History Today

A view at Nomuka, Tonga, from the account of James Cook’s third voyage, c. 1784. Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales. Public Domain.

Kings of the Pacific in an Age of Revolution

As revolutions swept across Europe, Polynesian polities also witnessed dramatic changes when monarchies were rebuilt and traditional societies transformed.

The Death of the Library?

Throughout the centuries countless libraries and carefully curated book collections have been dispersed, destroyed or lost.

The Death of Pliny the Elder, 79 AD, coloured engraving, c.1880.

Life Among the Ruins of Pompeii

Tall tales of Pompeii’s lost Roman lives form part of a long history of sensationalism.

On the Spot: Nandini Das

‘No historical record is an unmediated window into the past.’

Take me to the Church

The medieval parish church was the meeting point of many different things, both sacred and secular.

Hercules and Omphale

The cross-dressing saga of the Queen of Lydia and the most formidable of Classical heroes.

Genealogical chronicle of the English kings, 14th century. Royal MS 14 B V f.3r. © Bridgeman Images.

Battle of Hastings

After the death of Harold on 14 October 1066, Edgar Ætheling’s claim to the throne gained support.

A gyrfalcon. 18th-century coloured engraving, by François-Nicolas Martinet.

A Philosophy of Falcons

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was obsessed with falconry. This led him to write a truly revolutionary book on the subject.

Ira attacking Patientia, from Prudentius’ Psychomachia, English, 11th century.

Women at War

How did women experience warfare in early medieval Britain?

‘Fishes Close to the Quayside’, 19th-century illustration.

Fishing for the Facts

E.H. Carr’s belief that the histories we get depend on the questions we ask is more relevant than ever.