Describes how the average individual lived during the Middle Ages, from their social and familial interactions to their beliefs about spirituality, nature, and culture.

In 1912, a prosperous Illinois farm familyCharles; his wife, Mathilda; their fifteen-year-old daughter, Blanche; and boarding schoolteacher Emma Kaempenwere brutally murdered, the crime concealed by arson, and the familys surviving son, handsome Ray Pfanschmidt, arrested. He was convicted by the press long before trial. In Lies Told Under Oath, author Beth Lane retells the story of the murders, the trial, the verdict, and the aftermath. Using information culled from actual trial transcripts and newspaper accounts, Lane presents the day-to-day testimony as Rays battle for his life surged through three courtroomsthe drama complicated by brilliant attorneys, allegations of perjury, charges of rigged evidence, jailhouse informants, legal loopholes, conflict over the large estate being inherited by the alleged murderer, and appeals to the state supreme court. The remaining family became divided over Rays guilt while his fiance staunchly stood by him. Lies Told Under Oath provides a fascinating, historical account of the times and the peoplewhen science was in its infancy, telephones meant shared party lines, bloody evidence was contested (or contrived), and automobiles competed with bloodhounds and buggies. It captures the essence of an emotional crime that rocked this small Illinois community.

This book examines the contentious relationship between oath-taking, confessional subscription, and the binding of the conscience in reforms led by John Calvin. Calvin and his closest Reformed colleagues routinely distinguished what they believed were impious rules and constitutions in the Roman Church--human traditions claiming to bind the consciences of the faithful by putting them in fear of losing their salvation--and legitimate church observances, such as oaths and formal subscription to Reformed confessional standards. Doctrinal and moral reform in the cities became difficult, however, when friends and foes alike accused Calvin and his partners of burdening consciences with extra-Scriptural statements of faith composed by human authorities--a claim that, if true, would necessarily shape our assessment of the integrity of Calvin's Reformation. In light of these conflicts, author Timothy R. Scheuers offers a close reading of the texts and controversies surrounding Calvin's struggle for reform. In particular, he shows how they reveal the unique challenges Calvin and his colleagues encountered as they attempted to employ oath-swearing and formal confession of faith in order to consolidate the reformation of church and society. This book demonstrates how oaths and vows were used to shape confessional identity, secure social order, forge community, and promote faithfulness in public and private contracts. It also illustrates the complex and difficult task of protecting the individual conscience as Calvin sought to bring his new take on Christian freedom into Reformed communities.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2022. An action-packed historical adventure featuring Danish warrior Styrkar, and his journey through the violent Norman Conquest as he fights for vengeance. The champion of a dead king has nothing left to lose... And nothing more to fear. Hastings, 1066. Styrkar the Dane stumbles wounded and delirious from the corpse-strewn battlefield of Senlac Hill. He has watched his king butchered at the hands of foreign knights, seen his countrymen defeated in battle, and he will not stop until there is a reckoning. Styrkar embarks on a bloody quest to avenge his dead master, becoming an outlaw in the wilds and earning a fearsome reputation. When a Breton knight seeks to track down this fugitive and make his own name, he can little envisage the task he has set himself. For Styrkar, the Red Wolf, last surviving housecarl to King Harold Godwinson, will carve the story of his vengeance in Frankish flesh... or die in the attempt. Reviews for Richard Cullen: 'Richard Cullen's writing is as sharp as the blade wielded by Styrkar, the series' protagonist, who cuts a bloody swathe through his Norman enemies on his quest for vengeance. Styrkar is a great heroic creation, and the Wolf of Kings series places Cullen in the top tier of historical action and adventure authors' Matthew Harffy 'Oath Bound is a terrific novel... It's a brutal yet compelling tale, and one that gripped me from the first page to the last' Paul Fraser Collard, author of FugItive 'A perfect example of tight, gritty, character-driven storytelling' Luke Scull, author of The Grim Company (on Herald of the Storm)

Starfeet Corps of Engineers Dr. Elizabeth Lense has had a fine career. She was first in her class at Starfleet Medical - ahead of the genetically enhanced Julian Bashir -- and a hero during the Dominion War, and is now the chief medical officer on the U.S.S. da Vinci. but Captain David Gold notices that her performance has not been up to snuff. She's been listless and stressed, and is delegating most of her responsibilities to the da Vinci's Emergency Medical Hologram. Her malaise couldn't possibly come at a worse time, because a virus has erupted on Sherman's Planet -- and the planet's entire population, as well as the crew of the da Vinci, are now marked for death by the virulent plague! Can Lense find her way out of depression to determine a cure? And will the cure the worse than the disease?

The popular author of the Honor Harrington series tells the tale of Bahzell, a hsradani who has violated a hostage bond and now must deal with a vengeful prince and a price on his head. He doesn't want to mess with anyone else's problems, let alone the War God's. So how does he end up a thousand leagues from home? It's all the War God's fault.