2 Things: NEW BOOK GIVEAWAY & (Carolingian) Princes in a Tower
Chances to win a signed book (or 2) and a related story about missing royal nephews, likely murdered
Modern Medieval
by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele
We’re one week away from publication day for our new book, Oathbreakers. Reviews so far have been great and we’re so grateful to everyone that has ordered it already, for your support of our work. That said, if you haven’t done so yet, we hope you’ll consider preordering the book now, since this is our last window to make a splash and convince bookstores to stock it - a small number of preorders at local bookstores matter a whole lot and can even get us up front, cover out! If you need to order online though, that’s great too! Here’s a special 20% off code for the book at Tertulia.com.
Anyway, as a thank you and because our book comes out in 1 week, we’re going to pick TWO (2) subscribers and send you signed books.
TO ENTER THE DRAWING, just subscribe (button below - it’s free!), then reply in comments and say hello. We’ll select winners at random on Wednesday 12/4, at 5pm EST. Each winner will get a signed book mailed to you (we’ll reach out to get info).
UPDATE: 5:06 EST 12/4 - We randomly selected from comments and two winners have been notified. The next giveaway will be on Goodreads starting Friday. Click “want to read” here to be notified.
And now some history.
Thanks to Shakespeare, Richard III’s alleged murder of his nephews - the so-called “Princes in the Tower” - remains both a well-known story and one that’s heavily debated to this day. One of the great things about history is that we can think we understand something, then new evidence emerges, and we have to reassess. In this case, historian Tim Thornton found an entry in a will at the National Archives in the UK. The news release from the National Archives says:
An entry in a 16th century registry of wills shows a treasured possession belonging to elder prince, Edward V – his chain – being bequeathed by a member of Sir James Tyrell’s family. Tyrell was implicated in the princes’ murder by Thomas More, in his The History of King Richard the Third, though many historians have dismissed that as Tudor propaganda. However, Tyrell is on record as working for Richard III and the discovery raises the question: why did one of his relatives have such a personal item of the elder boy in their possession?
It is not, contrary to some excited newspaper reporting, a “smoking gun” (i.e. a murder weapon found at the scene of the crime), but it is heavily suggestive evidence.1
In our own research, although we’re not so focused on the War of the Roses, this story still brought to mind another story of mysterious disappearances of some royal nephews (and most likely murder). In Oathbreakers we write about Charlemagne’s actions after the death of his brother Carloman.
Charlemagne moved quickly and ruthlessly to take his brother’s kingdom for himself. He sent his Lombard wife—we don’t even know her name—back to the Lombard capital at Pavia so he could marry a Frankish woman named Hildegard in early 772. She came from a powerful family from Alemannia, a region east of the Rhine and an important part of Carloman’s former lands. The goal of Charlemagne’s wife swap was twofold: First, the marriage alliance provided reassurance for Carloman’s former nobles… Second, because the Lombards were sheltering his [sister-in-law and] nephews, Charlemagne needed a provocation to attack them and eliminate the potential threat to his reign. Expelling the king’s daughter, breaking the marriage tie, did the trick. And it worked. Almost all the nobles in his brother’s former kingdom pledged loyalty to Charlemagne, and just a year later, in 773–774, he marched a combined army into Italy, crushed the Lombard Kingdom, and took it for himself. Carloman’s wife and two young sons “disappear from the record.” Most likely they were murdered at Charlemagne’s orders.
The Franks worked hard to present themselves as God’s chosen people, to present their empire as a divinely-ordained project, to project stability both out into the world and into the historical record.
But look a little closer and silences - the sudden vanishing of a queen and these two princes in Lombardy, the absence of any source telling us about those events - hints at the truth; Charlemagne’s empire, like all empires, was built on a foundation of lies.
Oathbreakers arrives in stores on 12/10. Find pre-order links here and subscribe, then say hello in the comments to be entered into our contest!
A scholar on Bluesky, however, pointed out that this chain was known to Tudor historians since at least 2015. See Susan E. James, Women's Voices in Tudor Wills: Authority Influence and Material Culture (Ashgate, 2015), p. 88. Dr. James didn’t suggest this was evidence of murder though, instead focusing on the chain as a family heirloom being passed down across generations. ↩
Thanks for reading Modern Medieval! Subscribe for free to receive new posts every week.
I have subscribed, although my confirmation email hasn't come through yet - and I'm really looking forward to this book!
Hi! Congrats on the new book. The Bright Ages is pretty high on my TBR pile and I'm looking forward to this one as well.
Hello, I look forward to being able to read both of your books. I have them saved on my wishlist.
since retiring, I have been taking history courses at the local university. I have become interested in Medieval Europe mostly through the enthusiasm shown by one of my professors. Very intriguing time. Your book and newsletter adds to my interest. I am looking forward to Oathbreakers.
Glad you saw the information about the previous "discovery " of the will that Thornton claims so much credit for. Oathbreakers sounds like as excellent a read as your first.
Hallo hallo! Iz here - and hope to meet up in person at AHA!
Hello! Congrats on the publication of the new book and thanks for everything you're doing to promote the works of other authors.
Hi and thanks. I have enjoyed your newsletter and first book. Cannot wait for the new one. Another good holiday read. Amateur medievalist here so keep’’em coming. Congratulations!
I already pre-ordered the book, but if I win the signed copy I will give one to my sister for Christmas. So, you know, good cause
Hello - subscribed (and also pre-ordered) but would love to win the signed copy for my favorite family hostorian
Hey guys, congrats on the upcoming release and can’t wait to read. The cover is awesome!
Hello - already subscribed to the newsletter and have pre-ordered the Audible offering.
So, about this: “why did one of his relatives have such a personal item of the elder boy in their possession?” There could be a number of reasons outside of a murder souvenir.
Hello! I'm looking forward to the book, and so will someone else if I happen to win a free copy 😁
Enjoyed following you on Bluesky, so this is the natural next step. Also, you know, a chance to win an undoubtedly great book.
Hello, I'm currently reading 'The Bright Ages', and looking forward to 'Oathbreakers' too
Hello! Loved Bright Ages, looking forward to Oathbreakers. Thanks for being public scholars!
Hello, I greatly enjoyed The Bright Ages and look forward to reading Oathbreakers. Congrats on the book!
I'm a firm Ricardian thanks to reading lots of Sharon Kay Penman at an impressionable age. Looking forward to learning more about the Carolingian period.
Hello - I’m a medievalist who mostly teaches us government these days, so lots of angles here appeal to me.
You guys seem to be geniuses of marketing and design. Your title, your cover, your lively prose, your summary, all are perfect and modern yet evoke the Middle Ages. What are you doing next?
Leaving a comment in the hope of winning an inscribed copy of your book-I've been a subscriber for a bit of time already (and follower on Bluesky!)
Hello. I’m very excited about this book. Have pre-ordered but would love a copy for my mom as well. She’s the true historian in our family.
Hello! I loved The Bright Ages and I'm really looking forward to reading Oathbreakers