Medieval

French was the only language worth speaking in medieval Britain – and not just by the upper classes.

A little-known encounter between the English and French navies should rank alongside Trafalgar and the defeat of the Armada.

Looking beyond the usual rogues’ gallery of historical figures can help us to better understand the past.

The small city of Hereford became one of England’s most important pilgrim sites due to the many miracles attributed to a local saint.

Rather than being narcissistic, images of the self were used to represent a spiritual community.

Minoo Dinshaw is disappointed to discover that ignorance of the Middle Ages can found even among the most elevated company.

One of the grandest, certainly one of the largest, manuscripts produced in the medieval West, the Codex Amiatinus is often overlooked as an Anglo-Saxon treasure. Conor O’Brien shows how its makers used it to assert their identity and to establish their place firmly within the Christian world.

Unpicking a tangle of history, myth and misunderstanding reveals why, for so long, we believed King Harold was shot through the eye at the Battle of Hastings.

As the search for lost medieval kings continues, interest in them seems stronger than ever. But a warning from the past speaks of their – and our – ruin.

As the Chilcot Inquiry is published, John Sabapathy asks why, historically, we want inquests to mete out justice and hold guilty parties to account.