Pilgrimage of Grace is a euphemism for an outbreak of rebellions in the northern counties of England in 1536/7. The most prominent of these was led by a…
Eton College
Eton is not only the name of the best-known school in the world; it is also historical, in that it was founded by a king. Henry VI, the…
The Gunpowder Plot
“Remember, remember/ The Fifth of November /Gunpower, Treason and Plot/ I see no reason/ Why gunpowder treason/ Should ever be forgot!” This traditional comic verse, in progressive modern…
The Great Plague & Fire of London
Bubonic plague had recurred often in the Europe of the Middle Ages. Thought to have been spread by ship-going rats (themselves immune) the plague hit London and south-East…
Benito Mussolini Il Duce
The future dictator of Italy was born at Forli (Romagna) in 1883. His father was a blacksmith, his mother a schoolteacher. Before he was twenty Benito himself became…
Richard III, or how a Pack of Lies became History
William Shakespeare usually wrote his History plays with careful regard for the facts. He read Polydore Virgil, Edmund Hall, Holinshed and other historians before putting historical events into…
The Song of Roland & The Battle at the Pass of Roncesvalles
A bit of Romance does no-one any harm, and the story of Roland, his famous horn, and the conflict at Roncesvalles is the very stuff of medieval romance….
The Monmouth Rebellion & The ‘Glorious’ Revolution
The Duke of Monmouth’s revolt was a bloody insurrection, needlessly causing the deaths of soldiery and ordinary working folk in the British West Country in 1685. The so-called…