Period

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. (Photo by Getty Images)

Yuri Gagarin: 8 things you (probably) didn’t know about the first man in space

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&A When did Christianity first arrive in Britain?

Engraving of emperor Commodus's death

Cheese, angry gods and shoddy surgeons: the unlikely deaths of Roman emperors

kulich-recipe-1033c4f

Historical recipe Russian 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

Premium

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.

Miniature from an Apocalypse of Cambrai depicting the opening of the sixth seal: an earthquake occurs and the sun becomes black. Municipal library, Cambrai, France. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Written in the stars: 7 celestial events that may have changed history

Why were the Tudors called the Tudors? The answer lies with Catherine of Valois (pictured), widow of Henry V. (Photo by Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty)

Q&A Why were they called the Tudors?

The Church of St Martin of Tours in Canterbury

Q&A What is the oldest church in England?

Photograph of John Snow in 1856

The Broad Street cholera outbreak: how bad was it and how was it contained?

An open Bible on an altar

General ancient history

A history of the Bible: who wrote it and when?

Premium

Illustration of Elizabeth I in a cage

What if... The Spanish Armada had landed? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

Self portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi as a lute player (Photo by Getty Images)

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

Children in Auschwitz

Second World War

The Windermere Children: the remarkable stories of 300 child survivors of the Holocaust