The Last Supper

Religion

'The Landing of St Augustine in Kent', AD 597

General ancient history

Q&AWhen did Christianity first arrive in Britain?

The Church of St Martin of Tours in Canterbury

Q&AWhat is the oldest church in England?

An open Bible on an altar

General ancient history

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

Our composite image shows Henry II framed by an Arabic arch. Henry claimed he "would sooner accept the errors of Nur-al-Din" than suffer Thomas Becket remaining as archbishop. (Image by Bridgeman/Getty Images)

King Henry II: the Muslim monarch of medieval England?

The congregation in Westminster Cathedral, London, during National Prayer Day, 7 September 1941. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Praying for Britain: the history of national days of prayer

A 19th-century depiction of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Who was Maharaja Ranjit Singh?

Once he gained control of the entire Roman Empire, Constantine set about an ambitious programme of reform. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Constantine the Great: the emperor who created Europe

Black rights activist Malcolm X

Malcolm X: Activism, assassination and how he predicted his own death

The Battle of Lepanto between Holy League soldiers and Ottoman troops

The battle of Lepanto: when Ottoman forces clashed with Christians

Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach, 1543. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Europe's holy war: how the Reformation convulsed a continent

Pope Francis celebrates a priesthood ordination and mass in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP via Getty Images)

General History

Sex and the (Vatican) City: a brief history of clerical celibacy

Puritans and the Mayflower. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustation of a pope

Holy smoke, antipopes and power struggles: a guide to popes and the papacy

Pope John XVII

Has there ever been a married Pope?

Retiring royals: 9 rulers and royals who stepped down through history

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

Jumping beans, throwing shoes and weather forecasting: medieval ways to look ahead to the New Year

Westminster Abbey, London

A brief history of Westminster Abbey

A stained glass depiction of the nativity.

The history of the nativity: how much is known about the birth of Jesus?

Is the world still living in the shadow of the crusades?

The Crown of Thorns allegedly worn by Christ during the Passion. It was one of the prized possessions in Notre-Dame Cathedral until April 2019 – when it was rescued by the inferno that gutted the building. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Father, son and holy goat? The dark side of medieval relics

Black and white portrait image of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Who was Cardinal John Henry Newman?

Cardinal John Henry Newman

How to become a saint

The murder of Thomas Becket

Q&A: What happened to the assassins who killed Thomas Becket?

5 reasons why the King James version of the Bible matters

The Temple Scroll, from the Dead Sea Scrolls

General ancient history

Digging for the Bible: 10 key discoveries from the Holy Land

Four figures in a boat, including the ibis-headed god Thoth and the scarab-headed god Khepri

8 ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses you might not know about

A painting by Italian painter Defendente Ferrari (c1480-1540) showing a Saint performing a miracle.

Medieval saints and sinners: tales of saintly miracles in the Middle Ages

Tom Holland by Helen Atkinson

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jan Žižka, the general whose peasant army defied the Holy Roman Empire in the 1420s.

Christ’s communists: the radical religious sect that challenged the Holy Roman Empire