Medieval

Christian king or swashbuckling hero? The immense popularity of King Arthur in medieval romance gave considerable scope for a range of images.

Janet Backhouse explores the Illuminated Books of Gothic England.

A myth for all seasons - the treatment through the centuries of Spain's medieval hero as a blend of Robin Hood and King Arthur provides revealing insights into the political needs of both his contemporary and more recent biographers.

Once upon a time... nostalgia for the imagined medieval harmony of the arts, religion and society was a powerful impetus for the aesthetic revival in these areas in Victorian England.

Simon Barclay accounts for the restoration of the Beverley gate in Hull

Nicholas Orme shows how Catholic and Protestant reformers alike campaigned rigorously against medieval attitudes to prostitution which were far less restrictive and oppressive than is often supposed.

Felix Barker keeps an open mind about speculation on the burial place of King Arthur.

'Beyond the pale' - the imperialists' vision of the Irish as ignoble savages originated in the attitudes and writings of medieval Englishmen.

The hubris of Louis XI's Constable produced his nemesis against a background of incipient French nationalism and a growing royal sense of 'majesty'.

Existing elements of pagan midwinter rites fused with the developing theology of Christmas in an appeal to the senses of both sacred and lay.