-
Private Lives of the Tudors
Historian article
Tracy Borman explores the distinction between the public and private lives of the Tudor monarchs.
The Tudors were renowned for their public magnificence. Perhaps more than any royal dynasty in British history, they appreciated the importance of impressing their subjects with the splendour of their dress, courts and pageantry in order to reinforce their authority. Wherever...
Private Lives of the Tudors
-
The Borgia: from fact to fiction
Historian article
For their meeting in September 2017 the Bolton Branch requested a talk on Renaissance Italy. What they heard dealt with the Italian portion of the Borgia family, led by Pope Alexander VI, though the topicality of Catalan nationalism meant that the principal figures were introduced with comment on the Italian,...
The Borgia: from fact to fiction
-
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on telling an HA branch about a book
Historian article
Dave Martin interviews the author of Cleopatra: histories, dreams and distortions, winner of the Fawcett Prize and the Emily Toth Award.
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on telling an HA branch about a book
-
‘The story of her own wretchedness’: heritage and homelessness
Historian article
David Howell uses eighteenth-century beggars at Tintern Abbey as a starting point for his research into the use of heritage sites by the homeless.
In 1782, the Reverend William Gilpin published his Observations on the River Wye, a notable contribution to the emerging picturesque movement. A key element of his work is a commentary on Tintern Abbey....
‘The story of her own wretchedness’: heritage and homelessness
-
Film: Stalin - World War II
Film Series: Power and authority in Russia and the Soviet Union
In this film, Professor James Harris (University of Leeds) examines Stalin and the Soviet preparations for global war. The reasons why Stalin agreed the Nazi-Soviet pact are explored as are Stalin’s response to invasion in 1941. Professor Harris addresses the impact the war had on the USSR and how that...
Film: Stalin - World War II
-
Film: Stalin & the Great Terror
Film Series: Power and authority in Russia and the Soviet Union
Why was the Soviet Union so violent in the 1930s? In this film, Professor James Harris (University of Leeds) looks at differing interpretations of the origins of the Great Terror; was it the story of one man trying to obtain total control, was it a result of collective frustration against...
Film: Stalin & the Great Terror
-
The Origins of the Second Great War
Classic Pamphlet
This pamphlet provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the outbreak of war in 1939, covering the various factors that played a role in the outbreak of war such as tension over Poland and the Spanish Civil War, as well as the nature and effect of diplomatic...
The Origins of the Second Great War
-
Enlightened Despotism
Classic Pamphlet
This pamphlet covers the often confused concept of Enlightened Despotism (also known as Enlightened Absolutism). The essential nature of Enlightened Despotism and its origin are discussed, as well as the development and character of Enlightened Despotism in various governments, followed by a judgement of its' achievements and significance. Catherine the Great,...
Enlightened Despotism
-
My Favourite History Place: Lord Street, Southport
Historian feature
Trevor James introduces an international dimension to local history, revealing how a future French Emperor interpreted his affection for Southport’s Lord Street into the extensive redesign of Parisian streets.
My Favourite History Place: Lord Street, Southport
-
Bristol and America 1480-1631
Classic Pamphlet
This pamphlet addresses the relationship between Bristol and America, charting the rising and waning interest the city and its merchants had in discovering new lands and profiting from them, and the success or more often the failure of these voyages. It provides an interesting argument which may be seen to...
Bristol and America 1480-1631
-
Why the OBE survived the Empire
Historian article
An anomaly of the British honours system is the name of the award most frequently given - the Order of the British Empire created in 1917. Each medal carries the words: ‘For God and the Empire'. When the connection between the person honoured and the church is often very tenuous...
Why the OBE survived the Empire
-
From tragedy to triumph: The courage of Henrietta, Lady of Luxborough 1699-1756
Historian article
Why is Henrietta Luxborough, who was born in 1699, of interest today? In the first place because of whom she was; in the second because of what happened to her; and in the third because of her courage which enabled her to overcome adversity and lead a life utterly different...
From tragedy to triumph: The courage of Henrietta, Lady of Luxborough 1699-1756
-
The history of bigamy
Historian article
Though people are still sometimes prosecuted for repeatedly marrying immigrants to rescue them from the attentions of the Home Office, while forgetting to get divorced between times, one uncovenanted result of the now common practice of living together without matrimony is the decline of that celebrated Victorian institution: bigamy.
In...
The history of bigamy
-
King James’s Book of Sports, 1617
Historian article
Forty years after his higher degree research into the history of sport, Trevor James explores the much wider context in which that research now stands.
Four hundred years ago, in 1617, James I made a decisive intervention into the simmering debate which had existed since the puritanical upsurge in Queen...
King James’s Book of Sports, 1617
-
My Favourite History Place: Hadrian’s Wall
Historian article
Choosing Hadrian’s Wall as one of my favourite places is a bit of a cheat, really, as it is a 73-mile-long (80 Roman miles) wall punctuated with a whole range of 20 individual sites each worth a visit; from mile castles and forts to desolate sections with fabulous views or...
My Favourite History Place: Hadrian’s Wall
-
The end of the Roman Empire
Historian article
Guy de la Bédoyère considers whether the Roman Empire ever really fell or simply went through endless processes of change that makes it an integral presence in our lives today.
The fall of the Roman Empire is like the end of the dinosaurs. It’s one of the vast dramatic crisis moments we love...
The end of the Roman Empire
-
The End of Germany’s Colonial Empire
Historian article
Daniel Steinbach asks why the loss of the German colonies in Africa was perceived as a powerful symbol of Germany’s deliberate humiliation at the end of the First World War.
Famously, Germany’s first and last shots of the First World War were fired in Africa. From its beginning to its...
The End of Germany’s Colonial Empire
-
Film: Key Personalities and Opposition
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Professor Matthew Stibbe examines the key political leaders of West and East Germany and how their decisions and responses to political events shaped their international relationships and the lives of the divided German population under their control. He also looks at the opposition and resistance these governments faced domestically during...
Film: Key Personalities and Opposition
-
Film: The Two German Economies
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
The speed at which both sides in Germany recovered economically is re-examined in this film. Professor Matthew Stibbe describes how the West Germany economy recovered and became a magnet for migrants as well as East Germans. However, he also examines how East Germany’s economy compared more successfully to some of...
Film: The Two German Economies
-
Film: Nazi Germany
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Dr Victoria Taylor provides an overview of the rise to power of Hitler from disillusioned veteran to political operator. She goes on to explore the messaging and state interventions that brought many Germans under Hitler and the Nazis spell as they enacted their ideas of what a powerful Germany should...
Film: Nazi Germany
-
Germany 1914-1929: Discussion
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Professors Tim Grady and Matthew Stibbe consider changing interpretations of Germany in 1914-1929, from a negative continuum of authoritarianism culminating in Hitler's regime to a modern approach of seeing the Weimar Republic through a sociocultural lens.
Germany 1914-1929: Discussion
-
A Mid-Tudor Crisis?
Classic Pamphlet
This classic pamphlet takes you through the Mid-Tudor period focusing on foreign affairs and finance, the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland, the risings of 1549, coups and commissions 1549-53, Edwardian Protestantism success and failure, Mary and the Catholic Restoration, the Marian Administration and the Spanish Marriage.
A Mid-Tudor Crisis?
-
Joseph Banks and his travelling plants, 1787-1810
Historian article
Jordan Goodman takes us on a botanical journey to the ends of the earth.
Joseph Banks never commanded a ship. In 1773, aged 30, he went on his last voyage, a short crossing from Hellevoetsluis, south Holland, to Harwich. Yet not only was the sea always at the centre of his...
Joseph Banks and his travelling plants, 1787-1810
-
British armoured cars on the Eastern Front in the First World War
Historian article
Charlotte Alston reveals a little-known British involvement on the Eastern Front in the Great War.In early January 1918, Lieutenant Commander Soames of the British Armoured Car Division at Kursk, in Russia, telegraphed to his commandingofficer Oliver Locker Lampson, who was in London, to thank him for his Christmas greetings. All...
British armoured cars on the Eastern Front in the First World War
-
1066 in 2016
Historian article
David Bates explores modern-day research into the complexities behind the politics and conflict of 1066, providing us with some new interpretations and perspectives.
The many activities that took place around the time of the 950th anniversary of the battle of Hastings have shown that the year 1066 continues to have...
1066 in 2016
