General Early Modern

Frances Griffiths poses with the fairies

Fairies, rabbit births and an ‘ancient’ tiara: what are the greatest historical hoaxes?

A copper engraving of Margaret Pole's execution

General Early Modern

Are these the worst botched executions in history?

A sultan rides through Istanbul – at its height, the Empire ruled over more than 15 million subjects

General Early Modern

Your guide to the Ottoman empire

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector

General Early Modern

Royalists, beards and cowardice: are these the strangest taxes in history?

Pope John XVII

Q&A: Has there ever been a married Pope?

Midwives and babies in the sun

General Early Modern

Midwifery and childbirth: a historical A–Z guide

Olaudah Equiano (Photo by Getty)

General Early Modern

Who was Olaudah Equiano – and why was his story of slavery so important?

Queen of hearts: When Catherine's husband Tsar Peter III alienated his people, they instead turned to his wife, and she was proclaimed the rightful ruler.

General Early Modern

Catherine the Great: the first woman to rule Russia

This 1867 magazine illustration shows a group of children preparing for Halloween. (Photo by American Stock/Getty Images)

General Early Modern

The origins of Halloween: tricks, treats and cobbled streets

Tom Holland by Helen Atkinson

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy

The card game cribbage

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say ‘level pegging’?

(© Public Domain)

General Early Modern

Everything you need to know about the Holy Roman Empire

For our forebears, the secret to a good night's sleep lay in the contents of your gut. (Photo by Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)

6 sleeping tips and tricks from history

The leader of the Luddites, 1812. Found in the collection of British Museum. Anonymous artist. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

5 of the worst years in British history

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