Religion

St George’s Day: 11 things you might not know about England’s patron saint

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Bloodied feet, outrageous breasts and the sinister power of a hair cut: a history of the body

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II reaches an accord with the Muslim sultan al-Kamil in 1229 that saw Jerusalem handed to the crusaders. This is just one instance of cooperation between east and west in the era (though the two men never actually met in person). (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Muslim-Crusader interactions: a clash of civilisations?

Four knights hack Thomas Becket to death

Europe’s greatest martyr: how Thomas Becket rose from the dead

The Resurrection of Jesus

Eggs, bunnies and Jesus Christ: the history and origins of Easter

Excerpt from the Textus Roffensis showing Christ and a dragon

The Textus Roffensis: a medieval manuscript to rival Magna Carta

Dean Irwin explains the story of the 1190 anti-Semitic massacre at Clifford’s Tower in York, and how it fits into the wider story of England’s medieval Jewish population. (Image by Getty Images)

The Clifford’s Tower massacre & medieval anti-Semitism

Dr Hugh Willmott responds to listener questions on Henry VIII’s suppression of the monasteries in the 16th century. (Image by Getty Images)

The Dissolution: everything you wanted to know

A c1520–40 portrait of Henry VI

The miraculous afterlife of Henry VI

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)

Who was Saint Valentine? A history of the figure’s origins

Forgery was the dirty little secret of the Middle Ages. Levi Roach explains who counterfeited medieval manuscripts and why. (Image by Getty Images)

Medieval forgeries

Author Kate Mosse talks about her historical novel, The City of Tears. (Image by Getty Images)

Novelist Kate Mosse on The City of Tears

This image from the Nibelungenlied manuscript shows Pilgrim welcoming Kriemhild, a fictional character described as his neice in the text (Photo by Alamy)

The forged texts of the Middle Ages: why Europe’s holy men turned to counterfeiting

The ruins of the once magnificent Roche Abbey

The dissolution of the monasteries: mindless violence or planned precision?

A fanciful engraving imagines Peter the Hermit presenting Pope Urban II (centre) with a letter from Simeon II

Launching the First Crusade