Nikola Tesla: life of the week

Simon de Montfort's body was horribly mutilated and dismembered after his defeat at 1265's fateful Battle of Evesham, during the Second Barons' War. The medieval rebel leader's head and testicles were...

1 Aug 202447min

Why were medieval monks so afraid of going to the loo? In the second episode of our mini-series Toilets Through Time, David Musgrove heads into the dark and dangerous world of medieval latrines on a q...

31 Jul 202437min

Controversies surrounding the history of the British empire have become particularly intense in recent years, with academics, politicians and commentators all offering differing views about how we sho...

30 Jul 202442min

As Elizabethan England's most famous sea captain, Francis Drake saw his fair share of sea-faring adventures – from scuffles with the Spanish Armada, to circumnavigating the globe. But his story also c...

29 Jul 202443min

From asteroids, bacteria and comets to growing fears about artificial intelligence and climate change, human history has long been stalked by a terror of the end of days. But what do these fears tell ...

28 Jul 202440min

In the 18th century, countless British travellers set off to continental Europe in search of art, architecture... and a good time. But what were the must-see locations on the Grand Tour? How did peopl...

27 Jul 202443min

Earlier this week, new comedy drama The Decameron dropped on Netflix. Based on a set of 14th-century tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, it follows the raucous exploits of a group of medieval Italian nobles,...

26 Jul 202443min

What would you do if your home town was ravaged by plague? Would you lock your doors and hide? Run for the hills? Or accept that the end was nigh and party? Boccaccio's The Decameron - a medieval best...

25 Jul 202445min