Dr Jessica Nelson is a medieval records specialist at The National Archives, where she has worked since 2007. She studied as an undergraduate at St Hugh’s College Oxford and has an MA and PhD in medieval history from King’s College London. Jessica specialises in the records from 11th-13th centuries and her research interests include royal women, Anglo-Scottish relations and the mechanics of government.
Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, died on 5 January 1066 – 950 years ago. The Confessor’s modern-day reputation (shaped by medieval monks writing after his death) is that of a gentle and peaceable man. Yet his …
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the granting of Magna Carta by King John. Today, the Great Charter is viewed as the foundation of many of our rights and liberties and throughout the year there are commemorations, exhibitions and …
Tuesday 20 January marks the 750th anniversary of the beginning of a crucial parliament in the history of government – one that marks an important change in the extent to which people outside the aristocratic classes were involved in politics. …