Facebook bits helped keep me sane during Covid. Now I’m trying to understand WTF is happening in Trumpland. You have a gift for pointing out historical similarities. Can you think of other times in history when such crazy shit was happening on a daily basis, other than during war? I thought I’d ask something easy 😇
What is the most exciting piece of information you have personally located in an archive or other data source?
Hi Dan!! On another podcast about Genghis Khan (Legacy) they said that:
“Christian bishops who were part of the Mongol Empire came to England. They celebrated Mass with King Edward. And there was a discussion about whether there's a way in which the Mongols and the English and others could work together to squeeze the Muslims out of the Middle East”.
Is there any evidence for this “mongol envoys” coming to England?
Hey Dan - I recall you mentioned previously that when setting out to write Powers and Thrones (I think!) you were aiming to tour various locations and cities as part of the writing process but covid put pay to that. Is there anywhere you were aiming to go and have not managed to since? If so, which of those would you most like to visit? (Or if I’ve completely fabricated the above, where is on your professional field scouting bucket list?). Cheers, Ben.
Do you think if Richard II hadn't exiled Henry Bolingbrook that there would have been a different outcome for King Richard?
Hey Dan, I hope you’re well? My 13 year old son is excelling in History at school at the moment (very proud mum alert!) and so I wondered at what age you realised you wanted to make a career out of your love for history and what your career journey was like … (eg how did you make the leap from historian/writer to historian/broadcaster etc?). Sorry for the long winded question! Take care and thank you! Louise x
Richard II Vs Edward II. Both widely considered to have been two of England's most useless kings but who in your opinion was worse, least competent or most evil. Similar characters in many ways but also very different.
Hi Dan, looking forward to Althorp next month (as long as my leg is out of plaster)!
If Henry V was turned in to a film, who would you cast as the boy/man himself and what would be the highlight of the film for you?
Hello Dan, my question is about the black death and Poland. I watched a lecture that said Poland wasn’t affected by the Black Death. Do you have any thoughts or feelings on why not? Also, do you think this affected them economically since there would be fewer resources due to the fact, there wasn’t a downsizing of the population? Curious 😊
[Update: Dan, you can ignore this. Someone answered it for me.] I've seen some information on the Internet that 1) Henry V's grave was opened in the 1950s and 2) they found a second coffin with Henry's. Is this true?
a. That's a lie. Up till this day no one had opened Henry's coffin. b. The grave of Richard Courtenay bishop of Norwich was found in 1953 when "a small hole had been noticed at the edge of a Purbeck marble slab in the floor of the Confessor's Chapel. On probing this hole,and by the light of a torch, it was seen that there was quite a considerable cavity beneath this slab. As there was some danger of a subsidence the Surveyor had given orders that the slab should be carefully lifted. It was then that the ring was found some little way beneath the surface lying in loose earth together with two human leg bones... Further investigation revealed the outline of a skeleton lying in a grave lined with Reigate stone and apparently extending almost to the foot of the steps of the north turret of Henry V's Chantry Chapel." (L. E. Tanner, Recollections of a Westminster Antiquary (1969), 179-81.) It was a seperate grave in the Confessor's chapel.
Thanks. I've updated the query so Dan can pass on this one and move on.
I’ve been looking for some good Plantagenet historical fiction to sink my teeth into. I’ve settled between two series from Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman. Any recommendation on the better one? Also, do you have any thoughts of writing a full fledged Henry II book? Between his life and his children, it’s completely fascinating.
Hi Dan! I wonder what languages you are able to use (active or passive), what languages you need to handle for your work and if learning languages is something you personally enjoy or you do it out of sheer necessity. How about Latin? ;-) Love from Czechia
What would be your favorite medieval work of literature? Also...I'm still chuckling about your corrupt abbot comment. I love me some facetious Mr Jones.
Hi Dan. What’s your advice to someone who wants to write popular history?
Hi Dan, I'm a new subscriber. I love the idea that Edward II wasn't really murdered, but lived out his life in exile. Is there any plausible evidence for this?
Would recommend Kathryn Warner's book where she suggests just that. It's an excellent read.
Thank you! I'll definitely check that out.