HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2026-02-27T10:15:19.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Is the Bayeux Tapestry in "mortal danger"? I think that's the wrong question to ask
items: The real women behind Europe's greatest legends
items: Magna Carta: why didn't King John keep his word?
items: The Magna Carta myth
items: The overlooked history of Muslims in Europe
items: Magna Carta: king v barons
items: Beyond the podcast: Magna Carta
items: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is much more historically accurate than you think – here's why
items: How England’s first king used an unexpected weapon to defeat the Vikings
items: Medieval vampire slayers: why did our ancestors dig up and dismember the dead?

Is the Bayeux Tapestry in "mortal danger"? I think that's the wrong question to ask
type: item
date: 2026-02-26T17:24:25.000Z
creator: Dr David Musgrove, FSA
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Exhibitions
subject: Historical events
subject: Trends-News
description: Rather than focusing on the risk to the Bayeux Tapestry in its forthcoming loan to the British Museum, David Musgrove argues that we should be talking about how the massive media interest in the exhibition will surely be a huge reward for the venerable embroidery – and guarantee its long-term survival
encoded: It’s not often that a medieval embroidery gets broadcast across the huge electronic billboards at Piccadilly Circus. But that’s what happened on the morning of 26 February, as the British Museum made its first big splash to announce details of its forthcoming blockbuster Bayeux Tapestry exhibition (tickets go on sale 1 July). I was there to enjoy the experience, and it was a delight to see an artefact that I’ve spent a long time thinking about getting the full film-star treatment (I’m co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry). The exhibition is not without controversy. Questions have been raised by French campaigners and one celebrated English artist (David Hockney) on how fit the Bayeux Tapestry is to travel, and whether it’s right to subject this venerable artefact to the rigours of a trip from Normandy to London. These are reasonable concerns, but they miss the point. Yes, there is risk, but what about the reward? What does the Tapestry gain from being transported and displayed in such a high-profile way? I’d argue that, rather than putting the Tapestry at mortal danger of destruction, the loan guarantees its long-term survival and will be a boon for the tourist business in Bayeux to boot. What other medieval artwork or contemporary documentary source could hope to receive the wall-to-wall media exposure that the Tapestry is currently receiving? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2026/02/20260226090016-92f3207-rotated-e1772119755759.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A busy city street with pedestrians and vehicles passes beneath a large digital billboard mounted on the side of a modern building. The billboard displays an advertisement for the British Museum, featuring a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, with figures in period clothing and the words “REX,” “HAROLD,” and “The British Museum – From Egypt to…”. Surrounding buildings include shops with street‑level storefronts, and a white truck and van are visible in the foregr…

4508gBaueux-Museum-f22a3d5-e1772122594957.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

The real women behind Europe's greatest legends
type: item
date: 2026-02-25T08:00:50.000Z
creator: Danny Bird
subject: General History
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: Janina Ramirez considers the lives of some of history's most celebrated women to unfurl the legends that have shaped nations
encoded: National icons aren’t born – they’re engineered. But how were historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile transformed into political symbols, their real lives lost beneath centuries of myth-making? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Janina Ramirez tells Danny Bird about some of the women – from Byzantine empresses to religious fanatics and revolutionary martyrs – that have been elevated to such pedestals, and how these legends are created, re-created and repurposed for nationalist mythologies.

Janina-Ramirez-The-real-women-behind-Europes-greatest-legends-WL-AN-094e6b7.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

Magna Carta: why didn't King John keep his word?
type: item
date: 2026-02-22T08:00:31.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: Nicholas Vincent explores the chaos, negotiations, and broken promises that followed King John’s sealing of Magna Carta
encoded: As King John was poised to press his seal into the wax of a document whose impact would reverberate for centuries, did he understand the ramifications it would have? And what were the chances he would keep his word? In this penultimate episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on Magna Carta, Emily Briffett and historian Nicholas Vincent follow the tumultuous events of the years immediately after 1215, from war to negotiation. If you’re curious to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated, Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding. Go beyond the podcast.

Sunday-Magna-Carta-Episode31500-x-1000-a0f14c2.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

The Magna Carta myth
type: item
date: 2026-02-15T08:00:26.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: Nicholas Vincent strips away the mythology to uncover the political reality behind Magna Carta and medieval life in the early 13th century
encoded: Magna Carta may be associated today with power, liberty and freedom – but those weren’t quite the concerns back in 1215. So what did the barons really demand of King John? And what can this document tell us about the lives of people in medieval England? In this second episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on Magna Carta, Emily Briffett and historian Nicholas Vincent delve into the archive to uncover the real charter – and reveal why it’s not quite the liberty manifesto of legend. If you’re curious to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated, Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding. Go beyond the podcast.

