My latest research post on a visit to medieval reenactors: https://traceywarr.substack.com/p/stumps-of-lances-with-silken-streamers
Tag: medieval
Rings and Revenants
I’m 30,000 words into writing my latest medieval murder mystery novel, which is taking me and my characters into the Pyrenees at the end of the 11th century. I’m having fun researching and writing with medieval seals, jewellery, portable altars, the salt trade, and revenants (that one’s a touch grim – reanimated corpses). Sign up…
Murder in the Family
I’ve just posted on murders in the family of Almodis de La Marche on my Substack, Trobairitz Sleuth.
Medieval Murder in Toulouse
I launched my novel, Love’s Knife, in France last weekend and promised to post the slideshow. Here it is. Images are numbered to coincide with the images in the text of my talk. Tracey Warr, Writing Medieval Murder at Library Lit, Parisot Library, 82160 France Saturday 16 November 2024 [1 title slide] Love’s Knife [2 slide] has been…
Be Your Own Troubadour
As part of the Occitan University in Laguépie, France, I am giving a workshop and presentation: Workshop: Tracey Warr and Amandine Rey Be Your Own Troubadour Thursday 18 July and Friday 19 July 10am-12 noon Salle des Fetes, Laguépie 82250 60 euros, In French, English and Occitan Learn about troubadour vidas (introductory, often boasting, biographies), tensos (debate songs, usually between a man…
Browsing for Books
Over ten years ago, I stumbled across Meg Bogin’s book, The Female Troubadours, in the library of University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s where I was studying for an MA in Creative Writing. I was working on my first novel at the time, based on the real woman, Almodis de La Marche, the countess of…
Going Underground
Extensive medieval tunnels have just been found near Tintern Abbey. Many medieval castles had escape tunnels for when the castle was under siege. Manorbier Castle in Wales has an escape tunnel entered through the well. I used this detail from Manorbier and my experience of spending 12 hours in an old lead mine in Cumbria…
The Sound of the Middle Ages
I look at the now deserted and stagnant lavoirs, the communal washing places, in the Lot Valley in France and can almost hear women singing, gossiping about mistresses and neighbours, and slapping wet laundry against the stone papillon slabs. My article, ‘The Sound of the Middle Ages‘, has just been published in Historical Novels Review.
Female Lords
The eleventh-century countess of Barcelona, Almodis de La Marche, was accused by the monk historian, William of Malmesbury, of being driven by ‘a furious and godless female itch’, which immediately struck me as a good reason to write her biography. I’m working on that biography now and have expanded it to incorporate the lives of…
Norman silver bird brooch
Writing on a Norman silver mine in the final stages of editing my next novel, The Anarchy. Found this exquisite Norman silver bird brooch to help with writing the scene.
Tracey Warr Writing 