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

We will be ‘ Sailing the Pirate Round ’ once again and as before we will be visiting several English Heritage sites across Britain and...

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...

Chicken à la Marengo is a French dish, similar to chicken à la Provençale, that consists of a chicken sautéed in oil with garlic and...

The longevity of ancient Egyptian society, some 3,500 years, was largely because they had the good fortune to live in a sunny land,...

Yet another urban myth re-appeared on social media the other day, one which regularly does the rounds and has done so for many years...

The legend Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw [1] originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featuring in popular...

Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages. In naval parlance, the word originally referred to rum diluted with water to...

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 Nepalese Kukri is instantly recognisable to anyone who has served alongside the men of the Brigade of Gurkhas or has a passing...

This year sees Tastes Of History portraying reputable innkeepers "famed" for our "good food at most reasonable prices". Of course, we...

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.