Medieval

Michael Leech on a Tudor revival in the East End

Colin Richmond analyses the part played by the written (and spoken) word in shoring up popular allegiances to the rival dynasties

Master mariner or dedicated amateur? Helen Wallis examines the state of geographical knowledge when Columbus set sail, and outlines his use of it.

A ruler in transition - Howell Lloyd looks at the icons of power that masked the face of French kingship around 1500.

Akbar Ahmed looks at the legacy of a Moorish past for the present Spain.

Maurice Keen describes how, in the years around the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 Robin Hood emerged as the legendary hero of the common people of England.

Sir Steven Runciman profiles a fabled Englishman, concerned with the political and military relationships between East and West.

The early Renaissance royal palace on the Thames

Top gun? Alexander McKee assesses Henry VIII's prowess as a commander by land and sea in the light of his 1545 campaigns against the French.

Business with pleasure - Steven Gunn shows how the spectacle of the joust oiled the wheels of service and diplomacy as well as building up the court's image, not just for Henry VIII but for his dynasty-founding father as well.