Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

Medieval

Lucrezia Borgia with her father Pope Alexander VI

Lucrezia Borgia: is her bad reputation deserved?

The first state visit by American President George W Bush in 2003 was highly controversial, attracting protesters opposed to the involvement of the United States and Britain in the Iraq War. Here the president is pictured with the Queen in 2008. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

From pageantry to controversy: a brief history of state visits

A 19th-century painted glass rolling pin and wooden pastry jigger. (Photo ©Emma Kay)

Biscuit tins and pastry jiggers: the history of 6 baking tools

Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

Peasants in the Middle Ages at a cattle market. Cows appear to have been difficult to manage in the medieval period, and caused several deaths. (Photo by INTERFOTO /Alamy)

5 strange causes of death in the medieval period

A Spanish publisher works on cloning the illustrated codex hand-written manuscript Voynich. (Photo by CESAR MANSO/AFP/Getty Images)

How the Voynich manuscript hit the headlines

Marc Morris at BBC History Magazine's 2017 History Weekend (Photo by Steve Sayers)

Secrets of Britain’s castles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King Edward IV, who used the surname Plantagenet. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Q&AWhen did British kings and queens start using surnames?

The Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the second half of the 12th century. This military intervention had the backing of King Henry II of England and was authorised by Pope Adrian IV. Here you can see Henry II landing at Waterford in 1171. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland: 850 years on

Portrait of theologian and Bible translator John Wycliffe (c1330–84). (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

The murderous history of Bible translations

Edward the Confessor depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.

Q&AWhat did Edward ‘confess’?

Notre Dame of Paris at first light (Photo by Captblack76-Dreamstime.com)

Notre-Dame. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Melvyn Bragg speaks to the History Extra podcast about the 12th-century love story of Heloise and Abelard. (Photo by Awakening/Getty Images)

Melvyn Bragg on Heloise and Abelard. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

On the latest History Extra podcast, Christopher Somerville discusses his experiences of visiting some of Britain’s historic cathedrals, including Wells Cathedral, pictured. (Photo by Roger Utting | Dreamstime.com)

Exploring Britain’s cathedrals. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Edward IV, the first Yorkist King of England.

Edward IV: facts about his life, death and reign

Professor Nicholas Vincent discusses the life and reign of King John. (Photograph by Mr Christopher Guy, Worcester Cathedral Archaeologist, reproduced by permission of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral)

King John: medieval monster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Rethinking the crusades. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

In only two years, Hernán Cortés brought about the downfall of an efficient military civilisation through a combination of diplomacy, warfare, tactics, luck and sheer force of personality, writes Caroline Dodds. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Cortés and Montezuma: the conquering of Tenochtitlan

Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce in 'Outlaw King'. (Photo by Netfix / David Eustace)

Robert the Bruce: what do we know?

"It was in Ireland that King John revealed himself as a monster," writes Nicholas Vincent. (Image by Alamy)

King John: the making of a medieval monster

A rocky relationship: Eleanor of Woodstock with her husband, Reginald II of Guelders. (Photo by Alamy)

The medieval rebel princesses

Clifford's Tower stands on the site where around 150 Jews took their own lives rather than renounce their faith, in 1190. (Photo by Dreamstime)

The persecution of Jews in medieval England

(Photo by Alamy)

Brexit lessons from history

Portrait of King Henry VI, the subject of this episode of the History Extra podcast. (Photo by Bridgeman)

Henry VI: terrible king. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Woodcut of a woman who may be stoking a furnace or baking bread, printed in the 15th century. (SSPL/Getty Images)

What was life like for a medieval housewife?

Oil on canvas of the Princes in the Tower

An enigma at the heart of British history: who killed the Princes in the Tower, Edward V and Richard Duke of York?

The expulsion of Jews from France in 1182. Found in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The Jews of medieval England

An illustration of Edward II. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The big debate: was Edward II really murdered?

A sculpture of Genghis Kahn

The brutal brilliance of Genghis Khan

Catherine Hanley tells the story of Empress Matilda, whose battle for the English throne became known as ‘the anarchy’. (Photo by Jeni Nott for BBC History Magazine)

Empress Matilda: Medieval warrior queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.