Update for the Newbies

Hello! Say hello back.

Oct 28, 2024

Siwmae pawb? Or, how is everyone in English?

Just a brief post because there are now so many of you (over 1,400 in fact!), it’s probably helpful to let the newbies know what the veterans already do.

What is this Substack all about?

Social media is dying, and our engagement and reach is dropping unless you pay weird tech billionaires more money. So, as authors, its getting harder to let our readers know where to find us, our books, our events, and to enjoy our dips into research and history. So I have created this as my new space to post al of that with people who have chosen to follow me.

I’m thinking this might be a good way to get focused. Less pacing around the flat, more concerted effort to provide useful content that people enjoy. That will be good for me, and hopefully good for you. History is Cool.

Why a Chronicle of Dragons and Cats?

So why the name? Well, because it was the first thing that came to mind, first and foremost! I mainly write about the 15th Century, The Wars of the Roses, Richard III, the Princes in the Tower and so on. But more specifically, matters relating to the Son of Prophecy, Henry Tudor, or Henry VII, the first of the Tudors.

Now, as a Welsh historian, its perhaps not too much of a surprise I was attracted to the story of Henry, a fascinating tale of resilience and overcoming the odds that has often been lightly regarded in favour of the two infamous kings that sandwiched his reign, Richard III and Henry VIII.

During his march to Bosworth to fight Richard III for the English crown, Henry raised a banner which combined the red dragon of Cadwaladr with the adopted green and white livery colours of his family, the Tudors. Cadwaladr was an ancient British king who Henry claimed as a paternal ancestor, providing him with a legitimacy to the crown of these islands that his maternal, English pedigree perhaps lacked in the eyes of some. Clever dynastic propaganda.

Check out this picture I took at the Bosworth Medieval Festival, showing Henry’s battle standard in the background. A fiery dragon!

Henry would go on to stick the dragon on his coat of arms, and 500 years later scores of Welshmen, including myself, would get dragons tattooed on their actual arms, though I’d wager for different reasons than to honour the Tudor king!

So, it makes sense to make mention of the dragon. As for cats? Well, there’s no cats in my historical study (although maybe I will drum up a few articles, who knows?!) but I simply do not write anything without my cat Vera by my side. I’ll introduce her properly soon! She’s an ever-present witness to my work that has resulted in her receiving acknowledgements in my work. Go look – she’s there.

As for the Chronicle part? Well…it just sounds cool, don’t you think?

So, A Chronicle of Dragons and Cats.

What can we expect?

Well, so far I have posted more than 50 times, covering deep dives into historical trivia, some Q&As where you ask and I answer, updates about my events, and I have also started to produce book reviews. I notice there is a audio feature as well so maybe I’ll record some of my talks etc.

Do we have to pay?

Nearly every substack charges $5 a month, and this is intended to support authors’ work. After all, we have bills to pay and cat food to buy. Many of you have already pledged to pay if I switch that feature on, which is hugely humbling and incredibly supportive.

As things stand though, I intend to keep this free, so we can all enjoy history together.

Can I help?

Yes! Comment away, tell me your history thoughts, what you want to see, share the posts - the more this grows, the more I’ll be compulsed to keep it going, and the more fun it becomes the more of us that are getting involved. Nobody likes shouting into a void, which is the whole point this has been started in the first place!

I have noted I am currently placed #101 on a list of all History Substacks. Which is great, but you know I want to smash into that top 100.