History Today

Queen Elizabeth I and her Friends

Eunice H. Turner asserts that much has been written of Elizabeth’s male favourites; less is known of the devoted women friends who served her assiduously throughout her long existence

The Celtic World

David Francis Jones describes how, among primitive peoples encountered by the Romans, the fair-haired, blue-eyed Celts made a particularly deep impression.

The Great Unmasker: Paolo Sarpi, 1552-1623

Described by Bossuet as “a Protestant in friar's clothing,” Sarpi was an historian who saw that religion might be a cloak for political designs and, as Peter Burke describes, organised his historical writings around this point.

The Kalabalik

Fresh from his defeat by the Russians, Charles XII, the King of Sweden, and a body of faithful adherents took refuge in the Turkish Empire. Dennis J. McCarthy describes how he he remained there for five years, an increasingly unwelcome guest.

Game Preservers and Poachers

Charles Chevenix Trench explains how, from the reign of William the Conqueror until the beginning of the nineteenth century, the poacher was restrained by savage penal laws.