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A 14th-century illustration shows two bishops watching men fight to the death in a trial by combat.

Medieval trial by combat: the real history behind The Last Duel

Sex in the Middle Ages: have attitudes really changed?

David Olusoga on the extraordinary story of Olaudah Equiano

Tyler Stovall speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his Cundill History Prize-shortlisted book 'White Freedom'.

Liberty and racism: an interconnected history

Portrait of First World War nurse Edith Cavell with one of her dogs

First World War

Edith Cavell: how the executed British First World War nurse became a symbol of peace

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Today’s events in historical context…

Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio. (Image by Getty Images)

The race for vaccines: lessons from history

Sara Forbes Bonetta (seated besides her husband James Davies was brought to England in the late 1840s by a Navy captain. Presented to Queen Victoria, she impressed the monarch so much that Victoria became her godmother

Black History Month: what is it, historians on its relevance, plus 6 articles you should read

Women protest in London following the death of Sarah Everard, 2021

Walking a dangerous road: women’s safety on the streets

Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain in The Green Knight an adaptation of the Arthurian romance Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

“An intoxicating triumph true to the grandeur of the poem”: a historian’s review of The Green Knight

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On this day in history

What happened on this day in the past? Historian Dominic Sandbrook rounds up the landmark events, births, deaths and more...

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16 October

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15 October

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14 October

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13 October

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Historical Q&As

How did Spanish Flu get its name? When did our ancestors start using toilet paper? Why did the famous Crystal Palace burn down? And where was the WW1 Armistice signed? Here are the top questions about history, answered by historians and experts…

Hume Castle

Q&A Who was the original king of the castle and who was the dirty rascal?

Q&A Could Roman slaves buy their own freedom?

The fabled ‘Vegetable Lamb of Tartary’ was a plant said to grow sheep as its fruit.

Q&A What was the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary?

The Bal des Ardents (the 'Ball of the Burning Men'), from 'The Chronicler of European Chivalry' by GG Coulton (London, 1930). The 1393 tragedy claimed the lives of four people. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Q&A What was the ‘Ball of the Burning Men’?

Tony Robinson as Private Baldrick and Rowan Atkinson as Captain Blackadder

Q&A Was there a real Blackadder?

The burgundy cover of a British passport

Q&A When were passports as we know them today first introduced?

Read more answers from the experts

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HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

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Trial by combat: the real history behind The Last Duel

George III. (Image by Alamy)

George III: the tyrant who lost America?

Marie Favreau talks to the HistoryExtra podcast

At home with the Mongols

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know

Pectoral ornament in the form of a double headed serpent, Aztec/ Mixtec, c 1400/1521 (Photo by Getty Images)

The Aztecs: everything you wanted to know

Sophie Hay answers listener questions on the Roman city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79. (Image by Getty Images)

Pompeii: everything you wanted to know

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Trending in the US

Elizabeth I

History quiz: how much do you know about Tudor Queen Elizabeth I?

Atomic bomb damage in the city of Hiroshima, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 “razed and burnt around 70 per cent of all buildings”, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War?

This 16th-century woodcut depicts King James VI at the North Berwick witch trials, the case that first sparked his obsession with hunting. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

James VI and I: the king who hunted witches

A portrait of Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England, by Michiel Sittow. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval monarchy timeline: from the Norman Conquest to the Tudors

Picture galleries

Explore our historical galleries covering a wide range of historical periods and topics…

England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore (1941–93) kisses the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy after England's 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Also pictured are Moore's team-mates George Cohen, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

In pictures: when England won the football World Cup

'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings: a guide to 8 famous works

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In pictures: 150 years of the British Red Cross

Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season 4 of 'The Crown'. (Photo by Netflix)

The Crown S4 news: Netflix releases first images of Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher

Latest articles

An illustration from The Travels of Marco Polo, showing a teenage Marco on the deck of a ship sailing away from Venice

Why are Marco Polo’s travels so famous?

Eddie Singh, who journeyed to the UK in the 1960s. (Image courtesy of Yvonne Singh and family)

A West Indian immigrant in 1960s Britain: A real lonely Londoner

A montage of Romans

How ethnically diverse was Roman Britain?

Engraving of a Roman slave market

Slavery in ancient Rome: how important were enslaved people to Roman society?

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History Quizzes

How much do you know about history? Test out your knowledge with our quizzes...

How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History quiz: How much do you know about the Vikings?

People praying for relief from the bubonic plague, circa 1350. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval quiz

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Quiz How Much Do You Know About Ancient Greece?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?

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Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

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Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

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20th Century

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Painting of Henry VIII

Henry VIII

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Queen Victoria

Winston Churchill gives his famous v-sign as he opens the new headquarters of 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron of the RAAF (Royal Auxiliary Air Force) at Croydon, 1948. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Winston Churchill

Golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, inlaid with lapis lazuli, obsidian and turquoise. (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Tutankhamun

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Photo of Mabel Capper and Patricia Woodlock advertising a meeting, Manchester, Lancashire, July 1908

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Military history

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