Professor wins prestigious book awards

A book about the Western Rising of 1549, written by Professor Mark Stoyle of the Department of History, has recently been awarded the prizes for both the Cornish and Devon history book of the year, 2023, and the Cornish Gorsedh’s Holyer an Gof cup: a rare triple-accolade.

Mark has been working on the history of the rebellion – a protest against religious change, which swept across the two counties and led to a six-week siege of the city of Exeter and a number of pitched battles – for many years, and has given a series of talks about it around the country. “The rebellion was the most catastrophic event to occur in the West Country between the Black Death and the English Civil War”, says Mark, “and led to some 4,000 local people losing their lives”. He feels that it's important that the episode should not be forgotten, and is delighted that, with this book, he has been able to bring the story of the rebels, and of those who opposed them, to a new generation of readers.

Congratulations to Mark for this impressive achievement!

Mark Stoyle, A Murderous Midsummer: The Western Rising of 1549 (New Haven and London, 2022), is published by Yale University Press, and is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.’