Illustration of strange creatures

Weird and wonderful history

How did England react to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1751? (Illustration for BBC History Magazine)

Q&ADid the introduction of the Gregorian calendar spark riots?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor playing Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

7 of the most memorable couples in history

The 1851 Great Exhibition’s west wing

The 1851 Great Exhibition: inside the Victorian spectacle

Illustration for BBC History Magazine.

How potatoes conquered the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

As seen in this early 19th-century depiction of an initiation, Masons have long used secrecy to "create a sense of awe and specialness around their rituals". (Image by Alamy)

A history of Freemasonry: from Enlightenment ideals to satanic conspiracy stories

14th century miniature showing a child's baptism. (Photo by Getty Images)

Exclusive podcastWhat’s in a medieval name?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval king dining

Pig-chickens, beavers’ tails and turtle soup: 8 fascinating foods through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Magic stone in Laraibina village in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea on September 27, 2009. This magic stone is hidden in a tree in Laraibina village. It is very useful to call the rain or to make some magic actions on people. It is forbidden to touch it, only the witch doctor can hold it. The same kind of stones exists in Vanuatu. (Photo by Eric LAFFORGUE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

A sweeping history of magic – from witchcraft to shamanism. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

What is history's greatest mystery?

What has been voted history’s greatest mystery?

Stonehenge

History’s greatest mysteriesStonehenge. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A replica of Jesus' tomb. (Photo by Alamy)

History’s greatest mysteriesThe fate of Jesus's body. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History’s greatest mysteriesThe lost colony of Roanoke Island. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh in Virginia

What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island?

The Voynich Manuscript is written in a unique alphabet that has thus far defeated some of the world’s greatest codebreakers. (Photo by Alamy)

History’s greatest mysteriesThe Voynich Manuscript. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General ancient history

What is history's greatest mystery?

A stone believed to have magical properties, including the ability to summon rain, from Laraibina village in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Getty Images)

A history of magic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&AWho was St Swithin?

A miniature from the Codex Justinianus

Plague, famine and sudden death: 10 dangers of the medieval period

Illustration from Dante's ‘Inferno', depicting thieves tormented in hell by serpents.

General ancient history

A brief history of the afterlife

The bikini was showcased to the world for the first time in July 1946. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

8 historical events that happened in July

Despite popular misconception, Gladiatorial fighting was not the most popular entertainment in Ancient Rome. (Photo by Alamy)

A brief guide to ancient Rome and the Romans, plus 9 fascinating facts

People flee to boats on the River Thames to escape the Great Fire of London, September 1666.

Coffee, plague and the Great Fire: the pleasures and perils of living in Restoration London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Smithfield Decretals depicting a rabbit beheading a man. Rabbits seem to have a strange place in medieval imagery – and are depicted as having strangely violent tendencies. "It’s the sort of thing to give you nightmares," says David Musgrove. (Photo by Album/British Library/Alamy Stock Photo)

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #5: chivalry, medieval killer rabbits and prisoners of war in the 15th century. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval prisoners

What was it like to be a Prisoner of War during the Hundred Years’ War?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 1618 Defenestration of Prague

The 1618 Defenestration of Prague explained

Dissection of human cadaver by physicians

Ask the medieval doctor: 6 ailments and their treatments. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The dark side: A man summons demons in a 14th-century English encyclopaedia. "Some educated men were determined to contact the spirit world – and took great risks to do so," writes Catherine Rider. (Photo by Bridgeman)

From healing spells to conjuring demons: the medieval obsession with magic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sam Willis and James Daybell. (Photo by David Hampton, replica Viking helmet by Dreamstime)

The unexpected Vikings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of an unknown woman, c1490–95. She sports a necklace in a painting from c1485. Coral jewellery was widely believed to ward off evil spirits. (Photo by Getty Images)

Medieval magic at work: 7 spells and charms our ancestors used. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. (Photo by Getty Images)

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