Medieval

The Congress of Arras

A. Compton Reeves describes the events of 1435, the year when the rule of the house of Lancaster began to decline in England as well as France.

John of Plan Carpini

J.J. Saunders describes the Papal envoy to the Mongol conquerors who travelled through Russia to eastern Asia in 1245-7.

Medieval University Life

L. Curtis Musgrave describes how willingness among medieval students to battle for their rights’ that, during the course of years, helped to shape the modern university system.

The Mechanics of Nomad Invasions

Bruce Chatwin describes how the dispute between Abel and Cain, the nomadic shepherd and the city-dwelling planter, has continued throughout history.

The French Invasion of Italy, 1494

Towards the end of the fifteenth century, writes E.R. Chamberlin, a young French King took advantage of the Italian ‘genius for dissension’.

Guelf and Ghibelline in Italy

Peter Partner describes how resentment against the exile of the Papacy in Avignon led to the ‘War of the Eight Saints’ in 1375 by the ‘Guelf’ cities of Italy.