History Today

After the Norman Conquest

Eleanor Parker is inspired by a visit to a village church in Oxfordshire that bears witness to one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in English history.

Who Killed James VI and I?

The accusation that James VI of Scotland and I of England was murdered by his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, may have been a false one but it was widely believed.

Forth Railway Bridge, 1888

Roger Hudson describes how the ‘stiffest bridge in the world’ took shape following a railway disaster in 1897.

Cicero and the Power of Rhetoric

Catherine Steel traces the incredible longevity of Cicero’s great corpus of works, the study of which has helped to illuminate the intellectual and social culture of the late Roman Republic.

Plague and Prejudice

Epidemics spread mistrust, as communities seek to blame their plight on outsiders or those at the margins of society. Yet the historical record reveals that outbreaks are more likely to bring people together than force them apart.