Medieval

Edward I and the Mongols

Anthony Bryer describes how, during the second half of the thirteenth century, the ruler of the Mongols discussed with Edward I of England a joint attempt to recover Jerusalem from the Turks.

Boethius the Hellenist

James Shiel describes how, as one of those writers who forged a link between classical antiquity and medieval Christendom, Boethius was executed in 524 at the command of the barbarian king he served.

The Great Idea

Anthony Bryer describes how, from 1453 to 1923 the dream of a recaptured Byzantium and a resurrected Byzantine Empire continued to haunt the Greek imagination.

An Episode in Anglo-Hanseatic Relations

J.L. Kirby describes how, early in the fifteenth century, King Henry IV of England ordered three trusted servants to conduct delicate negotiations with the rich cities of the Hanseatic League, whence England imported such precious commodities as dried fish, furs, tar and timber.

The Spice Account

During the Wars of the Barons in the reign of Henry III, writes Margaret Wade Labarge, everyday life and tastes are recorded in the household rolls of Eleanor de Montfort.

Heian-Kyo: the Golden Age of Kyoto

For nearly four hundred years the “Peaceful and Tranquil City” was the administrative centre of Japan, writes George Woodcock, and for more than a thousand years remained the home of the Japanese Emperors.

Western Spies in the Levant

Robert H. Schwoebel explains how, in the fifteenth century, the growing power of the Turks prompted a number of European princes to despatch emissaries to the Levant as intelligence officers on the Eastern Question.