Christmas 2014

Articles from the Christmas 2014 issue of BBC History Magazine

Bodiam Castle. (Getty Images)

How to build a medieval castle: 9 top tips

Tudors_Henry_Mary_Elizabeth 2

The Tudors: 51 moments that shaped the royal dynasty

Land girls on an Essex turkey farm round up the turkeys for the last time. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

A brief history of turkeys, plus why we eat a turkey dinner at Christmas

A joint Franco-Native Indian raid left 56 residents of Deerfield, a small township in north-western Massachusetts, dead. (Alamy)

America: Brave new world or accident?

This statue of Arsinoe II identified her with the goddess Isis – thanks, in part, to the so-called ‘Isis knot’ on her right shoulder – so exploiting Egyptian tradition to strengthen her image (© Getty)

The female ‘kings’ of ancient Egypt

Portrait of Mary I of England, from the collection of the Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Mary I: a highly impressive queen cut off in her prime

A Kamikaze pilot scores a direct hit on a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, c1942. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Second World War

The reluctant kamikaze of the Second World War

The Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea in a duel at Battersea Fields. (Culture Club/Getty Images)

Pistols at dawn: duelling in the Victorian age

A portrait of King Edward VI of England. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Who was the real Edward VI?

A reconstructed round house at Flag Fen, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. (Alamy)

History Explorer: Life in the Bronze Age

Liberal MP and former prime pinister David Lloyd George. (Photo by Jimmy Sime/Central Press/Getty Images)

My history hero: David Lloyd George (1863-1945)

Historic San Felipe de Barajas castle is one of the main attractions in Cartagena, Colombia. (Image: Thinkstock by Getty Images)

General prehistory

My favourite place: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia