Move over George Martin, the series of dynastic struggles which convulsed England from the middle to the end of the fifteenth century easily rivals anything from ‘Game of Thrones’ and indeed it was this which, in part at least, inspired the successful blockbuster fiction. 

Two rival branches of the same Plantagenet dynasty, Lancaster & York battled it out for a generation for who would rule. Much of the action and many of the significant players were northerners including Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, known for good reason as ‘the Kingmaker. It was an era of battles, of treachery, murder, betrayal and enough conspiracies to satisfy even the most ardent conspiracy buff. 

 Long before Martin, Shakespeare started the ball rolling with his Henry VI, parts I, II & III and Richard III. Richard III, the last Plantagenet, has his loyal fans even to this day and the recent discovery of his body has re-ignited what is almost a national cult.

There is a great deal more to the Jacobites than Bonnie Prince Charlie and Rob Roy; this course will cover the history of the wars and the literary and cultural traditions which have grown up since they ended.

Sessions covering: Jacobus Rex – making the Jacobites,  Bonny Dundee – Killicrankie & Dunkeld, The ’15 & The ‘19 & Fortress Scotland, The ’45, Weapons & Tactics  and Outlander; The tradition   

For three long centuries England and Scotland fought a series of conflicts to determine who should rule a united Britain. 

The Scots call this the Great Cause, a war of independence against English aggression which, by supreme irony, only ended when James VI, King of Scots ascended the throne of England, and by invitation not conquest. 

The near endemic warfare along the disputed threat or frontier spawned the infamous Steel Bonnets, the border rivers, a uniquely violent frontier society with an interlaced raft of local and family affinities which neatly transcended any national allegiance. This monster once released in the fourteenth century, could not be put back into the bottle as long as the borders existed. 

A society riven with faction, seasoned by war and steeped in blood – yes, your ancestors!

Remember the war that never was?

For half a century Britain maintained its armed forces at World war Two levels to meet the threat of Armageddon. In the wake of Nazi Germany’s final collapse both east and west competed to snap up the Reich’s rocket scientists, like Werner von Braun whose past crimes against humanity were overlooked in the nuclear race, the competition to build weapons that would truly produce the war to end all wars - mutually assured destruction (“MAD”), the chorus for over two generations.