Volume 75 Issue 4 April 2025

Portrait of Zaga Christ, by Giovanna Garzoni, 1635. Philip Mould Ltd, London/Bridgeman Images.

Death of Zaga Christ

Zaga Christ died on 22 April 1638 leaving Europe no wiser as to the authenticity of the self-proclaimed Ethiopian prince who might bring his homeland to Catholicism.

Gaelic illustration © Ben Jones/Heart Agency.

The Ghosts of Gaelic

Gaelic language and culture in Scotland have a long history, often subsumed by English. Is there hope for their future?

Otto von Bismarck on a seesaw balancing global powers, by Joseph Ferdinand Keppler, 1886. Library of Congress. Public Domain.

Bismarck’s Britain

The German chancellor Otto von Bismarck saw himself as a puppet-master, engineering British politics from afar in his feud with Gladstone.

Otto III placing a diadem on Bolesław’s head, Chronica Polonorum, 1519. National Library of Poland. Public Domain.

Coronation of Bolesław the Brave

Bolesław Chrobry was finally crowned king of Poland on 18 April 1025. It was an elevation two decades in the making.

‘Fisherman's Family (The Lookout)’, by Winslow Homer, 1881. Museum of FIne Art, Boston. Public Domain.

‘Scholars and Their Kin’ review

Scholars and Their Kin: Historical Explorations, Literary Experiments, edited by Stéphane Gerson, has historians scaling their family trees.

A view of Matavie Bay in the island of Tahiti, by William Hodges, 1776. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Public Domain.

On the Spot: Patricia Fara

‘Who is the most underrated person in history? Tupaia, the Tahitian navigator and translator who enabled James Cook to reach Australia and New Zealand’

St Rose of Lima, anonymous painting from the Cusco School, c.1690. Lima Art Museum. Public Domain.

Catherine of Siena’s American Daughters

As Christianity spread, it carried Catherine of Siena’s legacy to the Americas. Her asceticism inspired Rose of Lima, Kateri Tekakwitha, and others.

George Villiers, first duke of Buckingham and lover of James I, after Renold Elstack, c.1700-20. Yale Center for British Art, Gift of George A. Douglass. Public Domain.

‘Queen James’ by Gareth Russell review

Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King by Gareth Russell illuminates the inner life and passions of James VI and I.

‘The Sorrowful Complaint of Conscience and Plain-Dealing Against Millers, Userers, Taylors, and Hostesses...’, ballad broadsheet, 1671-85. Pepys Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge University. Public Domain.

Early Modern Millers’ Tales

Thieves, cheats, and scoundrels. How did early modern millers get their bad reputations?

‘The Church Militant’, by John Collet, 1779. Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. Public Domain.

‘The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism’ by Martyn Percy review

The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England by Martyn Percy takes the British Empire’s church militant to task. Is there a case to answer?