Sunday-Magna-Carta-Episode21500-x-1000-985df37.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

The overlooked history of Muslims in Europe
type: item
date: 2026-02-11T15:20:48.000Z
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Islam
description: Tharik Hussain speaks to Danny Bird about the long but often overlooked and distorted history of Muslims in Europe – and the enduring resistance to its reappraisal
encoded: Danny Bird: You open your book by recounting a chance visit to an old mosque in Cyprus. What was so significant about that moment? Tharik Hussain: Nothing changed for me on the day itself, because I knew very little about Islam’s history in Europe at that time. On a long, cheap layover in Larnaca – a place I’d never heard of – I was simply looking for a way to pass the time with a toddler in tow. I’d found a brief reference to a nearby mosque, and decided to visit. At the time (2003), I was preparing to make hijrah – to leave Britain, because I felt that I no longer belonged. My education had led me to believe that there was no meaningful Muslim history in Europe. So when we arrived at this neglected Ottoman-era mosque at the Hala Sultan Tekke, I had no framework for understanding it. The elderly guide didn’t speak English, and neither of us knew what we were looking at. What unsettled me was a tomb inside the mosque, which clashed with the theological outlook my wife and I held at the time. We left, dismissing the place, though the guide handed us a small booklet as we went. Two years later, while working as an English language teacher in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I rediscovered the booklet. To my shock, it claimed that the tomb belonged to a relative of the Prophet Muhammad – his maternal aunt, Umm Harâm. That completely overturned my belief that Europe had no real Islamic history, let alone connections reaching back to the Prophet’s own family. When did Islam first come to Europe? If we look at the very beginnings of Muslim presence in Europe, it’s striking how quickly it arrived. Within 20 years of the Prophet Muhammad’s death in AD 632, Muslims were present in places such as Cyprus and, later, Sicily, establishing themselves far more quickly than Christian or Jewish communities had done in the continent. Some of these early arrivals, including members of the Prophet’s family, were then buried in Europe, their tombs becoming sites of ziyara (pilgrimage), holding gre…

Tharik-Hussain-14webready-b93b76c-e1770822628745.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

Magna Carta: king v barons
type: item
date: 2026-02-08T08:00:48.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: Nicholas Vincent describes how the chaos of King John’s reign drove England toward rebellion – and the fateful confrontation that gave birth to Magna Carta
encoded: In the early 13th century, England was a kingdom under pressure, as the challenges posed by King John’s reign had left the realm restless. By 1215, tensions had reached boiling point. What began as isolated grumblings among nobles soon evolved into an organised challenge to royal authority – all building up to a showdown at Runnymede in 1215. In this first episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on Magna Carta, Emily Briffett is joined by Nicholas Vincent to explore how John's disastrous reign set the stage for the charter. Want to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated? Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding. Go beyond the podcast.

Sunday-Magna-Carta-Episode11500-x-1000-ce0c6d0.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

Beyond the podcast: Magna Carta
type: item
date: 2026-02-03T14:44:29.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
description: Want to dig into the drama behind Magna Carta? HistoryExtra’s Emily Briffett gathers together a shelf of essential reads to explore the crisis of King John’s reign, what was really hammered out at Runnymede in 1215, and why this medieval peace treaty grew into one of the most influential documents in the history of rights and government – and much more...
encoded: The sealing of Magna Carta at Runneymede in 1215 stands as one of the most iconic political showdowns in English history; a high-stakes confrontation between an untrustworthy monarch and a coalition of restless, rebellious barons that forced the Crown, however briefly and imperfectly, to acknowledge some limits on royal power. In a new four-part HistoryExtra podcast series, available weekly from Sunday 8 February 2026, I spoke to Professor Nicholas Vincent to bring this tense moment in 1215 into sharp focus, exploring the grievances, brinkmanship and fragile compromises behind a document that was less a birth certificate of liberty and more a peace treaty hammered out under pressure. Below I have selected some essential further reading, watching and listening from the HistoryExtra archive designed to broaden your understanding of the political crisis, the world in which it originated as well as the long afterlife of Magna Carta. Whether you want to unpack the hidden history in the clauses, trace how and why the charter almost immediately collapsed into civil war, or follow its transformation (rightly or wrongly) into a global symbol of rights and the rule of law, these articles, podcasts and videos will guide you further into one of medieval England’s most consequential dramas.

