Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

Medieval

For our forebears, the secret to a good night's sleep lay in the contents of your gut. (Photo by Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)

6 sleeping tips and tricks from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Glen McBeth.

Q&AWhen did the leopards on the royal arms of England become the lions depicted today?

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Professor Dame Janet L Nelson has published extensively on early medieval Europe. She is professor emeritus at King's College London, a fellow of the British Academy and a former president of the Royal Historical Society. Her previous books include 'Charles the Bald' (1992) and 'The Frankish World' (1996). (Photograph by Frank Monks)

Books interview with Janet Nelson: "The only way this huge regime could work was by Charlemagne trusting his own instincts". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History ExplorerThe Holy Island of Lindisfarne

A medieval European union: why the Hanseatic League still matters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The ruins of Dunluce Castle, which sit on the coastal cliffs of North Antrim in Northern Ireland. They are thought to have been the inspiration for CS Lewis’s castle Cair Paravel in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (1950–56). (Photo by Andrea Ricordi/Contributor/Getty Images)

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

An illustration of the battle of Agincourt. By attacking over unsuitable ground, Charles d’Albret “doomed his army”, says Rupert Matthews. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The top 10 military blunders in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

St Fagans Castle and gardens

A visit to St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Trading blows: Rana Mitter on the US-China Trade War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Construction of a medieval church

Bravado or blunder? Architectural fails of medieval church builders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Knights Templar depicted on an antique map of Jerusalem. (Alamy)

The rise and fall of the Knights Templar. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historian, presenter and author Dan Jones. (David Levenson/Getty Images)

Dan Jones on the Templars and ‘Knightfall’. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Richard III. Was the last Yorkist king a usurper? Historian John Ashdown-Hill explains why this is a myth. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Did fear drive Richard III to the throne?

What did Magna Carta mean to the English in 1215?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

9 eccentric monarchs through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard II sails down the Thames to Greenwich to meet the rebels. (Photo by Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Why did the peasants really revolt?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John Hardyng: Henry V’s secret agent. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview with AC Grayling: “A great philosophical mind is one that belongs to a childish heart – always curious, always open”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The life of Saladin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Elizabeth Woodville, queen of Edward IV. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

8 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Woodvilles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting depicts a 14th-century sea battle

Medieval inspiration: what the fantasy genre owes to the 14th century. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Panorama of Machu Picchu

The last days of the Incas. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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

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

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.