Tag: history
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The Origins of the Hundred Years’ War
Today I’m pleased to be hosting a guest post looking at the origins of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. This is a topic that comes up quite a lot on this blog, as it’s right in my era of expertise, so I’m happy to hear from Talia. Talia is a 19-year-old self-taught…
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It Was Really Her Plantation: White Early American Southern Women’s Positions of Authority on Plantations 1607-1776
Today we have a really interesting guest post lined up for you. I’m happy to introduce Catherine Williams, a graduate student in Early Modern Studies, who will be telling us all about White women in the Early Modern American South. These women held unique positions of power and authority through their scarcity and through the…
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Energising Fashion: The Craze for Electric Corsets and Belts
Fashion is fashionable. It is ever-changing, inspired by culture, religion, and society, and every century has had its own “craze” where people go to extremes that are sometimes criticised by contemporaries, and sometimes by those looking back and wondering “what were they thinking?”. But one trend of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries was that for…
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Pontefract Castle: The Key to the North
It’s been a little while since I’ve written about a castle, despite the plethora of incredible castles in England where I live, let alone ones further afield. Last month I visited Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to pick this series back up! Pontefract Castle was one of the…
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Jewellery: The Eyewitness of History
Today we have a wonderful guest post by jeweller Samuel Mee, giving us a fascinating tour through some key pieces of jewellery from history. It’s a real great snippet into just how important jewellery could be, and how much we can glean about certain times in the past from the jewellery which was fashionable. Samuel…
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Mythical Creatures: Medieval Unicorns in Europe
Today we return to an old favourite series of mine, looking at the history of mythical creatures. In recent years, the unicorn has experienced a true revival, representing both LGBTQ+ communities and becoming a fan favourite of young children. But the unicorn was just as popular in medieval Europe, appearing countless times in artwork and…
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A Brief Moment of History: Humanity’s Worst Year Ever?
Ask anyone on the street when they think the worst year in human history was, and I’m sure there’d be quite a variety of answers offered. Years during the World Wars; when the Black Death swept Europe; or even more recent events like during the Covid pandemic. War and disease are probably the most significant…
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Sacred Baroque: The Catholic Counter-Reformation and its influence on Art
Many of us are aware of the Reformation, and how it completely changed the landscape of Europe across the 16th century and beyond. But not so many are aware of the Catholic Church’s response to the Reformation, and how it tried to reform the Church and lure people back to Catholicism, whilst re-asserting its identity…
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What Was A Court Jester In The Medieval Period?
Today I am pleased to be hosting a guest post written by Darryl King. Darryl is the founder of Jester Planet, a site that is dedicated to being a comprehensive guide to jesters throughout history. Writing under the pen name D.E. King, he is also the author of the In All Jest series. The epic…
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Book Review: “Lionessheart” by Catherine Hanley
Today, I’m really excited to be writing a book review of the upcoming Lionessheart by historian Catherine Hanley. The topic of the book is the exact type of history I love to read (and write!) and so I couldn’t wait to dive in and share my thoughts with you all. NB, I was sent a…
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