July 29th, 1588: On this day in 1588, the fearsome Spanish Armada is sighted off England’s southern coast.

Impressment, colloquially known as “ the press” or the “press gang” [1] , was a means by which European navies could forcibly compel men...

Wrecking Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered or run aground close to shore. Wrecks were...

Pictured below is a spear recovered from an outbuilding at a former family residence, at the time called “Parthia”, in Beckhampton,...

Crucifixion?...Good. Out of the door. Line on the left. One cross each. Next... Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which...

In an earlier article we explored the origin of the French dish Chicken à la Marengo which was named, according to a popular myth, after...

February 12th, 1554: England's forgotten queen, Lady Jane Grey, is executed for treason. In most popular histories, and as taught in...

In warfare, throwing weapons at your enemies has a very long history indeed. In its simplest form, rocks could be hand-thrown by early...

On This Day, December 17th, the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia began. Held in honour of the deity Saturnus, as its name implies,...

The diet of a Roman soldier consisted of wheat, rations of smoked bacon or fresh meat (when available, usually pork), vegetables,...

Over the years we have periodically encountered claims that prostitutes in the Roman Iron Age and then later in the Mediæval period wore...

September 13th, 1944: On This Day SOE operator Noor Inayat Khan was executed at Dachau concentration camp in Bavaria. At dawn on...

What follows was inspired by the tweet on May 25th, 2022 by @HistoryFilmClub shown right. Like many who responded naming just one...

August 26th, 55 BC: Gaius Julius Caesar first ‘invasion’ of Britain takes place. Britain was not unknown to the Classical world. As early...

Created by Peter Bowker, ‘World on Fire’ is a British war drama television series set in the Second World War. It follows the intertwined...

The Known Knowns Since at least the 16th century, Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, has retained a compelling hold on the British imagination...

A recent tweet described Tintagel Castle on the North coast of Cornwall as a ‘medieval fortification’, built in the 13th century, and...

It is highly unlikely that Mediæval divorce was ever settled by combat. Yet a handful of sources do mention judicial duels fought between...

Dispelling the myths about ancient Roman 'vomitoria'.

A beginner's guide to the history of duels and duelling.