The Real Magna Carta
Less famous than its 1215 predecessor, the Magna Carta of 1225 held the true power.
History Matters
Thoughts, opinions and commentary on all things historical.
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Pompey’s Greatest Show on Earth
Rome’s first theatre was an enormous spectacle intended to glorify Pompey’s successes. Was it all bread and circuses?
An Uneasy Propaganda Alliance
The doomed film collaboration between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan resulted in two very different features serving the same fascist agenda: The Daughter of the Samurai and The New Earth.
Adolphe Sax’s Brass Wars
A battle of wills between Adolphe Sax and musical instrument makers in 19th-century France saw an unprecedented legal contest unfold.
Searching for the Soul of the Beaver
Are beavers beasts or fish? For medieval philosophers, this was an important question with implications for the dining table.
The Englishman Who Cried ‘Let Ireland Go’
In 1920 the English writer Jerome K. Jerome set out the arguments in favour of Irish home rule.
Following Threads to Colonial Barbados
Two rare textile discoveries connect 18th-century Barbadian schoolgirls to England.
Who to Blame for Early Modern Climate Change?
The changing climate of the Little Ice Age forced radical thinkers to reconsider humanity’s place in the universe.
Who Was the Real Henry III?
What makes someone a king? More importantly, what unmakes a king? Henry II’s experiment in co-kingship saw one Henry III fall and another rise.
Hopes, Fears, and Early Modern Astrology
The concerns of daily life prompted early modern people to seek reassurance in fate, stars, and astrologers.