Medieval Word of the Day

In my new medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, my heroine, Mathilde, grants a favor (hence my title) to my hero, Etienne, before he enters a tournament. What is a favor, you ask?


Favor/Token: Trinkets that ladies awarded to knights to denote him as her “champion” in a tournament; favors/tokens might include handkerchiefs, girdles, tassels, sleeves, gloves, scarves, ribbons, etc; these favors/tokens were worn in the knight’s helmet or about his arm and might be kept after the tournament or returned to the lady. 


Here is a picture of a lady tying a favor around a knight's arm.

(God Speed, by Edmund Blair Leighton)

Medieval Word of the Day

Destrier: A knight’s war horse 

(From Papy Martial Alias Centurion)

Medieval Word of the Day

Surcote: I previously defined the surcote here, but in addition, it was also a tunic worn over a knight’s armor, decorated with the heraldic device of his house 


You can see this kind of surcote in this beautiful painting, The Shadow, by Edmund Blair Leighton.

Medieval Word of the Day

With the release of my new medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, I have some new medieval words to share with you. Since  a medieval tournament plays a large role in my story, let's begin with some of the armor a knight must don for a tournament:


Coif: A hood made from metal rings (i.e., mail), worn beneath a knight’s helmet

Ventail: A piece of mail that protected a knight’s throat and chin

Here's an example of a mail coif

(from CAS Hanwei)

Here's one example of a ventail in the form of a diagonal flap that tied onto the coif to protect the lower part of the knight's face. This flap could be square as well as diagonal.

(from Swords of Might)

That looks pretty uncomfortable, especially if all this hardware is worn underneath a metal helmet! Some drawings of ventails show them only covering the throat and chin, like this:

My hero, Etienne, preferred this style of ventail.

(Image from The Montague Millennium)

View some other parts of a medieval knight's armor from this September 16, 2009 Medieval Word of the Day entry.

My first live interview!

I've been interviewed on Blog Talk Radio! Don't go away when the line goes dead. It's only temporary. Canda Mortensen gets me back on line and I babble a little longer about writing, research, and more.

Listen to internet radio with iWriteNetwork on Blog Talk Radio

"Illuminations of the Heart" Book Trailer

My dear and very talented friend, Rachel Rossano, has made me a book trailer for Illuminations of the Heart. I hope you enjoy it!

Medieval arms & armor

Thank you to my sister for discovering this wonderful internet site I'm about to share with you! Several years ago, she and I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They had an amazing exhibit of medieval armor, and needless to say, I spent a goodly portion of my time wandering blissfully through all that mail :-) I don't recall now whether they didn't have many audio presentations for the exhibit or if I just missed them, but a few days ago, my sister sent me this link simply brimming with fascinating little audio "tours" of Medieval Arms and Armor. Learn how to keep your armor clean (Stop 170), how to handle a two-handed sword (Stop 188), how to handle a crossbow (Stop 199), and much, much more! The blue links include pictures, and all of the audios can even be downloaded to iTunes so you can listen to them whenever and wherever you want.

Click here to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art audio tours, then enjoy!

(Picture is of Henry VIII's armor from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Online Book Launch Party for "Dangerous Favor"!

7 AM February 13 – 7 PM February 14!

at JDP NEWS

Dangerous Favor is having a launch party, and all of you are invited! I’ll be sharing a romantic excerpt in honor of Valentine’s Day, and giving away prizes, of course! And just so more people can attend, I’m starting a day early…Monday, February 13! Entries will remain open through Valentine’s Day right up till 7 PM MST.

My new medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, can’t celebrate without her sister romances, of course, so I’ll be giving away a gift bag each of the following to three lucky winners:

A Loyalty’s Web tote bag containing a Loyalty’s Web mug, a Loyalty’s Web notebook, a copy of Loyalty’s Web (winner’s choice of print or Kindle version), a box of candy, and some swag

An Illuminations of the Heart tote bag containing an Illuminations of the Heart mug, an Illuminations of the Heart notebook, a copy of Illuminations of the Heart (winner’s choice of print or Kindle version), a box of candy, and some swag

And of course the star of the party!

A Dangerous Favor tote bag containing a Dangerous Favor mug, a Dangerous Favor mouse pad, a copy of Dangerous Favor (only print version available), a box of candy, and some swag

And EVERYONE who visits will get a 2 oz box of candy and some swag (bookmarks, magnets, pen, and a special Dangerous Favor white ribbon)

The party begins at 7 AM Monday on my JDP NEWS blog, so mark your calendars and be sure to drop by!

