Category: History

The possible oldest extant copy of the Christmas carol Silent Night was discovered in Vienna in a booklet called Four Beautiful New Christmas Songs. Although the manuscript is undated, it’s probable that this version of the song, written by Joseph Mohr in 1818, was printed shortly after its composition by a Mr. Joseph Greis. What is

This article touches on four important Norman women: Gunnor, Emma of Normandy, Matilda of Flanders, and Sichelgata. History isn’t just about men but also about the women behind, beside, and in front of them. History tends to focus on kings, warriors and bishops – but a number of 11th-century women were hugely influential in war,

The London Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013. Click the link below to learn more about the history of the subway system in London as well as a link to a book you can purchase for more information. Remembering the ‘navvies’, the men tasked with the dangerous and back-breaking work of building the London

Cecilia Bembibre of University College London is cataloging the scents of old stuff. According to Atlas Obscura, her project “combines chemistry, electronic noses, and centuries-old English manor houses”. Her hope is to create formulas one would be able to follow to reconstruct these scents years down the road. One scientist’s quest to capture old scents.

Former British Museum director Neil MacGregor envisioned an exhibit that showcased objects from the museum’s massive collections in an effort to present a history of the world. Sasha Grishin isn’t convinced, however, that there’s a larger narrative underlying all of the objects. There is encyclopaedic diversity in the 100 selected objects, but a failure to

Cleopatra of Egypt had four children, but only one produced any descendants. But how far did her line extend? Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of an independent Egypt, had four children: Caesarion (with Julius Caesar), twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, and Ptolemy Philadelphus (the latter three with Mark Antony). But she only had descendants through

In 1991, explorers found the corpse of an ancient man in the wake of a receding glacier. Named Ötzi, his remains date back to about 5300 years ago. His death has remained a mystery, but a recent conference has yielded some additional theories that may shed light on this enduring tale. Source: New Thoughts on the

The Voynich Manuscript is a heretofore undecipherable document. Now, facsimiles are being made in the hopes that someone in the world will be able to assist researchers in unlocking its secrets. There will be 898 copies made of the coded Voynich Manuscript, which has stumped scholars for over a century. Source: Publisher Set to Release

Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England, bears the distinction of being his luckiest wife. This is despite the fact she has been known historically as “the Flanders mare”. Historian Tracy Borman sheds some light on why Anne is quite awesome. For centuries, Anne of Cleves has been cast as a

There are many mysteries in English history. One of them concerns the death of King Edward II. Most claim he died in 1327 (either by starvation or having a red-hot rod shoved in a most inconvenient location), and there are others who believe Edward survived well into the 1330s. In 2005, the bestselling historian Ian Mortimer