Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

Medieval

A detail from the Bayeux Tapestry showing a moment of violence between the Anglo-Saxons and Normans.

After 1066, this medieval fine was imposed to deter anti-Norman violence

Medieval illustration of warriors riding horses.

Warhorses were one of the most deadly weapons on a medieval battlefield. But why didn’t they run away?

Live locally, live sustainably.

This portrait presents Saladin wearing an elaborate headdress, emphasising his status as a ruler of the medieval Islamic world.

Meet the shadowy assassins who were seconds from taking out Saladin – and upending the Crusades

This scene comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, the nearly 70-metre-long embroidered narrative that chronicles the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry is beautiful, but what was its purpose? New research might have the answer

An illustration of a monk writing on a large piece of parchment, with colourful and dramatic scenes spilling out of the pen

The Book of Kells: "a masterpiece of medieval calligraphy and painting".

Margaret Beaufort: life of the week.

This composite image brings together Edmond Halley, the comet that bears his name, and the Bayeux Tapestry’s famous depiction of its 1066 appearance. Halley’s calculations in the 18th century revealed the comet’s regular return, transforming a phenomenon once read as an omen of catastrophe — as it was before the Norman Conquest — into a predictable event governed by celestial mechanics.

Has history’s most famous comet been misnamed for centuries? “The answer is clear,” say historians

Assassins vs Templars.

Episode 4How William the Conqueror brutally secured rule of England.

Empress Matilda: life of the week.

How warhorses transformed medieval England.

This illustration shows the chief of the Taensa people receiving the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle on 20 March 1682. Set in what is now Louisiana, the scene reflects the early encounters between Indigenous nations of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Europeans

Step inside the lost Native American city that rivalled medieval London

What Was Life REALLY like in a Medieval Castle? The truth about castle living.

Habsburg royals displaying the distinctive jaw that became a hallmark of their intermarrying to stay in power. (Images by Getty)

What was the Habsburg jaw?

Episode 3How 1066 altered England’s fate FOREVER.

This late 15th-century illustration shows crusader forces besieging Damascus during the ill-fated Second Crusade in 1148. The armies of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Emperor Conrad III of Germany, and King Louis VII of France converge on the city, only for the campaign to collapse in defeat. Likely produced in Bruges for a chronicle of the Crusades, the image reflects how later medieval artists interpreted one of the crusading movement’s most damaging failures.

Who won the crusades? The causes, death toll, and number of medieval holy wars explained

Episode 2Medieval privies.

Episode 2The LAST Anglo-Saxon kings of England | Harold II and the road to 1066.

Episode 1 The VIKING king of England: the story of King Cnut and the Danish conquest of 1016.

Was Robin Hood ACTUALLY real? The history explained.

A selection of illustrations of medical procedures, including childbirth and someone vomiting, around a circular chart that depicts flasks of different coloured urine

Marvellous medieval medicine: why their curious cures were better than you think.

Episode 3Was Henry V really DESTINED for greatness?.

A man in medieval attire hands another man an arrow

Was there a real Sheriff of Nottingham?

Is this England’s MOST GRUESOME castle?.

A tapestry scene showing a small figure dressed in a gold robe holding a large needle and thread. Below him, another man rides on the back of a black horse

Just how many Bayeux Tapestries were there?.

This woodcut from 1521 depicts Martin Luther on his way to Worms, laying down his sword and opening the Bible in prayer as Christ descends to comfort him. The scene reflects Protestant legend surrounding Luther’s defiance before the Diet of Worms, where he refused to renounce his writings.

Why did Martin Luther condemn the “hordes of peasants” fighting the war he helped inspire?

Episode 2BORN to be king!? Dan Jones and Helen Castor anatomise Henry IV.

A depiction of an ensign and drummer recalls the German Peasants’ War of 1525, when rural rebels rose against feudal oppression.

In 1525, an army of revolting peasants seemed unstoppable – but a brutal end was on the horizon

A pair of swords in a cross shape, on top of an orange background that features warriors fighting on horses

The assassins' reign of terror: how these 12th-century killers spread fear in the Middle East.