How Important was the French Revolution?
Best of times or worst of times, how did the ‘greatest event that has happened in the history of man’ – as per Benjamin Disraeli – change the course of what followed?
France
Charles de Gaulle is Sentenced to Death
Court-martialled in absentia on 2 August 1940, the Vichy regime confiscated de Gaulle’s property and condemned him to death.
Hunting Heretics: Inside the Medieval Inquisition
More than 5,000 people were interviewed during the Great Inquisition of medieval Toulouse. What did this mean for those ordinary people called to give evidence?
‘The Writer’s Lot’ by Robert Darnton review
The Writer’s Lot: Culture and Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France by Robert Darnton discovers a literary flowering in the shadow of the guillotine.
Medieval Queen by Grace of God
Queenship was transformed in the early Middle Ages, as power came to be derived not just from marriage, but from God.
The Merovingians: ‘Do-Nothing Kings’?
The Merovingians have a reputation for long hair and barbarity. Instead, the dynasty, born out of the chaos of civil war, was one of peace, diplomacy, and bureaucracy.
‘The Soldier’s Reward’ and ‘Matchmaking and the Marriage Market...’ review
The Soldier’s Reward: Love and War in the Age of the French Revolution and Napoleon by Jennifer Ngaire Heuer and Matchmaking and the Marriage Market in Postrevolutionary France by Andrea Mansker reveal romance in a time of revolt.
Pain Management before Anaesthetics
Surgeons trying to eliminate pain eventually arrived at anaesthesia – but not before a contest with older, more unusual therapies. Why was mesmerism so magnetic?
Adolphe Sax’s Brass Wars
A battle of wills between Adolphe Sax and musical instrument makers in 19th-century France saw an unprecedented legal contest unfold.
Forgeries, Fakes, and Phantom Time
According to some, written history began in the 14th century. It may seem ridiculous, but the Phantom Time conspiracy theory has serious implications.