France

Mary Queen of Scots left Calais for Scotland on August 14th, 1561, aged 18 years old.

Louis XII came to the throne in 1498 and ruled France for sixteen years. According to Howell Lloyd, he was a 'ruler in transition': images of Louis XII elevated royal power to divine status, paving the way for the ideology of absolutism to flourish in the era of the Sun King.

Richard Cavendish provides an overview of the life of the French monarch who was nicknamed 'the Universal Spider'.

A major battle in the Peninsular War took place on 16 May 1811.

The innocence of France’s Captain Dreyfus – a Jewish officer incarcerated on Devil’s Island after he was accused of spying for Germany – has long been established. But was there a real traitor? And what part did Oscar Wilde play in the murky affair?

In 1789, Catholicism was the official religion of France – five years later worship was suppressed. The French Revolution posed problems for religion, but religion also posed plenty of problems for the new republic.

What can the historian learn from writing fiction? Lisa Hilton, whose first novel is set in south-west France, discovered revelations about the area as well as her approach to interpreting the past.

Wellington’s victories over the forces of Napoleon were critical to Britain’s ascendancy to superpower status. Peter Snow wonders why such a thrilling period of history is too often neglected.

Ben Sandell shows that grappling with the meaning of a key term can reveal much about the nature of conflict in 16th-century France.