Sunday-Magna-Carta-BEYONDWL1500-x-1000-cd9b6f0.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is much more historically accurate than you think – here's why
type: item
date: 2026-02-02T17:41:15.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Dr Hugh Doherty worked as the historical consultant on HBO’s new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Speaking to HistoryExtra, he sets out how the series got closer to reality than many historical dramas
encoded: Some works of fiction feel startlingly close to reality. Perhaps surprisingly, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – HBO’s latest Game of Thrones spin-off series – might be one such example. “I was astonished. I had never seen anything like it,” says Dr Hugh Doherty, the show’s historical consultant, in an interview with HistoryExtra. Doherty is a medievalist and lecturer in medieval history at the University of East Anglia. He has worked as a historical consultant on – among other projects – Netflix’s robust historical drama The King, a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henriad starring Timothée Chalamet as Hal (seen more recently in Marty Supreme). Based on author George RR Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows the adventures of the titular knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his strange squire, Egg. Unlike Thrones and its other spin-off, House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms largely eschews its fantasy trappings to instead zero in on the trials of a lowly, aspiring knight wandering the fictional land of Westeros in search of prestige. It’s a less ‘epic’ story in its scope and scale – without a dragon or White Walker to be seen. It focusses on a smaller stage, rooted in hard landscapes and their even harder inhabitants. However, much like its progenitor series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is defiantly enmeshed in medieval history. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series took significant inspiration from the late medieval Wars of the Roses of the 15th century, a series of real conflicts saw England ripped apart by the distended ambitions of dynasties that grappled for the crown. The real history that inspired A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Being a prequel to Game of Thrones, it makes sense that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms draws from slightly earlier inspirations. That’s where Doherty came in. He was tasked with ensuring that the series’ depiction of the daily cut-and-thrust of chivalric knighthood, and ma…

a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-historical-inspiration-hugh-doherty-22ba17c.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

How England’s first king used an unexpected weapon to defeat the Vikings
type: item
date: 2026-01-31T10:30:28.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Early medieval
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Discover / Apple News
description: When England’s first true king confronted Viking power in the north, one of his most effective weapons became his manipulation of loyalty
encoded: By the early 10th century, the concept of a unified England was still an unfinished project. Despite Alfred the Great’s victories against the Vikings – and the consolidating achievements of his children Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd – the power of the Norse raiders hadn’t simply disappeared. The Vikings had adapted to this new political landscape and embedded themselves within it, remaining the greatest threat to any ruler hoping to govern a unified English kingdom. Æthelstan was forced to grip this problem when he became king of the Anglo-Saxons in AD 924. As Professor David Woodman explains, speaking on an episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, it wasn’t until AD 927 that he was able to make moves against the Vikings that proved decisive, using an unexpected weapon to his advantage. England before Æthelstan The huge Viking invasions of the late ninth century had left much of eastern and northern England under Norse control. Later writers would call this region the Danelaw, but at the time it was simply a patchwork of settlements, armies and allegiances tied into a wider Viking world across the sea. Æthelstan’s grandfather, Alfred the Great, had stopped the Vikings from conquering the Anglo-Saxons completely. But he wasn’t able to restore the land to how it had been before the arrival of the Great Heathen Army in AD 865. Instead, in the decades that followed, Anglo-Saxon rulers learned to exist uneasily alongside Viking power, albeit with frequent bouts of violence and through tribute. Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd expanded English control, but by the time of Æthelstan’s reign, Anglo-Saxon authority still depended on vigilance against the Vikings. When he took the throne, his lands were surrounded by rivals: Norse settlers in the north, the kings of the Scots, and a constellation of Welsh rulers to the west. Any one of them might ally with future Viking attackers if the balance of advantage shifted, and no place demonstrated that danger more clearly than York. How …

Devil-Money-WL-AN011500-x-1000-ba7e711.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000

Medieval vampire slayers: why did our ancestors dig up and dismember the dead?
type: item
date: 2026-01-30T15:30:00.000Z
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Burial
subject: Death
subject: Medieval life
description: At the turn of the 12th century, two men from a Staffordshire village died suddenly. A few days after they were solemnly laid to rest, they were spotted walking around the village, with their coffins on their backs. John Blair investigates the medieval terror of the living dead
encoded: In the last decades of the 12th century, the townsfolk of Annan in the Scottish borders were terrified by a sinister nocturnal revenant that stalked the dark byways. “Each night his corpse, driven by Satan, left his grave and wandered through the streets” accompanied by howling dogs and spreading sickness and death, according to the contemporary chronicler William of Newburgh. Desperate to put an end to the unholy scourge, two brothers whose father had been carried off by the plague opened the grave and “exposed the corpse, which was distended to a huge corpulence, with a swollen, livid face. It was observed that the shroud, which had been wound around it, was completely shredded up. Too angry to be frightened, the young men struck a blow at the lifeless corpse, whereupon such a flow of blood gushed out that they understood it to be a sucker of many people’s blood. Dragging it out of the town, they quickly built a pyre.” Recalling the accepted wisdom that such a being would burn only after they’d cut out its heart, the brothers took their shovels and hacked out the organ – after which the cadaver was immolated. The curse was finally over. Walking corpses To modern ears, this story stretches credulity far beyond breaking point. Not so to William of Newburgh: he recorded another three such tales, and hinted at many more. There are “numerous modern cases and abundant reports”, he wrote, but “it would be just too laborious and burdensome to write down all episodes of this kind that I have heard to have happened in our own times”. Yet though walking corpses were boringly commonplace in the 1190s, they had almost vanished from the English scene only a few decades later. Apparently they retreated northwards, leaving only occasional traces south of the border with Scotland. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2026/01/W45702webready-05b1689-e1769699879666.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="An illustration shows two people standing over a cu…

Vampires-Opener-web-ready-4ed0b79.jpg
width: 1500
height: 1000