Religion

A Victorian front cover of Lindisfarne Gospels.

The Lindisfarne Gospels

Tironensian communities such as that of Kelso Abbey were particularly popular in Scotland. (Heartland-Arts/Getty Images)

Where history happened: the monastic revolution

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Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States

The call for the First Crusade was initially made by Pope Urban (pictured) in 1095. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Britain and Islam: a matter of faith

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket

Our Lady of Sorrows, by unknown artist (20th century), photographic reproduction, 103x65 cm, inv 1602. Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosian. (Getty Images)

The day a Mexican farmer had a vision of the Virgin Mary

A big day in history: The day Pope Urban II exhorted Christians to go on crusade

A ceiling fresco depicting Christ. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Christianity under Roman rule: a new church is born

A relief showing Emperor Constantine's over Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge. (Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

A big day in history: “A cross of light” leads Constantine to victory

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and British prime minister from 1782–83, was instrumental in the Genevan exiles’ move to southern Ireland. (Getty Images)

The watchmakers of Waterford

Procession portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

How Elizabeth I used parties as a weapon against the Catholic threat to her throne

Major Roy Farran (seated, centre) at a press conference on his return from Palestine, 1947. (Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Trouble in Palestine

The death of Aelfeah at the hands of the Danes, portrayed in a window of St Luke's church, Bath. (Photo by: MyLoupe/UIG via Getty Images)

St Ælfheah: Canterbury’s other martyr

Painting depicting medieval nuns. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

17th-century nuns on the run

Line engraving depicting the burning of Rawlins White, c1555. From a late 18th-century edition of John Foxe's 'The Book of Martyrs'. (Alamy)

The Making of Martyrs