The Name of the Rose (film)
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 historical mystery film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the 1980 novel of the same title by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery stars…
Medieval Corned Beef
Corned beef’s popularity fell in medieval Ireland due to most of the good corned beef being sent overseas to England. Pork was cheaper to raise, so many ate bacon and…
Who Were the Last Pagans of Europe?
Europe was supposedly Christian by the Middle Ages, but the reality is more complicated. From the Sámi in Fennoscandia to the Baltic countryside, sacred groves, sacrifices, and animist traditions survived…
A brief history of singular ‘they’
The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular they back to 1375, where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf.
Medieval Chicken Soup
Historical Italian Cooking
Secrets of the Castle
On Secrets of the Castle, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold are taking part in the world's largest archeological experiment, Guédelon Castle. Using the same materials…
How Old is ‘Haha’? The Sound of Medieval Laughter
Surviving in multiple copies, Ælfric’s work is not only the oldest Latin grammar written in English (or, indeed, any vernacular language), but it’s also been described as ‘one of the…
Who Was The Best English Monarch? David Mitchell Rates The Royals!
Who was the worst King and Queen of England? What made a King or Queen successful? In this video, comedian and author of 'Unruly: A History of England's King and…
History Extra podcast: The problem with poo: a millennium of manure
When did poo become a problem? Why was manure so important in the medieval economy? And why don't we have vacuum-powered sewers? All these questions – and more – are…
Why Is It Called A Spelling “Bee”?
where lots of people gather socially to do a lot of work.