Early comic panel illustration

England

The English Reformation: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Surviving the Great Plague. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry III during the Second Barons' War

Simon de Montfort and the barons’ crusade: why rebel lords waged holy war against Henry III

Dissection of human cadaver by physicians

Ask the medieval doctor: 6 ailments and their treatments

Why do brides wear white dresses? Plus the history behind 3 more wedding traditions

A medieval couple being married by a clergyman

Love and marriage in medieval England

Why Florence Nightingale was so much more than the ‘Lady with the Lamp’

Florence Nightingale

The life and legend of Florence Nightingale. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sir Barry Cunliffe and a team of archaeologist roll up a Roman mosaic at Fishbourne Roman palace

Roll up, roll up: how the Roman mosaics at Fishbourne Palace were saved

Queen Victoria c1870

What did Queen Victoria really look like?

What was a drunkard's cloak used for? This illustration shows a man wearing the archaic punishment tool designed to punish habitual drinkers. (Photo by Getty Images)

Q&AWhat was a drunkard’s cloak used for?

Miners work hard in cramped conditions at the pit face in Ellington Colliery, Northumberland, 1951 (Photo by Getty Images)

The Northumbrians: from Bede to Geordie Shore. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great and Edington: how the King of Wessex became great

VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets

Second World War

In pictures: jubilant VE Day street party celebrations

Victorian family. (Photo by Sean Sexton-Getty images)

The Victorians: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Linda Porter

Linda Porter“You’ve got to be impressed by how these women played the system”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851. (The Print Collector/Getty Images)

"A wonder of the world": Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition at the famous Crystal Palace

Old Norse: Page from the manuscript Codex Regius, which was written in Iceland and contains the poems of elder Edda. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

BlogMedieval matters #1: The Last Kingdom, Robin Hood and how to learn Old Norse in lockdown

Harvest time in Surrey in the mid-19th century. Powerful Tory landowners had agitated for the introduction of the Corn Laws to protect the income from their farms. (Photo by Christie's Images via Bridgman)

The Corn Law crisis: the bitter political war that threatened thousands with starvation

Detail of the carved portal of Hylestad stave church, 12th century. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

5 forgotten Viking battles that shaped Britain's destiny

Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) in the 'The Last Kingdom'.

The Last Kingdom S4 E9 review: a tense penultimate episode sees the Saxon heart “ripped out”

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred in season 4 of 'The Last Kingdom'. (Photo by Joe Alblas/Carnival)

The Last Kingdom S4 E10 review: resettled pieces on the board allow drama to “catch up” with history

Millie Brady as Aethelflaed in 'The Last Kingdom'.

The Last Kingdom S4 E8 review: a fiery opening paves the way for a new ruler of Mercia

The Last Kingdom season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E7 review: a royal funeral, the abuse of power, and a little artistic licence

Oscar Skagerberg as Bjorgulf in 'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E5 review: “This has to rank among the more gruesome episodes of the season, if not the series”

Ewan Mitchell as Osferth, Mark Rowley as Finan and Aenas Fedaravicius as Sihtric. (Photo by Adrienn Szabo courtesy of Netflix)

The Last Kingdom S4 E6 review: a mysterious medieval ‘Sickness’ leaves its mark

Illustration by Luke Waller for BBC History Magazine.

Æthelwold: Alfred the Great's rebel nephew

Timothy Innes as King Edward and Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred

Who were the key players in the struggle to succeed Alfred the Great?

The Last Kingdom series 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E3 review: moments of introspection remind us of history’s “shared humanity”

'The Last Kingdom' season 4 episode 1

The Last Kingdom S4 E1 review: will Alfred’s legacy come tumbling down?