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

From an insignificant tribal clan, the Mongols seemed to come out of nowhere to rule over the greatest empire in the world, before disappearing just as quickly three centuries later. Their lands reached out across the Mediterranean to the Pacific from the Arabian Desert in the south to the tundra of Northern Russia and from the forests of Poland to the mountains of China. At the empire’s height, the Mongols controlled a staggering 12 million square miles of territory. But what was it like to live under their governance? How did they treat their subjects, and just why did they almost hunt owls to the edge of extinction? Welcome to Medieval Madness.

Born in 1359, Owain was the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales and fought for 15 years against English rule. He led successful sieges and battlefield victories to establish an independent Welsh State, refusing to ever give up, even when it seemed that all was lost he continued to resist the English, in the Welsh mountains by utilizing guerrilla warfare. Let’s travel back in time now to the Middle Ages and meet the last Welsh Prince of Wales, who it is said will rise in defence of his country if she is ever threatened again. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

It was a spectacular win for Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, over the two days of the 23rd and 24th of June 1314. Just like the triumph of Agincourt, which was to follow 100 years later, the Battle of Bannockburn was a win for the underdog, when a formidable army lost to one of significantly fewer numbers. A pivotal battle that would change the course of the First Scottish War of Independence which ended 14 years later with a victory for the Scots. Today we continue our ‘Day in the Life Series’ and travel back in time to see what life was like for one of Robert the Bruce’s soldiers at the Battle of Bannockburn. Welcome to Medieval Madness.

We often think of Medieval princesses in terms of fairy tales - as beautiful young ladies waiting around, in their tall pointy hats, for some knight to come along and rescue them from a tower. But the reality was far less romantic. Let’s travel back in time now to the Middle Ages and meet some of these noble ladies and take a little look at how they navigated such an overwhelmingly male world.

There are many medieval ruins scattered throughout England and the landscape is full of crumbling abbeys that were left to deteriorate after Henry VIII’s reformation. But there are also quite a few, little-known palaces, that were once magnificent during the Middle Ages and were also discarded. Some were abandoned because of fire or war and others just fell out of favour with their wealthy owners. Let’s travel back in time now and visit some of these splendid buildings that have become lost to history. Welcome to Medieval Madness.