Sean McGlynn – författare

After becoming king in 1199, resentment grew and grew at the inept way John dealt with financial issues until matters came to a head with his barons.

John lost his military campaigns; he was corrupt, indulged in blackmail, and manipulated the justice system more than any other king. He was a womaniser and rumours of ruthlessness surrounded him. The author provides fascinating insights into John’s rule, which ultimately leads to the story of Magna Carta. Magna Carta placed huge impositions on the king; now he could no longer rule arbitrarily but only in accordance with ‘the law of the land’. The impact of this precedence remains with us today.

From the charter''s clauses that focussed on more mundane matters to a whole range of references to feudal issues, this guide is a perfect introduction to the incompetent rule of King John and his legacy that is Magna Carta. Calls to standardise measures of wine, ale and corn follow the collapse of empire, bound together in this informative guide complete with full-colour illustrations and contempoaray artworks.

A vivid and original account of warfare in the Middle Ages and the cruelty and atrocity that accompanied it.Sean McGlynn investigates the reality of medieval warfare. For all the talk of chivalry, medieval warfare routinely involved acts which we would consider war crimes. Lands laid waste, civilians slaughtered, prisoners massacred: this was standard fare justified by tradition and practical military necessity. It was unbelievably barbaric, but seldom uncontrolled. Such acts of atrocity were calculated, hideous cruelties inflicted in order to achieve a specific end. Sean McGlynn examines the battles of Acre and Agincourt, sieges like Béziers, Lincoln, Jerusalem and Limoges as well as the infamous chevauchées of the Hundred Years War that devastated great swathes of France. He reveals how these grisly affairs form the origin of accepted ''rules of war'', codes of conduct that are today being enforced in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.