Europe

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition – but you might on a website that covers mediaeval history. You won’t be disappointed as we have an article exploring that subject here. Religious activity and influence on international affairs, culture and politics is also explored in French history and across Europe. The exploits of the Vikings are addressed along with their legacy and influence on early medieval Europe and the establishment of the new European societies. Read more

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  • Film: Berengaria of Navarre

    Article

    In this talk Dr Gabrielle Storey discusses the life and times of Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England, lord of Le Mans, and wife of Richard I. Berengaria of Navarre has been inaccurately labelled as the only queen never to have stepped foot in England. This talk will present new analysis...

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  • Excluded by men? Joanna the Mad, patriarchy and a charge of insanity

    Article

    Glyn Redworth re-appraises the life of an unfortunate queen. Joanna of Castile was a pretty child. She had an oval face and a long delicate nose. Her skin was felt to be attractively light in colour as was her hair. Fiercely intelligent, the basics of Latin came easily to her....

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  • (Un)exceptional women: queenship and power in medieval Europe

    Article

    How was the power of a Queen described and how far did It extend? In this article some of the most important queens of the Medieval period are examined for the authority they were able to wield. When we think of queens, the idea that they are extraordinary women, elevated to the highest status...

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  • History Abridged: Salt mines in Eastern Europe

    Article

    History Abridged: This feature seeks to take a person, event or period and abridge, or focus on, an important event or detail that can get lost in the big picture. See all History Abridged articles Towards the end of the Bronze Age, the climate across Europe began to warm. This...

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  • History Abridged: The City of Alexandria

    Article

    History Abridged: This feature seeks to take a person, event or period and abridge, or focus on, an important event or detail that can get lost in the big picture. Think Horrible Histories for grownups (without the songs and music). See all History Abridged articles One of the oldest cities...

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  • A precious jewel: English Calais, 1347–1558

    Article

    For 200 years the English Crown held the town and fortress of Calais, thereby providing a gateway into France for English exports and influence. The conquest of Calais On 26 August 1346 an English army led in person by King Edward III was confronted by a French army commanded by...

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  • Podcast Series: The Crusades

    Multipage Article

    An HA Podcasted History of the Crusades featuring Professor Jonathan Riley-Smith, Professor Jonathan Phillips of Royal Holloway, University of London and Dr Tom Asbridge of Queen Mary, University of London.

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  • Podcast Series: The Vikings

    Multipage Article

    An HA Podcasted History of the Vikings featuring Professor Rosamond McKitterick, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge.

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  • Saxons, Normans and Victorians

    Article

    When Queen Victoria died in 1901, the Annual Register remarked that the feeling of forlorn-ness which swept the country had no parallel since the death of King Alfred. The men of the new century were driven to seek a Saxon parallel. So too were men at the beginning of the...

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  • Welsh archers at Agincourt: myth and reality

    Article

    Adam Chapman debates the evidence for a Welsh presence among Henry V’s highly-successful force of archers at Agincourt in 1415. Michael Drayton, in his poem of 1627, The Bataille of Agincourt, described the Welsh presence in Henry V's army: ‘who no lesse honour ow'd To their own king, nor yet...

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  • Podcast Series: The Hundred Years War

    Multipage Article

    How can a war last 100 years? What did this mean for the peoples of England and France during the medieval period?  How significant were the battles of Poitiers, Crecy and Agincourt? In this podcast series the 100 Years War is explained, explored and brought to life. The lists of...

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  • Henry V in the cinema

    Article

    Public attitudes to Henry V are very much influenced by WilliamShakespeare's interpretation. Richard Inverne discusses howShakespeare's version has been translated into cinematic form byLaurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh. Shakespeare indulges himself considerably with his own relatively recent history - Richards II and III, Henrys IV, V and VI, for example....

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  • On the campaign trail: walking the Hundred Years War

    Article

    In the tradition of landscape historians, Peter Hoskins has explored some of the route marches taken by English armies during the Hundred Years War. After the battle of Crécy in 1346 and the capture of Calais by Edward III in the following year the Hundred Years War settled into an...

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  • The archer's stake and the battle of Agincourt

    Article

    Our perspective on how archers performed in battle is enhanced byMark Hinsley's research into their use of protective stakes. On the approach to Agincourt in 1415 a small skirmish took place at Corbie, on the Somme. A force of French men-at-arms sallied out from the town and cut up some...

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  • Agincourt 1415-2015

    Article

    Agincourt has become one of a small number of iconic events in our collective memory. Anne Curry explores how succeeding generations have exploited its significance. In his budget statement of 18 March 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced £1m had been awarded to commemorate the 600th anniversary...

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  • Medieval Trade Routes

    Article

    The subject of Medieval Trade Routes presents certain difficulties at the outset. There is no clear definition of the word ‘medieval' and, whatever period is chosen, it is obvious that trade routes within that period would be unlikely always to follow the same direction or to be of the same...

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  • Podcast Series: Religion in Medieval Europe

    Multipage Article

    In this set of podcasts Professor Miri Rubin of Queen Mary University of London, Professor Robert Swanson of the University of Birmingham & Dr Francois Soyer of the University of Southampton look at Christianity, Judaism and Islam in Medieval Europe.

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  • Podcast Series: The Byzantine Empire

    Multipage Article

    In this podcast Dr Dionysios Stathakopoulos of King's College London looks at the history of the Byzantine Empire from its origins in the Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople.

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  • The First Crusade

    Article

    Nine centuries after enthusiasm for pope Urban's expedition to Jerusalem swept western Europe the phenomenon of the first crusade continues to fascinate. This pamphlet examines the nature of the crusades and the motives of those who joined it, describes the hardships of the long journey to the Holy Land and...

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  • Ideas on the Shape, Size and Movements of the Earth - Pamphlet

    Article

    This classic pamphlet takes you through some of the key ideas on the shape, size and movements of the Earth as they changed over time from classical cosmology to the work of Galileo and Isaac Newton.

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