Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix

France

Charles Cundall’s painting ‘The Withdrawal From Dunkirk, June 1940’

Second World War

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about Dunkirk

Expelled Germans leaving Poland's western territories

"The war without an end": what happened in Europe after VE Day?

Coco Chanel photographed in Paris, c1936

Chanel and the Riviera

A depiction of the Norman army, from the Bayeux Tapestry

Everything you wanted to know about the 1066 Norman invasion and the battle of Hastings – but were afraid to ask

Tomb of Richard the Lionheart

Q&AHow did Richard the Lionheart die? And where is he buried?

An oil portrait of Charlemagne (c747–814), King of the Franks, by 15th/16th-century artist Albrecht Durer. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

The legacy of Charlemagne: how the king of the Franks continues to cast a shadow over Europe

Two scenes from the Chronique de St Denis, late 14th century. The left-hand scene depicts the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France in 1137. The scene on the right shows Louis departing by ship to go on the Second Crusade in 1147. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Eleanor of Aquitaine: the medieval queen who took on Europe’s most powerful men

From 'eyesore' to icon: a brief history of the Eiffel Tower

Why did Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear?

The Normans: everything you wanted to know

Photo of the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

The palace of Versailles: Sun King Louis XIV's ultimate power play

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

The Duchess of Richmond's ball

Before Waterloo: what happened at the Duchess of Richmond's ball?

Hadley Freeman on a 20th-century family history

The Battle of Bunker Hill

From Scots Highlanders to German soldiers: the Europeans who fought on both sides of the War of American Independence

Portrait of Marie-Antoinette with the rose, 1783, by Vigée-Le Brun. (Photo by Alamy)

Marie Antoinette

A bust of Charlemagne

Charlemagne: creating the myth

A still from Sam Mendes film '1917'

First World War

“A staggering tour de force – but an opportunity missed”: a historian’s review of the film 1917

A despatch rider during WW1, as featured in new Sam Mendes film '1917'

First World War

The real trench runners of WW1

Peronne, March 1917

Operation Alberich: the story of Germany’s retreat in 1917

Stretcher bearers at Passchendaele

The forgotten triumphs of Passchendaele

A portrait of Louis XIV in 1701.

From musketeers to Macron: 10 remarkable facts about the Sun King, Louis XIV

Marshal Foch and his accompaniment leaving Compiègne in order to inform the French government in Paris about the Armistice agreement with Germany. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

First World War

Where was the Armistice signed?

Agincourt was one of the major battles of the Hundred Years' War.

Agincourt: what really happened

Timothée Chalamet as Prince Hal

“It’s hard to square Prince Hal’s pacifism with what we know about Henry V”: a historian’s review of The King

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of 1066. The tapestry was most likely embroidered by women in Norman England in a workshop setting using four embroidery stitches – stem stitch; split stitch; chain stitch; and laid work, sometimes called ‘Bayeux Stitch’, says Dr Alexandra Lester-Makin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The making of the Bayeux Tapestry: who made it, how long did it take, and how has it survived?

Portrait of Marie Antoinette in deep mourning, while in prison

The final days of Marie Antoinette

Soldiers at the battle of Arnhem

Second World War

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about the battle of Arnhem

Suzannah Lipscomb on women’s lives in Reformation France