Posts Tagged ‘16th century’

  • Lancelot Sawthell

    It’s always a shock of recognition when I’m working on the records and come across a character I’ve put in a book. Anyone remember Hawise and Elizabeth giggling about poor Lancelot Sawghell at the beginning […]

  • Walmgate wardmote court, April 1583

    Transcribing a few pages of York’s Wardmote Court Book every morning is my daily treat (sad, I know!) The bulk of the surviving 16th-century records run from 1575 to 1586, and now that I’m picking […]

  • Witch-bottles

    Lately the news seems to have been full of exciting archaeological excavations, most notably the discovery of Richard III’s remains under a Leicester car park (as you might imagine, I’m in favour of him being […]

  • Elizabethan names

    Finding the right name for a character is one of the most important stages in writing a book, particularly when it comes to historical fiction when names must feel authentic.  I’m often asked where I found […]

  • (Lack of) Gun Control in Elizabethan England

    I was amused to read recently a story on the BBC about a dog accidentally shooting its master (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19630411).  Coincidentally, I had just been looking through the Calendar of Assize Records for Kent in the […]