WTFhistory

Remains from those killed at the battle of Visby. It happened a hot summer day in 1361. The battle stood between Gotlands farmers and a battle hardened army from Denmark. The farmers had the numbers on their side, but that was about every advantage they had. As the battle begun, the farmers were greeted by hails of crossbow arrows, killing hundreds of them before swords had even been crossed. Then, the slaugther began. It was a ferocious battle for both sides, but many of the farmers were too old or too young, and the world isn’t always as fair as in Tolkiens Lord of the rings. One man had his jaw smashed by a hammer, another had both his legs cut off by a single blow from a great axe wielded by a Dane. Just a couple of hundred meters away, the people within the walls watched on as the farmers were slaughtered. Once the battle was over, the thousands of dead were cast into mass graves, a lot of them not even stripped of their battle-gear, since the heat was making the bodies decompose rapidly.

Don’t befriend writers unless you want texts like this at 4:17 in the morning.

You think that's bad, you should see History students.

WOMEN OF HISTORY | MARGERY KEMPE (c. 1373 – after 1438) (Saffron Burrows)

Margery Kempe was the woman behind what is considered to be the first autobiography in the English language - The Book of Margery Kempe. It chronicles her many pilgrimages to holy sites throughout Europe and Asia, as well as her conversations with God and the Virgin Mary. Illiterate, Margery employed scribes and priests to record her work.

During her first pregnancy (she would eventually have fourteen children) Margery became very ill and saw visions of God and the Virgin Mary - visions that would continue on for most of her life. She wished to join join a nunnery at this point but admitted that she couldn’t 'leave her pride nor her pompous array.’ She spoke openly in the book about her struggles with sexual temptation and jealousy, and eventually she would take a vow of chastity and encourage her husband to do the same.

Margery was not popular with church leaders - she was known to interrupt services to argue with the clergy, and was even charged with heresy. The Bishop of Lincoln and the Archbishop of Canterbury put her on trial for her preaching scripture in public, but she defended herself against all charges and escaped punishment. She was often unpopular during her travels as well - she recounts being accused by the Mayor of Leicester of being a ‘cheap whore’ and threatened with imprisonment. Her attempts to defend herself in this case ended with her spending three weeks in jail.

The time and circumstances of her death are unknown, and her book was lost for centuries, existing only in quotes from a few other writers. But in 1934 a manuscript was found in a private library and since then it has been reprinted into numerous editions. Because of its autobiographical nature, Margery’s book provides an unparalleled insight into the lives of middle-class women in the Middle Ages.