History Topics

History features

Banished (BBC/RSJ Films/Mark Rogers)
TV & radio: what to tune in to next week (27 February–5 March 2015)
26th February 2015
Can't decide what programmes to watch or listen to this week? Here are 10 you won't want to miss...
Peasants in the Middle Ages at a cattle market. © INTERFOTO / Alamy
5 strange causes of death in the medieval period
26th February 2015
Tasked today with confirming and certifying deaths resulting from unnatural or unknown causes, coroners were officially introduced in England in 1194, primarily for the purpose of collecting taxes. But their early records of deaths that occurred in unusual or suspicious circumstances offer an incredible insight into daily life, attitudes and living conditions in the Middle Ages that we would not otherwise be privy to
In pictures: Magna Carta
26th February 2015
An exhibition to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, which examines its medieval and modern significance, goes on show at the British Library in March
Mistress of George Gordon Byron. © Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library / Alamy
Mistresses through history: the term wasn’t always about secret sex
25th February 2015
Whether they’re shopping online, opening a bank account or booking flights, women are today nearly always required to identify themselves as ‘Miss’, ‘Mrs’ or ‘Ms’. But it’s little known that these titles all derive from the same word: mistress
10,000 BC participants in their Mesolithic-style camp. (Channel 5)
Back to the Stone Age: would you survive?
24th February 2015
What would happen if you took modern humans out of the 21st century and transported them back to the Stone Age? That is the premise of a social experiment being broadcast by Channel 5
Witches cooking a thunderstorm. © imageBROKER / Alamy
A brief history of medieval magic
24th February 2015
From Narnia to Harry Potter, so many modern manifestations of magic come from the Middle Ages. Hetta Howes, who is writing a PhD at Queen Mary, University of London, investigates…
© SOTK2011 / Alamy
Lambert Simnel: Richard III’s heir who 'had a stronger claim to the throne than Henry VII'
23rd February 2015
In 1486, a year after Henry VII had killed Richard III at the battle of Bosworth and seized the crown, a young man claiming to be a Yorkist prince appeared, as if from nowhere, to oust the usurper and reclaim the throne for the legitimate royal family
© Sites & Photos / Alamy
In Ancient Rome, what was the law of the twelve tables?
21st February 2015
As part of our 'History Extra explains' series, leading historians answer the burning questions you were too afraid to ask...
How We Got To Now With Steven Johnson. (Robert MacAndrew/Nutopia)
How air conditioning helped Ronald Reagan become president
20th February 2015
Everyday objects and ideas have, through history, often had fascinating and unexpected consequences, as a new BBC Two series reveals…
The Essay: The Five Photographs That (You Didn’t Know) Changed Everything
Five photographs that (you didn’t know) changed everything
20th February 2015
Five seemingly ordinary photographs that transformed the world as we know it are explored in a new Radio 3 series
Suffragettes Forever! (BBC/Matchlight/Thomas Birkett)
TV & radio: what to tune in to next week (21–26 February 2015)
20th February 2015
Can't decide what programmes to watch or listen to this week? Here are 10 you won't want to miss...
(BBC/Company Productions Ltd)
The truth about the Wolf Hall codpieces: an interview with costume designer Joanna Eatwell
18th February 2015
Wolf Hall fans have taken to Twitter during each episode to heap praise on the vibrant and sumptuous outfits worn by the likes of Damian Lewis and Claire Foy, with some describing it as the best TV costume drama ever. But what was it like crafting the costumes for BBC Two's most successful drama in a decade?
Gloucester Cathedral © Chrisp543 | Dreamstime.com
Gothic wonder: 5 spectacular buildings of medieval England
17th February 2015
The early medieval period was one of the greatest for English art and architecture. Here, Paul Binski from the University of Cambridge nominates five buildings that continue to inspire today
Thomas Cromwell © Hi-Story / Alamy
Thomas Cromwell’s ‘Italian years’: what did Henry VIII’s adviser do before joining the Tudor court?
17th February 2015
Much has been written about Thomas Cromwell, the self-taught ‘Putney boy’ who went on to become the henchman of Henry VIII and who brought down Anne Boleyn, only to suffer the same fate. But long before establishing himself as the king’s trusted adviser, Cromwell spent much of his early adulthood in Europe, namely Italy
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