The 22nd of March 1144 was Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Outside the city walls, the forester Henry de Sprowston was riding through Thorpe Wood on the outskirts of Norwich, England. Among other things, Henry was looking for thieves, who were known to cut timber without permission. Suddenly he came across a peasant who led him to the mutilated body of a young boy lying under a tree. It was obvious that a crime had been committed. The boy's name was William, and no one could have imagined that the discovery of his body would lead to the first-ever example of a ritual murder charge, with horrific consequences that would echo down the centuries. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

Going on a Medieval Crusade was a male mission, a military enterprise in which only men could fight. Obviously, the women stayed home and did womanly things while their dashing, knightly husbands rode off and defended the Holy Land. Right? Wrong. Actually, many women also took up the cross and went off on Crusade, and they weren’t just the important warrior noble women, like Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Described as being “essential yet despised”, there were also the servants who looked after the animals and accompanied the army, the washerwomen, the camp-following prostitutes, and not forgetting the lice-pickers as well. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

The White Tower, as it was originally known, was a fortress-stronghold built by the first Norman king, William the Conqueror. It was intended to protect against foreign invasion and intimidate the citizens of London in equal measure. But the Tower also had other uses. It operated as a royal residence and was where monarchs would stay as they awaited their coronation. However, The Tower of London's most famous role, one that it played for over 850 years, was as a prison, detaining a list of people that included Sir William Wallace in 1305, Anne Boleyn and her daughter, the future Queen of England Elizabeth I. Here are just some of the prisoners kept within its 27m high walls during the Middle Ages. Welcome to Medieval Madness