Medieval (4th-15thC)

John Rodgers pays a visit to the historical viking city of York

Lucy Inglis admires Nicholas Orme’s article on medieval childhood, first published in History Today in 2001.

Pilgrims were a lucrative source of income for the Church and miracles did not come free. Adrian Bell and Richard Dale discover some striking parallels with modern marketing tactics in the management of shrines in the Middle Ages.

Inspired by his upbringing at the English court, Hákon I – nicknamed ‘Athelstan’s foster-son’ – strove to make Norway more like his mentor’s realm, a well-organised Christian kingdom. His reforms were to have a lasting impact, explains Synnøve Veinan Hellerud.

F.M. Godfrey describes the life of an important late medieval painter of royal subjects.

Eric Linklater finds that among medieval champions of Scottish independence was an ancestor of Elizabeth II, the heroic Robert the Bruce

Arthur Bryant relates how Becket’s death, at the hands of Henry II's servants, made this once worldly prelate a popular religious hero.

In the twelfth-century conflict between Church and State, Henry II found his most determined opponent in his formerly devoted servant, Thomas Becket, as Arthur Bryant continues his Story of England series.

Arthur Bryant continues his series on the historical development of the country at the United Kingdom's heart.

In these extracts Arthur Bryant describes the glorious reign of King Alfred, 871-99

Up to the reign of James II, the College of Heralds, besides the part they played on state occasions, had the important duty of regulating the kingdom’s social structure, as Anthony R. Wagner here documents.

When Richard II succeeded his grandfather, Edward III, he turned to alchemy to create a more pious ideal of kingship. Though his reign ended in failure, it left us one of medieval England’s most enduring and complex images. Jonathan Hughes explores its symbolism.

A.H. Burne describes how, 500 years ago at the Battle of Castillon, where the Great Talbot lost his life, the English crown forfeited its 300-year-old dominion over Aquitaine.