Dangerous Favor: cover unveiled

I just received the cover art for my new medieval romance,

Dangerous Favor. 

Hope you don't mind if I share it!

Coming January 2012

Loyalty's Web Book Trailer

The lovely and talented Rachel Rossano has made me a book trailer for Loyalty's Web. Learn more about Rachel and her books on her website, The World of Rachel Rossano, and blog, Rachel Rossano's Words.

Giveaway: "The Legend of Camelot" calendar

I've just finished the final edits on the first half of my new medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, and to celebrate, I'm giving away a beautiful 2012 wall calendar called The Legend of Camelot. 

Calendar description: "The sumptuous, elegant, romantic paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite artists illuminate the pages of this 2012 calendar, which evokes the court and castles of Camelot, a time--however fleeting and mythical--when innocence and purity, honor and valor mattered above all."

To enter, visit my blog post Mathilde is holding ANOTHER giveaway on my JDP NEWS blog and leave a comment with your email address. Deadline is December 23, midnight PST. Hope to see you over there!

Winner: "Magic in the Middle Ages"

Congratulations to Meljprincess! Mel is the winner of my extra copy of Magic in the Middle Ages. Happy Halloween reading, Mel!

Thank you to everyone who entered. I've got a few more "extra books" up my sleeve, so stay tuned for future giveaways.

Norman Conquest Day 2011 - let's eat cake!

Okay, here's my annual "purely representative of the actual event" cake reenactment of the Battle of Hastings. Some day I'm going to track down some actual Norman and Saxon toy soldiers, but in the mean time, just use your imagination. 

Aside from the knights on horseback (Normans), this year's battle was so chaotic, even I couldn't tell who was on who's side! 

Crash!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Smash! Wham!

Thud! 

(That's Harold, going down. You can't see him, he fell off the cake.)

Click here to see a nifty Norman Conquest Day video I posted earlier today.

Click here to read/see all my Norman Conquest day posts

Happy Norman Conquest Day 2011!!!

Norman Conquest Day 2011

Happy Norman Conquest Day, everyone! I hope you enjoy this little animated reenactment of the Norman Conquest through the Bayeux Tapestry. Now I'm off to buy my annual Norman Conquest Day cake! :-)



To read some fun facts about the Bayeux Tapestry, click here.

Giveaway: "Magic in the Middle Ages"

I spent the weekend giving Medieval Research with Joyce a facelift. It literally took me hours, mostly because I'm so techie-illiterate. After all that hard work, my blog wants to celebrate, and it's no fun celebrating alone, so let's do it together!

Once again, my ill-luck is your good fortune. Yes, I've found yet another medieval research book that I already had a copy of in my collection. This one is Magic in the Middle Ages, by Richard Kieckhefer. Here's the back cover blurb. (Actually, it's the inside the front cover blurb. Sorry the book cover is so blurry. I promise it won't be blurry on your copy should you win!)

This text book deals with magic, both natural and demonic within the broad context of medieval culture. Covering the years c. 500 to 1500 with a chapter on antiquity, it investigates the way magic relates to the many other cultural forms of the time, such as religion and science, literature and art.


How can you win a copy of this book? Leave me a comment telling me why you want to win Magic in the Middle Ages, and INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so I can contact you if you win.

For additional entries, you may do any or all of the following:

+1 Become a follower of Medieval Research with Joyce (Google Friend Connect), then leave me a comment letting me know. (If you are already a follower, leave me a comment letting me know.)

+1 Subscribe to Medieval Research with Joyce via the Feedburner subscription box in the right hand sidebar. You must confirm the subscription. Then  leave me a comment letting me know.

+1 Become a NetworkedBlogs follower in the right hand sidebar, then leave me a comment letting me know.

+1 Vote in my Who Is Your Favorite Medieval King poll, then leave me a comment letting me know you voted. (You don't have to tell me who you voted for unless you want to.) I've repositioned the poll right below the NetworkedBlogs box in the right hand sidebar so you can find it more easily.

AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH EACH OR ALL OF THE ABOVE. (THANK YOU!)

Deadline for entries is October 17, midnight PST. I'll open this one up to International, as well as USA, entries.

(If for any reason you are unable to leave a comment on this post, you may email it to me at jdipastena@yahoo.com. Please type "Magic in the Middle Ages" in the subject line.)