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The Investiture Disputes
Classic Pamphlet
Historical labels are dictated by a wayward fashion; and the name which is still most commonly associated with the first struggle of Empire and Papacy (1076-1122). "The Investiture Disputes," is neither lucid or appropriate. It has been commoner for historians to name the great wars of history after the issues...
The Investiture Disputes
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1450: The Rebellion of Jack Cade
Classic Pamphlet
‘When Kings and chief officers suffer their under rulers to misuse their subjects and will not hear nor remedy their people's wrongs when they complain, then suffereth God the rebel to rage and to execute that part of His justice which the partial prince will not.'
Thus did the Tudor...
1450: The Rebellion of Jack Cade
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A probable silk heirloom from Central Asia...
Historian article
This article explores precious fragments of silk, manufactured in the Byzantine Empire and Central Asia, discovered in archaeological excavations in Dublin.
Dublin, situated on the east coast of Ireland, grew out of a fortified riverside camp (longphort) for overwintering marauding Vikings or ‘northmen’, who were plundering wealthy ecclesiastical establishments from the late eighth...
A probable silk heirloom from Central Asia...
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Podcast: Mad or Bad? Was Henry VI a tyrant?
Presidential Lecture 2011
Professor Anne Curry delivered her final Presidential lecture at the Historical Association Annual Conference 2011 in Manchester.
Henry VI (1422-61) was England's youngest king, only nine months old when he succeeded his famous father. Traditionally he is seen as incompetent, pious and, latterly, insane, and thereby causing the Wars of...
Podcast: Mad or Bad? Was Henry VI a tyrant?
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From Norwich to Nara
Historian article
Simon Kaner explores the fascinating parallels revealed by the international research project From Nara to Norwich between life and religious belief at the ends of the Silk Roads.
Nara is the ancient capital region of Japan. The eighth century imperial treasury, the Shōsōin, with its treasures from China and central Asia, is...
From Norwich to Nara
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Out and About: The castles of Castle Cary
Historian feature
In this article, Chris Culpin explores the surprising story behind Castle Cary’s long-vanished castles. Through conquest, rebellion, siege, and demolition, Castle Cary’s forgotten castles reveal a dramatic chapter of local and national history...
Out and About: The castles of Castle Cary
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A woman’s place is in the castle
Historian article
This article looks at the role of two fourteenth century Scottish noblewomen, on opposing sides in the strife between Bruce and Balliol, who were left to defend their properties during their husbands’ absences.
The Scottish Wars of Independence were fought over several decades of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as...
A woman’s place is in the castle
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Doing history: Remembering the Wars of the Roses
Historian feature
This article examines how the Wars of the Roses have been remembered through memorials and presents the Battlefields Trust’s Wars of the Roses Memorial Database Project, launched in 2023. The open-access, crowd-sourced database maps monuments, plaques, battlefield markers and local commemorations linked to the conflicts. David Grummitt shows that remembrance...
Doing history: Remembering the Wars of the Roses
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Out and About: the central Marches of Wales and the Mortimer family of Wigmore
Historian feature
Paul Dryburgh and Philip Hume enable us to see the interaction of one prominent family with the area that they dominated.
The central Marches span the English/Welsh border in an area that encompasses the picturesque landscapes and market towns of north-west Herefordshire, south-west Shropshire, and Radnorshire which has also the rugged...
Out and About: the central Marches of Wales and the Mortimer family of Wigmore
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The Lady and the Unicorn
Historian article
As well as being admired for their aesthetic beauty, medieval and early modern tapestries often conveyed deeper symbolic meanings. Here Damien Dessane examines a famous sixteenth century tapestry and reveals the insights it provides into Anglo-French relations in that period and into the increasing agency of some important women...
The Lady and the Unicorn
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Using financial records to gain insights into medieval society
Historian article
While conceding that medieval accounting and tax records can appear to be dull at first sight, Alisdair Dobie demonstrates here how they can provide fascinating insights into many aspects of life at the time. Not only do these records teach historians about economic and financial affairs: they also enhance our...
Using financial records to gain insights into medieval society
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In conversation with Ayoush Lazikani
Historian feature
Ayoush Lazikani’s The Medieval Moon follows the moon between roughly 700 and 1600, tracing how it became a meeting-place for prophecy, medicine, devotion, and art across a globally conceived Middle Ages. Carolin Gluchowski met with Ayoush Lazikani to explore the many moons of the Middle Ages...
In conversation with Ayoush Lazikani
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Edgar Ætheling: what happened to the boy who never became king?
