Praeter Naturam

Stupor Mundi Reborn

Mark — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:32:05 +0000

If you read my blog on a regular basis you might have noticed a number of posts about Frederick II appearing. What does it mean? Well a while ago I was working on a project about Frederick II called Stupor Mundi. I recently decided that I would have another go at this novel, but not [...]

Saint Rose of Viterbo – anti-Frederick II propaganda alive and well

Mark — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:02:55 +0000

It seems that some people are still fighting the propaganda battle that once raged between Innocent IV and Frederick II, for instance this article about Saint Rose of Viterbo. Little twelve year old Rose preached against the Imperial occupation of the Papal city of Viterbo. She even apparently predicted the death of Frederick II and kept [...]

Very Nice Biographical Video of Frederick II on Youtube

Mark — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:36:18 +0000

I came across this very good biographical video of Frederick II on Youtube. It features lots of good images, many of which I hadn’t seen before. The sound is music, so you can watch it without the music on and read the captions to get the story of Frederick II’s life.

Facebook page for Frederick II

Mark — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:19:22 +0000

How strange is this! I just came across a Facebook page for Frederick II! Well I am now a fan. Some nice photos I hadn’t seen before on the page and he has 383 fans, which is probably more than he had in his lifetime! Unfortunately Facebook doesn’t allow you to indicate whether you think [...]

Chivalry on Critique Circle

Mark — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:15:17 +0000

If anyone out there uses Critique Circle and fancies critiquing my latest story “Chivalry”, then it’s now on the Newbie Queue. It should be there until 23rd February. Haven’t used this site before, so I am looking forward to seeing how it works. I hope you like the story.

Frederick II image on Ravensburg pfennig

Mark — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:27:45 +0000

I came across an illustration of pfennigs minted at Ravensburg sometime between 1215 and 1250 bearing the image of Frederick II at Money Museum – it looks like a fascinating site for the medievalist.

Competition to Win Proof Copy of Kraken

Mark — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:43:50 +0000

Just spotted this competition to win a proof copy of Kraken on the Macmillan website – well I click on quite a cool video ad clip to find it actually! Only for UK residents I’m afraid!

Season of the Witch Website Updated

Mark — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:24:27 +0000

Some work seems to have been done on the previously threadbare website for Season of the Witch! Unfortunately the site still uses annoying flash players to slow down loading of content, but now there is more than just a brief synopsis and trailer video. You also get sections on: Story – the synopsis again with some weird [...]

Kraken – new novel by China Mieville out in May 2010

Mark — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:55:18 +0000

A new novel by dark fantasy, new weird writer China Mieville is due out in May of this year. Called Kraken the book has something to do with squid worshippers and the Natural History Museum!

New Gormenghast Book out in 2011

Mark — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:39:23 +0000

I hadn’t heard about this before, but there is to be a new book in the Gormenghast series published in 2011. The book was written by Mervyn’s widow Maeve Gilmore and is based on his notes. According to the Bookseller the manuscript was recently unearthed from a box in the attic of Peake’s granddaughter’s home. Almost [...]