Volume 61 Issue 8 August 2011

Medieval Desire: Poise and Passion in the Middle Ages

Courtly love, celebrated in numerous songs and poems, was the romantic ideal of western Europe in the Middle Ages. Yet, human nature being what it is, the realities of sexual desire and the complications it brings were never far away, says Julie Peakman.

All the King’s Fools

The fools of the early Tudor court were likely to have been people with learning disabilities as a new project demonstrates, says Suzannah Lipscomb.

Royal Ascot’s First Day

Queen Anne ordered a racecourse to be built on Ascot Heath in 1711. It was officially opened on August 11th.