Historian article
Edgar Ǣtheling, grandson of Edmund Ironside, was the last serious Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne of Edward the Confessor. In this article, Jamie Page explores how his long life after 1066 sheds a fascinating light on the emerging Anglo-Norman world and its significant impact in Europe and the Middle East.
Edgar Ætheling: what happened to the boy who never became king?
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Update: The Princes in the Tower
Historian feature
A subject of endless fascination for the historian, the story of the ‘princes in the Tower’ hit the news again recently, following the discovery of Richard III’s body in Leicester and Philippa Langley’s ensuing quest to show that the much-maligned king was not responsible for the princes’ deaths. In this...
Update: The Princes in the Tower
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Coroners, communities, and the Crown: mapping death and justice in late medieval England
Historian article
Life in medieval cities could be violent and dangerous, and the records generated by state officials charged with regulating that violence offer invaluable insight into everyday life. Stephanie Emma Brown takes us behind the scenes of the recently launched Medieval Murder Map project, which was based on coroners’ rolls, to...
Coroners, communities, and the Crown: mapping death and justice in late medieval England
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Decoding medieval pilgrimage
Historian article
Pilgrimage played a significant role in medieval life and belief. Pilgrims travelled far and wide to express their devotion to saints and their cults. Who were the pilgrims and what did pilgrimage involve? Luke Daly makes sense of this fascinating and complex phenomenon...
Decoding medieval pilgrimage
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Doing history: Manorial Court Records
Historian feature
Manorial records are often associated with the medieval period, and while they are a valuable resource for medieval historians, they actually span from the twelfth to the twentieth century. Sarah Pettyfer sheds light on these often-overlooked records, helping family and local historians explore them with confidence...
Doing history: Manorial Court Records
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My Favourite History Place: A Short History of Brill
Historian feature
In this article Josephine Glover discusses the long history of her ‘favourite history place’, the Buckinghamshire village of Brill. She explains how there has been a human settlement there since Mesolithic times. Using various fragments of evidence, she pieces together the extent to which the village was important to early...
My Favourite History Place: A Short History of Brill
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The Jews of Medieval England
Historian article
The diversity of the history of the British Isles continues to be a subject of discussion in academic circles and in popular culture. Some communities have been around for hundreds of years, while others have been part of our societies and then disappeared or been eroded. One of the communities...
The Jews of Medieval England
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The Coronation of King Charles III
Historian feature
2023 will see the first coronation of a British monarch for 70 years. Only those now in their 70s or above will remember the last one. The UK is the only country in Europe still to carry out a coronation, a ceremony that has its roots in traditions over a...
The Coronation of King Charles III
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Out and About: The Parish Armoury in St Mary’s Church, Mendlesham
Historian feature
In the Tudor and early Stuart period most towns and villages had a legal obligation to store arms and armour in case of a national emergency. Here Shona Rutherford-Edge tells the story of the parish armoury in the Suffolk village of Mendlesham, which was kept in the local church and from which many...
Out and About: The Parish Armoury in St Mary’s Church, Mendlesham
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In conversation with Mark Nicholls
Historian feature
The Historian sat down with Mark Nicholls to discuss his latest book, The Rise and Fall of Treason in English History, co-authored with Allen Boyer, which charts the history of the law of treason from its origins to the present day...
In conversation with Mark Nicholls
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Linking Law: Viking and medieval Scandinavian law in literature and history
Historian article
Ongoing interdisciplinary developments have cast light on the surprisingly sophisticated world of Viking-age and medieval Scandinavian law and its wide-ranging influence in these societies.
In many ways, the Viking Age and its inhabitants are more familiar than ever before. From video games to television and films, new narrative frontiers and bigger...
Linking Law: Viking and medieval Scandinavian law in literature and history
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Sutton Hoo and long-distance contacts
Historian article
This article looks at the importance of long distance connections between the English kingdoms and the eastern Mediterranean in the sixth to eighth centuries.
The relationship between the ship burial at Sutton Hoo – in the eastern English county of Suffolk – the people who discovered and excavated it, and what...
Sutton Hoo and long-distance contacts
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Recorded webinar: The People of 1381
Article
This lecture with Adrian Bell, Helen Lacey and Helen Killick introduces key findings of the AHRC-funded project The People of 1381. Which people and social groups were involved in England’s biggest pre-civil war revolt? How much can we find out about their lives: where did they come from, what actions...
Recorded webinar: The People of 1381
