Culture

The Arnolfini portrait painting – oil on wood – appears to depict a wealthy couple holding hands in a domestic setting, the bed perhaps indicating that they are in a bedchamber

What great paintings say The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, 1434

The Floralia, an ancient Roman celebration of fertility and nature that took place around early May

What is the history behind May Day and why do we celebrate it?

The 30th Annual Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1958. (Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

13 remarkable moments in the history of the Oscars

Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor meet for a dance in Bridgerton

General Early Modern

Q&A How did people learn to dance in Baroque and Regency times?

Neil MacGregor is a broadcaster, author and former director of the British Museum

Neil MacGregor "We decide for ourselves who we think we are – and museums are central to that"

Louis Wain, c1900, with one of his pet cats. Photo by Ernest H. Mills/Getty Images)

Louis Wain: the cat-loving artist who forever changed the way that we see our feline friends

Emily Soldene, actress, writer and rebel

Emily Soldene: actress, writer, rebel

Lithograph portrait of Scottish poet Robert Burns. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)

7 facts about Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard

Pod Roger Luckhurst WL

General History

The Gothic: from Dracula to The Shining

Podcast Dominic Sandbrook WL

How the Beatles were in tune with 60s Britain

School photo showing rows of children from a Manchester school

Did Britain really roar in the 1920s?

The Beatles pictured in 1969

The Beatles: 8 landmark moments that chart the changing face of sixties Britain

Three medieval carol singers, image dated 1911

Christmas carols: the history behind 9 festive favourites

HEX_Voices_Michael Wood

Michael Wood on James Bond “Bond’s role grew out of proportion to Britain’s standing in the world”

A 14th-century illustration of a farmer leading a pack animal through the ice and snow

The surprisingly modern Middle Ages