The Field of Cloth of Gold: A Duel in Jewels
When Henry VIII and Francis I met 12 years after the Field of Cloth of Gold – with Henry accompanied by Anne Boleyn – both sought to outdo one another with exquisite items of display.
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The Field of Cloth of Gold
Five hundred years ago, in a spirit of rivalry and cooperation, two young Renaissance monarchs asserted their power and authority at one of the last great demonstrations of the chivalric age.
The Early Life of Gibberish
What does it mean to speak gobbledygook, mumbo-jumbo or jargon? Such words are more fraught than the playful games of the Jabberwocky suggest.
On Her Most Serene Republic’s Secret Service
Venice developed the most sophisticated intelligence network in Renaissance Europe, securing it from enemies within and without.
Child Voters
In the politically chaotic decades before true universal suffrage, some infants found a way to vote in British elections.
The Roots of Disorder
Botany became an unlikely battlefield in the Age of Revolutions.
Hard Work
The British government’s universal credit scheme seeks solutions to problems that have frustrated politicians for centuries.
The Discovery of Sparta
Warriors in red cloaks battling against the odds at Thermopylae is the image usually associated with Sparta. But a richer and more contentious tale lies in the ancient city’s stones.
Thebes: The Forgotten City
The city of Thebes was central to the ancient Greeks’ achievements in politics and culture. For many centuries it has been largely – and often deliberately – forgotten.
The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture
Toussaint Louverture’s lonely death in a French prison cell was not an unfortunate tragedy but a cruel story of betrayal.