Medieval

Medieval French monarchs used – and abused – the charismatic power of religious women.

In our latest podcast, Dan Jones discusses the year 1147, when the Second Crusade was launched.

What was life like for medieval prostitutes? A case in the German town of Nördlingen reveals a hellish world of exploitation and violence.

In the medieval period you could touch the divine – and smell it, see it, hear it and taste it, sometimes all at once.

The late-medieval papal chapel was a powerful jewel in the papal tiara.

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.

Unlike his grandfather Chinggis Khan, the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan is little known in the West. But his destruction of two Islamic empires gave him a notoriety that persists to this day. 

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