General Early Modern

Nineteenth century engraving depicting raining cats and dogs

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say ‘raining cats and dogs’?

Colourful illustration of 12 historical figures's heads (Winston Churchill, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Thomas Cromwell, Richard III, Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Anne Boleyn, William Marshal, Jane Austen, Hatshepsut, Gandhi and Catherine the Great) shown in a grid pattern.

Historical figures: 100+ of the most famous people through history – in chronological order

A axe stuck in a piece of wood

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'?

A mermaid combing her hair

General Early Modern

Tails from the deep: separating the real folklore of mermaids from Disney stories

Women carrying flags and scythes or beating drums - one has a child on her shoulders - march on the Palace of Versailles to protest to the king

General Early Modern

Women in the French Revolution: fighting for equality

Illustration of the man in the iron mask standing by the window of his cell and guarded by two musketeers

Unmasking the ‘man in the iron mask’: do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?

Scene at Tyburn, Paddington, London, 1696; showing crowds gathered to watch a hanging. The triple gibbet and cart used for hanging can be seen in the centre, while in the background to the left a drawing and quartering is being undertaken. The image erroneously shows London Bridge, the River Thames and the City to be immediately opposite Tyburn. (Photo by Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General Early Modern

The Bloody Code: your guide to the severe legal system

Two Hitler Youth who have surrendered to Allied Forces, Germany, 1945. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

First World War

Innocence under fire: how children were used in warfare of the past

Colin Jones tells the story of Maximilien Robespierre’s fall from power – a dramatic 24 hours that ended with the revolutionary titan facing the guillotine. (Image from Getty Images)

Robespierre’s brutal downfall

Nick Hayes discusses the contested history of land ownership in England, from William the Conqueror to the Kinder trespass. (Image from Getty Images)

A hard-fought history of trespass

Fern Riddell

Contraception, consent & erotic connection: sex through history

Buckland Abbey, Devon, UK. (Image by Alamy)

The colonial secrets of Britain’s stately homes

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 painting of 1616 depicts the Moriscos boarding ships to sail from the port of Valencia

The 17th-century expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: what happened?

Painting of Masons building a pillar in a church

General Early Modern

Your guide to... the Freemasons