The Last Supper

Religion

Episode 4Were the Tudors really THAT superstitious?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval manuscript scene depicting three robed figures with pale, gaunt faces standing side by side. To their right, a hooded figure in a long robe lifts a club or staff in a striking pose. The background is plain parchment with several lines of Latin script written above the figures.

It was medieval England's worst antisemitic massacre. Here's what happened next. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A monochrome woodcut-style illustration of a small camp. Several conical tents stand in the background. In the foreground, three people are engaged in different tasks: one person carries a large bundle on their back, another kneels beside a small fire as if cooking or tending it, and a third lies on the ground wrapped in a blanket, appearing to rest. The scene emphasises daily life and work within the camp

Inside Britain's first refugee camp: a 300-year history of immigration. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A composite image of Henry VIII against a backdrop of mysterious illustrations.

The Tudor law that forced an occult practice underground for centuries

A man in a black long sleeved top, beige trousers and brown shoes sitting on a low wooden bench. He is leant on his knees, with his hands held together. Behind him, there is a river covered in lily pads and a bank of large trees

The overlooked history of Muslims in Europe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A collage of images showing a woman in a red and brown dress, with her arms around a small child to her left. Behind them is a large building, some ships and a crowd of people

Meet the incredible woman who saved Portugal's Jews. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large drawing showing multiple different sea creatures in a light blue ocean

From krakens to serpents: 5 fearsome sea monsters from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a man with a snake like body, all piled on top of each other, with a sad face and long black hair, plus red wings

The US 'voodoo' scare: why 19th-century racists spread fake news about Haiti. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This late 15th-century illustration shows crusader forces besieging Damascus during the ill-fated Second Crusade in 1148. The armies of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Emperor Conrad III of Germany, and King Louis VII of France converge on the city, only for the campaign to collapse in defeat. Likely produced in Bruges for a chronicle of the Crusades, the image reflects how later medieval artists interpreted one of the crusading movement’s most damaging failures.

Who won the crusades? The causes, death toll, and number of medieval holy wars explained

A large marble statue of a woman, with many bulbous growths all over her front

General ancient history

This ancient goddess commanded a Wonder of the World – but why did she have thirty breasts?

A painting showing a man dressed in armour, with a blue and red flag over him, riding a white horse amongst a busy battlefield

5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2Tudor religion: what did people believe?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woman with blonde hair and wearing a navy T shirt stands looking up towards the top left of the image. She has a large white earring and stands in front of some Roman ruins

Alice Roberts: “Christianity didn’t invent itself as an empire from nothing: it adapted existing Roman structures”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A man in a grey T shirt and blue jeans sits with his arms crossed, facing the camera. He has dark curly hair and wears glasses

Jonathan Healey: “A connection was made between the rarefied world of the royal court and the politics of the street”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woman dressed in a ruffled dress and spotted robe holds a young child in a white, lacy dress and cap

Maria of Modena: The queen who started a revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hug a tree like a pagan from the margins of Europe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

Q&AWhy is Friday 13th unlucky?

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

Pope Franics waves to the crowd from a wheelchair

General History

How are popes elected? Here's what happens after a pope dies

A depiction of King Æthelred II holding a sword

The St Brice’s Day Massacre: what really happened?

St. Angela Merici explaining rules to eight sisters at founding of Ursuline Order, 17th century.

Why sex was a sin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How monasteries powered medieval Europe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Agony and ecstasy: the lives of mystics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Fall of the Titans, 1588-90, painting by Cornelis van Haarlem (Photo by PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

When gods go to war: what was the Titanomachy of Greek mythology?

Twr Mawr Lighthouse and St Dwynwen's stone cross at sunrise on Llanddwyn Island on Anglesey.

Who was St Dwynwen?The legend of the Welsh patron saint of lovers

How to build a radical: what the Gunpowder Plot can teach us about extremism today. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An open Bible on an altar

General ancient history

A history of the BibleWho wrote it and when?

Strange stories of medieval saints. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A spiritual swastika on a lotus background.

Second World War

Why did Hitler choose the swastika as a Nazi symbol?

The outrageous heretical legend of Pope Joan, history’s only female pope