Ancient Griffin-lion relief

Myths and legends

King Arthur in The Winter King

The Winter King: the true story of the King Arthur drama

A women with a shocked face next to a calendar with the date of Friday the 13th

Q&AWhy is Friday 13th unlucky?

An illustration of King Arthur's coronation, from the 13th-century Flores Historiarum

Was King Arthur real? Discover the legend of the 'once and future king'

King Arthur and his knights return to Camelot (Photo by: Christophel Fine Art/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Q&AWhere was Camelot?

Mordred duels King Arthur with swords as they stand over the bodies of fallen men

Who killed King Arthur?

Illustration of the Children's Crusade of 1212, from the Story of the British Nation, Volume 1, by Walter Hutchinson, c1920 (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

What was the Children’s Crusade, and did it actually happen?

A 1950s illustration imagines a group of mountaineers catching sight of a large Yeti in the Himalayas

General History

The hunt for the Abominable Snowman: what's the history of the Yeti legend?

A mermaid combing her hair

General Early Modern

Tails from the deep: separating the real folklore of mermaids from Disney stories

Elsie Wright, who with her cousin Frances Griffiths took photos of sprites, gnomes and fairies, 1917 (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Fake news: 8 of the most notorious photograph hoaxes, from fairies to UFOs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Cat O'Neil

David Ingram: the Tudor sailor who hiked across pre-colonial America. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hitler and Eva Braun pose with their dogs in 1942

Second World War

Fake news and Nazis: Richard J Evans on the spectre of conspiracies

Perhaps the most charming idea about the origins of the festive tradition of kissing under the mistletoe derives from a Viking myth of Frigg, goddess of love and marriage, and her ill-fated son Balder. (Photo by Jurg Waldmeier/StockFood Creative/Getty Images Plus)

Q&AWhy do we kiss under the mistletoe?

A man goes into a village at night on the eve of Samhain

What is the history behind the Celtic festival of Samhain and what does it have to do with Halloween?

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

Saint Michael and the DragonSaint Michael and the Dragon

DragonsFrom mythological beasts of history to the firebreathers of fantasy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

Newspaper front page with headline 'Gen. Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer'

Why we should rememberThe Roswell Incident. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The NorthmanHow the real Viking prince Amleth inspired Shakespeare

The Trojan Horse is pulled in the city of Troy

Q&AWhat is the Trojan Horse and why do we say 'Beware the Greeks bearing gifts'?

Eggs, bunnies and Jesus Christ: the history and origins of Easter

The real Amazons: how the legendary warrior women inspired fighters, feminists and Wonder Woman

A late 16th century portrait of Anne Boleyn (c.1500-1536)

Q&ADid Anne Boleyn have six fingers on one hand?

Illustration of folkloric beings

A history of Britain's folklore. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A lobbycard for the 1923 film Is Conan Doyle Right? (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

The supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

History’s greatest mysteriesWas the Trojan War fact or fiction?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An Etruscan scarab made of Carmelite featuring a winged Daidalos

The mythical genius of Daidalos, the first polymath. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A depiction of folk figure Dick Whittington

Dick Whittington, the Loch Ness Monster and a talking mongoose: 8 mythical figures of British history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The fabled ‘Vegetable Lamb of Tartary’ was a plant said to grow sheep as its fruit.

Q&AWhat was the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary?

Illustration of the man in the iron mask standing by the window of his cell and guarded by two musketeers

Unmasking the 'man in the iron mask': do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?