Today’s featured articles
Poor and small, Portugal was at the edge of late medieval Europe. But its seafarers created the age of ‘globalisation’, which continues to this day.
During the Crimean War soldiers died in appalling conditions, but the treatment of enemy prisoners was surprisingly humane.
The kings of medieval France were fascinated by the Mongols, who they saw as great empire builders. Eager to learn more, they amassed a huge archive of knowledge about them
Most recent
‘Exit Stalin’ by Mark B. Smith review
Compassion from the Kremlin often proved as short-lived as its critics. In Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union as a Civilization, 1953-1991, Mark B. Smith finds that terror was a feature rather than a bug.
Chivalry in Chains: Prisoners in the Crimean War
During the Crimean War soldiers died in appalling conditions, but the treatment of enemy prisoners was surprisingly humane.
On the Spot: Phiroze Vasunia
‘Which moment would I most like to go back to? The Achaemenid Persian court when Alexander the Great took over in the 330s BC.’
The Trials of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc was put on trial twice, once before and once after her death. The records made at these trials are often used as evidence of Joan’s own words – but whose voice was really recorded?
The Public Versus the River Polluters
In the fight against rising river pollution by big corporations, legal cases have had to get creative.
Black Voices from the Archive
The testimonies of formerly enslaved people, collected in the 1930s by the Federal Writers’ Project, provide a unique archive for historians.
Massacre at Glencoe
On 13 February 1692 the Macdonalds of Glencoe were put to the sword by troops loyal to William III. Nobody was held to account.
‘Runes’ by Tom Birkett review
Runes: A Concise History by Tom Birkett looks beyond the mythical baggage to find a writing system no less remarkable and mysterious.
Current issue
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In the February 2026 issue:
Refugees in the Thirty Years War, the Trojan myths of medieval Wales, Russia in the 1990s, the godless students of London University, brothels of the British Empire, and more.
Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword and much more!
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