Missing Pieces

Mary I of England and Philip II of Spain, Hans Eworth, 1558. Bridgeman Images.

Bloody Mary and the Missing Heir

A male heir might have saved Queen Mary’s reign, and changed the shape of global Catholicism for good.

St Augustine receiving Divine Truth, by Philippe de Champaigne, c.1645. LACMA. Public Domain.

Forgeries, Fakes, and Phantom Time

According to some, written history began in the 14th century. It may seem ridiculous, but the Phantom Time conspiracy theory has serious implications.

Arthur Cravan, undated photograph. PVDE/Bridgeman Images.

Arthur Cravan: The Disappearing Dadaist

Unconventional and provocative, did the Dada artist sometimes known as Arthur Cravan save his boldest work for last?

Statue of Euripides in the Vatican. Photograph by James Anderson, 1859. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Public Domain.

Euripides’ Lost Plays

One of Greek tragedy’s ‘big names’, Euripides survives largely in scraps and fragments. What can 78 new lines from Ino and Polyidus reveal?

King John with his unsteady crown, from Matthew Paris’ Chronicle of England, c.1250. British Library/Bridgeman Images.

King John’s Lost Treasure

The loss of his treasure on the road to war was said to have brought about King John’s demise. What happened to it?

The lost panel of the Just Judges from the Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, photograph by Max Friedländer. RKD Netherlands Institute of Art History. Public Domain.

The Theft of the Ghent Altarpiece

When a priceless altarpiece was stolen from a Belgian cathedral it sparked a 90-year hunt. The crime remains unsolved.

Sabbatai Sevi, engraving from a 17th-century etching, from Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia, 1910-13. Public Domain.

Sabbatai Sevi: The Lost Messiah

In the 17th century news spread that the Jewish messiah had finally arrived. Within a year he had converted to Islam. Who was he, and what had happened?

Soviet poet and novelist Boris Pasternak, 1930s. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images.

Pasternak and Stalin: What Was Said?

A short telephone call between Joseph Stalin and Boris Pasternak sealed the fate of a fellow writer. What exactly transpired during that fateful discussion remains subject to debate.

Madonna of the Meadow (Madonna with the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist), by Raphael, 1506. Art Library/Alamy Stock Photo.

The Lost Years of Jesus

Did Jesus have a difficult childhood? Was his youth spent in Egypt or England, India or Japan? The four canonical gospels are quiet on his early life, leading some to speculate.