Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

Medieval

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

Q&AWhen did British kings and queens start using surnames?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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

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

The medieval rebel princesses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

(Photo by Alamy)

Brexit lessons from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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

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.

Catherine Hanley talks to Ellie Cawthorne about Matilda, the legitimate daughter of Henry I. (Photographed for BBC History Magazine by Jeni Nott).

Catherine Hanley on Matilda: "Honestly, if I were her, I'd have wanted to put my fist through a wall". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

As a child king, Henry VI – shown in a c16th-century portrait – learned the lessons of kingship from books. Unfortunately, those books didn't extol the merits of ruthlessness and practising realpolitik. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

How Henry VI's love of peace cost him the throne – and his life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Italian-French poet and campaigner for women's rights, Christine de Pizan (1364–c1430). (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Not so silent: the unquiet women of history

A British military post in a street in Dublin during the Easter Uprising, 1916. (Photo by ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The history of Ireland: 11 milestone moments

The tomb of King Richard III, who was reinterred at Leicester cathedral of Saint Martin following the discovery of his body in 2012. (Photo by Getty Images)

A ‘car park king’ timeline: the discovery of Richard III

Illustration of Isabella of France. From the book ‘Our Queen Mothers’ by Elizabeth Villiers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Isabella of France: the rebel queen

Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family. (Image Credit: BBC/Wall to Wall Media/Jack Coathupe)

Danny Dyer is “making people think again” about history, say historians