by Helen Kain | Mar 8, 2026 | Carousel People & Ideas, Fascinating People, Medieval (1066–1485)
Visitors entering St George’s Chapel, Windsor walk across a floor beneath which generations of English monarchs lie buried. Among them rests one of the most formidable kings of the fifteenth century: Edward IV. Tall, charismatic, and a gifted battlefield...
by Helen Kain | Mar 1, 2026 | Carousel Ideas & Systems, Early Middle Ages (410-1066), The Continental Thread
For a long time, I thought of what followed Rome’s departure from England as collapse — full stop. The so-called “Dark Ages.” Civilization slipping backwards into mud and thatch as roads were abandoned and stonemasonry was forgotten. That view turns out to be...
by Helen Kain | Nov 30, 2025 | Beautiful Towns, England, Unique Places to Stay
There’s something delightfully unhurried about the rural British approach to the festive season. While city lights dazzle and department stores pulse with urgency, in the countryside, Christmas arrives by way of gardens, greenhouses, and the smell of mulled cider. On...
by Helen Kain | Jun 29, 2025 | Fascinating People, Stuarts (1603–1714)
Let’s start with the backdrop: the English Civil War (1642–1651), a brutal and bewildering conflict that split families and the kingdom alike. On one side were the Royalists, or Cavaliers — the aristocratic, flamboyant defenders of King Charles I. Think of them as...
by Helen Kain | Jun 29, 2025 | Castles & Stately Houses, Medieval (1066–1485), Themes in History
It was quiet the day we visited Lincoln Castle. The sun bounced off the high curtain walls, the grass in the old motte was lush and soft, and the Victorian prison—now a museum—hummed faintly with the sounds of schoolchildren and subdued commentary. But make no...
by Helen Kain | Jun 29, 2025 | Carousel Ideas & Systems, Medieval (1066–1485), Themes in History
There’s something thrillingly unassuming about Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta. For such an iconic document, it’s not much to look at—just a modest sheet of medieval vellum covered in cramped Latin script. But don’t let its size fool you. This unpretentious...
