‘Forgotten Experts’ by A. Tunç Şen review
Forgotten Experts: Astrologers, Science, and Authority in the Ottoman Empire, 1450-1600 by A. Tunç Şen follows the fortunes of the sultan’s stargazers.
History Today
Good News: The Afterlife of Tyndale’s Bible
William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament transformed the English language, but the text itself was almost erased.
On the Spot: Alexander Lee
‘What is the most common misconception about my field? That the Renaissance was a ‘secular’ age.’
Servants on the Grand Tour
An army of help accompanied wealthy British sightseers on their 18th-century sojourns across the Continent. What was it like to travel as a servant on the Grand Tour?
St Patrick’s Day Protests
St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture, but in the US its parades have always been political.
If Anglo-Saxon Stones Could Talk
In some corners of England, the last Anglo-Saxon relics are looking down on us.
The Starving Time in Jamestown
Colonists had contrasting views on the Jamestown famine. How severe was it really?
‘Mexico: A History’ and ‘A Brief History of Violence in Mexico’ review
Mexico: A History by Paul Gillingham and A Brief History of Violence in Mexico by Pablo Piccato start from different places. Yet their neighbour to the north proves to be an inescapable destination.
Alfred the Great’s Indian Embassy
How likely is it that Alfred the Great sent two emissaries to India in the ninth century?
Lise Meitner’s Nuclear Vision
During the Second World War, Berlin scientists discovered nuclear fission. Only one of them got the credit. Why was Lise Meitner written out of history?