History Today

Robin Hallett describes how, when the maritime powers of Europe were battling for supremacy in the Orient, the isles of the Indian Ocean played their part in history.

H.T. Dickinson reflects on the Abbe Guiscard’s assassination attempt on Queen Anne’s chief Minister had long-term effects on the Tory party.

Sidney Z. Elher describes how, for a decade, during the Thirty Years War, Wallenstein dominated the scene in the Holy Roman Empire.

C.T. Allmand describes the economy of medieval military history, and how Chaucer’s “parfit gentil knight”, on his pilgrimage to Canterbury, was probably sustained by the prizes won in foreign wars.

Ross Watson introduces Prince Eugene of Savoy; Marlborough’s companion in arms was not only a great soldier but also one of the most important patrons and collectors of his day; a modest man with a deep love of painting and architecture inspired by a strongly individual taste.

The latest in Rob Murray's series of Alternative History cartoons.

Benjamin Wild finds that the Middle Ages is inspiring a number of major designers.

Roger Hudson tells the story behind a gathering of glamorous movie stars in Washington DC in October 1947.

Avi Lifschitz considers the changing meanings of the Enlightenment, both to those who created it and those historians who have since attempted to define it.

France’s ‘First Peer’ was created on 6 September 1363.