Political

Once described as “the first Whig,” the great Christian philosopher of the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, is here introduced by Maurice Cranston as an exponent of order, justice and government.

Unlike Alexander of Macedon, Julius Caesar had to deal with rivals as ambitious and influential as himself; and S. Usher finds that he has left a lucid account of his rise to greatness.

Martin Holmes describes how, when Henry VIII was aged twenty-six, the Easter sermons of 1517 provoked riots in London against the wealth and power of aliens at Court.

Not until three years after the fall of Jerusalem did Zealot resistance come to a bloody end. S.G.F. Brandon reviews the history of this fanatical sect, whose exemplary devotion and fortitude modern Israelis seek to emulate.

Fresh from his defeat by the Russians, Charles XII, the King of Sweden, and a body of faithful adherents took refuge in the Turkish Empire. Dennis J. McCarthy describes how he he remained there for five years, an increasingly unwelcome guest.

A.L. Rowse meets the grandfather of Shakespeare’s beloved patron, a characteristic Henrician, and a man to whom the English Reformation brought unrivalled opportunities.

Barrett L. Beer traces the Duke of Northumberland’s life and rise to power, which form an extraordinary chapter in the troubled history of Tudor England.

J.H.M. Salmon explains how spiritual values and political objectives were deeply in conflict throughout the long reign of Louis XIV.

In dealing with her often refractory Jewish subjects, writes E. Mary Smallwood, Rome followed a policy of toleration and protection but insisted that the Jews must “repay toleration with toleration.”

J.H.M. Salmon shows how spiritual values and political objectives were deeply in conflict throughout the long reign of Louis XIV.