Period

Winston Churchill delivering his famous 'iron curtain' speech at Westminster College

Second World War

8 of Churchill’s greatest speeches

What can churches tell us?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Russian empress Catherine the Great

Hypocrite, reactionary, usurper, sex maniac: is Catherine the Great's reputation justified?

Sex work: a brief history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on a pioneer of photojournalism“We should salute a towering figure in the history of photography”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 14th-century illustration of a farmer leading a pack animal through the ice and snow

The surprisingly modern Middle Ages

Shoppers in Liverpool during the 1960s

Q&AWhy is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called ‘Black Friday’?

Q&AWhat and when is the National Day of Mourning in the United States?

Pragmatist or heartless? A portrait of the young Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492). The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The power behind the throne: women in the Wars of the Roses

Woman waving a union jack flag emblazoned with a swastika

In pictures: Interwar fascism

A group of Tunisian Jews are rounded up and marched through the streets of Tunis carrying shovels in December 1942

Holocaust in the Middle East

The Ottoman “Age of Discovery”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anglo-Scottish border wars: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A secret trial that transformed transgender rights. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How to tell the story of WW2. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Viking ship is burned in a reproduction of a funeral

What do we know about Viking funerals?

A 12th century tapestry showing, on the left, one eyed Odin carrying an axe, with a representation of the tree from which he hung; in the centre, Thor, carrying his symbolic hammer in his right hand; and on the right the fertility god Frey holding an ear of corn

10 incredible Viking stories from Norse mythology

A carving of the Viking gods Odin, Thor and Freyr with a sacrifice above them. It was found on the Swedish island of Gotland (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Gods, myths and rituals: what we know about Viking religious beliefs

How slavery & empire shaped epidemiology. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Depiction of a musician and dancing fool in Paris, 14th century

What was life like for a court jester?

The Great Army attacks the East Anglian town of Thetford in this illuminated manuscript from 'The Life of Edmund'. Viking pikemen scale the ramparts on ladders

The secrets of the Viking Great Army

A French manuscript from c1100 shows Viking warriors sailing to Brittany. The Viking Age touched all areas of life and can still be felt today

What if...The Vikings had never left their homelands?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sword/hammer type coin from the Danelaw

The Danelaw: is the ‘realm’ of the Vikings in Anglo-Saxon-era England a place or an idea?

George V: not so dull after all. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry, Ron and Hermione on the set of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Photo by Peter Mountain/Warner Bros. Pictures/THA)

The real magic of Harry Potter: 15 details the wizarding world borrows from history

Viking sailors make the long voyage across the Atlantic between Europe and America, in order to bring back timber, circa 1350. The Vikings are thought to have discovered America in around 1000 AD, but never attempted full colonization of the new land, due to the hostile natives. Painting by NC Wyeth. (Image by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"Vikings didn't wear horned helmets," plus 7 more Viking myths busted

The man who made King Alfred great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Depiction of the battle of Stamford Bridge. Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, seen here wielding a battleaxe, was slain at the battle

Harald Hardrada: why there's more to the last great Viking than his death in 1066

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

The St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.