Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

Medieval

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.

A 10th-century silver coin minted in a Danish settlement

The global millennium: how the year AD 1000 was more globalised than we might think

Queen Victoria on an ivory throne

Top 11 monarchs in British history

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

The dark side: A man summons demons in a 14th-century English encyclopaedia. "Some educated men were determined to contact the spirit world – and took great risks to do so," writes Catherine Rider. (Photo by Bridgeman)

From healing spells to conjuring demons: the medieval obsession with magic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Harold Godwinson is proclaimed king of England in the Bayeux Tapestry. It may have been commissioned by a Norman but this magnificent artwork repeatedly acknowledges the English leader’s piety and courage. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Editor's pick11 fascinating articles on the Normans you can read right now

A portrait of Isabella of Castile

Isabella of Castile: a brief guide to the medieval queen

Portrait of an unknown woman, c1490–95. She sports a necklace in a painting from c1485. Coral jewellery was widely believed to ward off evil spirits. (Photo by Getty Images)

Medieval magic at work: 7 spells and charms our ancestors used

Cousins at war: King Stephen is shown holding a falcon in a miniature from 1253. His battle with his cousin Matilda for the English crown plunged the realm into a long civil war. (Photo by Alamy)

The Anarchy: how bloody was Stephen and Matilda’s medieval battle for the English crown?

Julian of Norwich holds her famous book in a sculpture at the doors of Norwich Cathedral. (Photo by Creative Commons Wiki)

Julian of Norwich: Janina Ramirez hails 'the female Chaucer'

Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene: why do people want to believe she was a sinner and prostitute?

A depiction of the Norman army, from the Bayeux Tapestry

Everything you wanted to know about the 1066 Norman invasion and the battle of Hastings – but were afraid to ask

'The Landing of St Augustine in Kent', AD 597

General ancient history

Q&AWhen did Christianity first arrive in Britain?

Historical recipeRussian Easter sweet bread Kulich

King Richard I, aka Richard the Lionheart. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Richard the Lionheart may not have spoken English – plus 7 more surprising facts

Dance of Death, printed by Jacob Meydenbach, Germany 1492. (Photo by Alamy)

The Black Death and social change. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Our composite image shows Henry II framed by an Arabic arch. Henry claimed he "would sooner accept the errors of Nur-al-Din" than suffer Thomas Becket remaining as archbishop. (Image by Bridgeman/Getty Images)

King Henry II: the Muslim monarch of medieval England?

Tomb of Richard the Lionheart

Q&AHow did Richard the Lionheart die? And where is he buried?

An oil portrait of Charlemagne (c747–814), King of the Franks, by 15th/16th-century artist Albrecht Durer. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

The legacy of Charlemagne: how the king of the Franks continues to cast a shadow over Europe

Two scenes from the Chronique de St Denis, late 14th century. The left-hand scene depicts the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France in 1137. The scene on the right shows Louis departing by ship to go on the Second Crusade in 1147. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Eleanor of Aquitaine: the medieval queen who took on Europe’s most powerful men

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

Henry V. (© Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library / Alamy)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Henry V and the battle of Agincourt

Scotland's cry for liberty: the Declaration of Arbroath

Jesus appears before Pontius Pilate in a crowd scene from Oberammergau's 2010 Passion Play. The Bavarian town stages the mammoth production once every ten years, with a cast made up entirely of local residents. (Photo by Brigitte Maria Mayer Passionsspiele Oberammergau 2020)

Travel to: Oberammergau, Germany. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

News in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Royal women podcast episodes

The congregation in Westminster Cathedral, London, during National Prayer Day, 7 September 1941. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Praying for Britain: the history of national days of prayer

A short history of quarantine

General ancient history

When was toilet paper invented and what did people use before?