Blogs about History

In my previous post, I discussed my concerns with the way sources are used in Neil Hanson's First Blitz.1 Here I turn to the problem of strategy, which goes more to the argument of the …

My brother Richard and I were at mom's house in Huntsville recently and found this postcard in some family memorabilia. The card, dated by postmark October 26, 1918, was sent by our paternal grandfather, Amos …

September 20 – October 3, 1519 At nearly the same instant that Magellan’s carracks sailed from Sanlúcar, a dozen or so sleek, swift Portuguese caravels put to sea from Lisbon. Taking advantage of the same …

The remains of The Cluniac Priory of Our Lady of Thetford The Cluniac Priory of Our Lady, Thetford, was first founded on the Suffolk side of the Little Ouse river by Roger Bigod in the …

The long awaited discussion between Graham Hancock and archaeologist Flint Dibble on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast is now available. Here are my thoughts after listening to the whole four and a half hour thing, …

In the Christian tradition, journeying was associated with conversion: all pil­g­rim roads potentially led to Damas­cus. All Christians were stained with sin in his life, but individuals’ motives for going on pilgrimage differed from person …

This popular annual event returns to KCL on 17th May 2024. This one day event features a range of papers of original research in all areas of film culture in Britain and areas affected by …

***I’ve been absent for a couple of months because I was locked out of the account! Just to let you know that Chris and I continue to do our podcasts and there has been an …

Cap, c.1840, in LACMA.I really like how the texture of the different materials come through in this cap. But my count there's at least four different materials--scalloped lace, spotted net, striped ribbon, and a diagonal-striped …

HISTORY OF THE LIBERATION OF DACHAU: APRIL 30, 1945. Part 2 In Part 1, I discussed the Nazi Concentration Camps and the initial movement of US Army divisions into Dachau. Dachau: The Camp As my …

Many apologies to subscribers who received a notification of a new post earlier today. Unfortunately this was an error on my part. I was working on an upcoming essay and managed to hit the “publish” …

The first page of the manuscript of Herodotus in Florence, courtesy of https://tecabml.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/plutei/id/1358114/rec/4 Over on another site, Anoneuoid asked how to track down the past owners of a manuscript of a classical text such as …

The Newberry Library in Chicago is hosting a Digital Humanities workshop on Frederick Douglass during Black History Month. Undergraduate and graduate students in History at Northern Illinois University may be interested in participating in this …

This week at The Archive we have added an incredible 304,139 brand new pages to our collection, as well as one brand new newspaper from Northern Ireland, which sheds light on the discovery of Tullylish …

This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish)1 part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb) look at the how the Roman military system and its manipular legion were able …

Up and with my father towards my house, and by the way met with Lieut. Lambert, and with him to the Dolphin in Tower Street and drank our morning draught, he being much troubled about …

This post was inspired by the Turba philosophorum lecture on the 4th Feb 2022 An athanor is an alchemical furnace, but what exactly does it mean in practise? And I really do mean practise because …

For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the grisly fate that befell many who committed the heinous crime of highway robbery. (Full disclosure: …

In Our Name: Royal Letters, Power and Diplomacy in Scotland and England (1513-1542) Performing and Resisting Power in Early Modern Life Plate 1 from Thomas May, Arbitrary government displayed to the life, 1690. Image from …