Preventa de eBooks de Historia de los países de Europa

Through most of eight hundred years, Somerled of Argyll has been variously denounced as an intractable rebel against his rightful king and esteemed as the honoured ancestor of the later medieval Lord of the Isles, but he can be recognised now as a much more complex figure of major prominence in twelfth-century Scotland and of truly landmark significance in the long history of the Gael. In this book individual chapters investigate his emergence in the forefront of the Gaelic-Norse aristocracy of the western seaboard, his part in Gaeldoms challenge to the Canmore kings of Scots, his war on the Manx king of the Isles, his importance for the church on Iona, and his extraordinary invasion of the Clyde which was cut short by his violent death at Renfrew in 1164. Perhaps most impressive is the books demonstration of how almost everything that is known of or has been claimed for Somerled reflects the same characteristic fusion of Norse and Celt which binds the cultural roots of Gaeldom. It is this recognition which has led its author to his proposal of Somerleds wider historical importance as the personality who most represents the first fully-fledged emergence of the medieval Celtic-Scandinavian cultural province from which is directly descended the Gaelic Scotland of today.

Kenneth Roys panorama of post-war Scottish life begins with the VE night celebrations in the spring of 1945 and ends with the coming onstream of North Sea oil in the autumn of 1975. It was the formative period in the making of modern Scotland, but it is a period little explored in depth and not fully understood until now. Using a wealth of contemporary accounts, the book tells a complex and often disturbing story of a country riven by poverty, struggling for a sense of its own identity, and ill-served by its masters. The Invisible Spirit is unsparing in its examination of the failings of the Scottish establishment. It delivers a stinging indictment of political complacency and judicial incompetence and shows that, too often, the interests of Scotland and its people were betrayed. It exposes how, time and again, the truth was covered up in order to protect the powerful and how the press acquiescently accepted a far from reliable official version of events. The book is also, however, the story of ordinary lives, the aspirations, the hardships and the achievements of the Scots themselves. Richly varied in mood from the controversial to the amusing, The Invisible Spirit is both entertaining and compelling. It provides a unique perspective on Scotland at a turning point in its long history.

Did Henry VIII really plan to have Anne Boleyns beloved dog thrown out the window? Did Jane Seymour deliberately get her maids to look less attractive than her? Was Elizabeth I secretly a man? Did King Edward VI de-feather an eagle in an epic temper tantrum? Who is the most sighted Tudor ghost of all time? Did Elizabeth I really have no teeth? Did one of the most famous Tudor palaces really get knocked down to pay off gambling debts? Who were there Grey sisters, and why is theirs one of the saddest Tudor stories of all?From Henry VII to Elizabeth I, this delightful book answers all these questions and more. Come with us as we delve into the people and places behind the Tudor myths & legends that are so world famous.Through various tales exploring the whole of the glittering dynasty, well learn about the lesser-known facts and figures behind these myths. Each reign serves up a wealth of fascinating historical stories to reveal the Tudor world in a new light.

We all know of of the various wars, the Famine and the pivotal events which have made the Ireland what it is today, but few know the stranger aspects of the nations past. From body snatchers, to pirate queens and Celtic vampires, Irelands hidden history is explored here in a book bound to thrill and astound you from the first page.

From the bestselling author of the Time Travellers Guides In these sparkling A to Zs, time-travelling historian Ian Mortimer visits four classic periods of English history: the fourteenth century, the Elizabethan age, the Restoration and the Regency. As he ranges from the Great Plague to the Great Freeze, from Armada to Austen, and from tobacco to toenails, he shines a light into corners of history we never knew were so fascinating -- or so revealing of the whole. How did the button change life in the Middle Ages? If you found yourself at a smart Elizabethan party, should you kiss your hostess on the lips? Why were pistols safer than swords in a duel? And how come Regency Londoners quaffed so much port? This is Mortimer at his accessible and witty best. As ever, his aim is not only to bring the past to life but also to illuminate our own times.