Feature

Indulgent symbol of papist excess or mouthpiece for God’s second greatest gift? What place was there for the organ in the Reformation church?

The real female Victorian detectives were every bit as bold as their fictional counterparts – and far more prevalent than we might assume.

British agents of empire saw their actions in India through the texts of their classical educations. They looked for Alexander, cast themselves as Aeneas and hoped to emulate Augustus.

Henry IV had a special guest for Christmas in 1400: the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. United by their Christian faith, they were nonetheless on separate sides of the East-West schism. How did they celebrate?

Ancient Roman election advice suggested some uncomfortable campaign strategies. Evidence from Pompeii suggests many candidates followed it enthusiastically.

As rude rhymes and rumours threatened reputations, the Elizabethan government attempted to regulate barbed language.

The Cold War forged new international relationships in which physical distance seemed overcome by ideological proximity. In North Korea, East Germany found a fellow traveller – and a fellow victim.

Meant to live a life of perfect peacefulness and contemplation, in reality monks were human and fallible. How violent could life in the medieval cloister be?

Uruguay was the only nation where fighting a duel in defence of honour was perfectly legal for most of the 20th century. Why?

Uzbekistan was a product of Islamic modernism and Soviet might. Free from the latter, the nation now seeks to foreground the Young Bukharans.