Religion

Sleeping man

6 sleeping tips and tricks from history

The expulsion of Jews from France in 1182. Found in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The Jews of medieval England

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, last Shah of Iran, pictured in 1967 with his third wife, Farah Diba, and their son Reza. His attempted reforms during his final years in power alienated many of his nation's people. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Iranian Revolution: why 1979’s uprising still shapes the Middle East

A portrait of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400), who modern literary scholars credit for turning Valentine into the patron of love. Chaucer was a major influencer in his day – after him, everyone began calling their beloved “Valentine” and writing love poems on 14 February, says Lisa Bitel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of Valentine’s Day – from the patron saint of epilepsy to Chaucer’s love tales

Charles Darwin

Darwin vs God: did the ‘Origin of Species’ cause a clash between church and science?

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

Heck cows, the result of Nazi breeding experiments. Seven Heck cows had to be put down in January 2015 after they tried, on multiple occasions, to attack Devon farmer Derek Gow. (Photo by Jim Wileman/Alamy Stock Photo)

Nazi super-cows and defamed Gods: 7 strange and forgotten moments in history

Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach, 1543. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Europe’s holy war: how the Reformation convulsed a continent

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Mary, Queen of Scots craved the throne occupied by her cousin Elizabeth I (pictured). Theirs was a relationship defined by plots, massacres, assassinations and ultimately, the executioner's sword. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Deadly Rivals: Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

A view from the Choir of Canterbury Cathedral looking towards Trinity Chapel, which was built in the 12th century to house the remains of Thomas Becket. (Photo by Alamy)

History explorer The wonder of medieval cathedrals

Illustration from Dante's ‘Inferno’, the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ‘Divine Comedy’, depicting thieves tormented in hell by serpents. Engraving by Gustave Dore, 1885. (Photo by Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis via Getty Images)

General ancient history

A brief history of the afterlife

"The Knights Templare were able to flight across all terrains. They were the equivalent of the SAS, the Navy SEALS or the French Foreign Legion," says Dan Jones. (Alamy)

The rise and fall of the Knights Templar

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Katherine Parr (also Catherine), the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, c1543. Engraving after a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. Katherine was no middle-aged frump but a clever, devout and passionate wife, says Derek Wilson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Katherine Parr: the truth about the wife who ‘survived’

Professor Kathleen Burk and Simon Jenkins discuss Jenkins's new book, 'A Short History of Europe'. (Photo by David Hampton for BBC World Histories magazine)

The Library Simon Jenkins and Kathleen Burk on the history of Europe

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