Early medieval

King John hunting on horseback, 14th century. The contention that his badness was a later invention simply doesn't stack up, argues Marc Morris. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Was King John really that bad? Yes!

The Crown of Thorns allegedly worn by Christ during the Passion. It was one of the prized possessions in Notre-Dame Cathedral until April 2019 – when it was rescued by the inferno that gutted the building. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Father, son and holy goat? The dark side of medieval relics

A British military post in a street in Dublin during the Easter Uprising, 1916. (Photo by ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The history of Ireland: 11 milestone moments

A memorial tomb to King Æthelstan, the first Saxon king of all England, in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. (Photo by Geography Photos/UIG via Getty Images)

A brief history of England

An illustration depicting King Arthur fighting the Saxons, from the Rochefoucauld Grail. The absence of a clear and present origin for King Arthur has created a ‘void’ which many are keen to fill, says Miles Russell. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The real King Arthur: why are we so obsessed with trying to solve the mystery?

Newark Castle flanked by the river Trent. To say that King John's death here in 1216 was little-lamented is something of an understatement. "With John's foul deeds all England is stinking, as does hell, to which he is now sinking," wrote the chronicler Matthew Paris. (Getty Images)

The Library Where history happened: King John and the French invasion

King John. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Why ‘Bad King John’ was actually good

Sunlight dapples a clearing in Sherwood Forest, which was an essential resource for peasants centuries before it became a tourist attraction (Photo by Alamy)

Where history happened Ancient forests

King John hunting on horseback, 14th century. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Was King John murdered?

Historian Simon Schama.

Books interview: Simon Schama

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5 reasons you won’t want to miss our York History Weekend

An illustration depicting King John signing Magna Carta in 1215. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 Magna Carta myths explained

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The real King John and the BBC in World War Two

Emma Wells.

Emma Wells

A Victorian front cover of Lindisfarne Gospels.

The Lindisfarne Gospels