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CHRISTMAS 2021

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THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH...

RECENT HISTORY HEADLINES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE

MY LIFE IN HISTORY

Costume curator

THIS MONTH IN ... 1941

The attack on Pearl Harbor

PARANORMAL COLD CASE

ALANBROOKE HALL 10 TH FLOOR

IN A NUTSHELL

The Emancipation Proclamation

SPOTLIGHT ON. ..

Hatshepsut’s journey to the top

Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED

TV, FILM & RADIO

THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO VISIT IN THE WIDER WORLD OF HISTORY

BOOKS & PODCASTS

THIS MONTH’S BEST HISTORICAL READS AND LISTENS

HISTORICAL FICTION...

The Mad Women’s Ball By Victoria Mas (translated

CROSSWORD

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR HISTORICAL PUZZLE EVERY ISSUE

LETTERS

The fate of the Princes in the Tower

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ARRESTING IMAGES FROM THE ANNALS OF THE PAST

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

Professor Nicholas Orme answers key questions about religion and worship in the Middle Ages

AN ORDER OF SERVICE

Professor Nicholas Orme outlines the hierarchy of the medieval Church – from the pope to the parishioners

FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

No matter who you were or where you came from, the Church was always there to mark life’s big events

MAKING THEIR MARK

The walls of some of England’s oldest places of worship are covered with inscriptions and doodles. Matthew J Champion explains the significance of medieval church gra ti, and what we can learn about the lives of the people who created it

HOW TO GO ON A MEDIEVAL PILGRIMAGE

Are you a medieval worshipper looking to demonstrate the strength of your devotion? A pilgrimage could be the answer – and we have the ultimate guide to planning your trip

ENGLAND IN STONE

Despite its age, Canterbury Cathedral remains a beating heart of Christianity

LIVES OF DEVOTION

From the Benedictines to the Carthusians, the religious orders of mainland Europe gradually wove themselves into the spiritual and social fabric of medieval England

ON A MISSION

Rather than hiding away in cloisters, medieval friars sought to spread the gospel far and wide. Professor Nicholas Orme explores the origins of these influential religious figures

HOLY DAYS

Medieval lives followed the ebb and flow of the Church calendar

A MAN’S WORLD?

Medieval women may not have been able to join the clergy as they do today. But, says Professor Nicholas Orme, their influence upon religious life was certainly felt in other ways

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Those brave enough to contradict the teachings of the Church often found themselves paying a heavy price for their heresy

EWAN’S HIDDEN BATTLE

In 1965, a Scottish doctor named Ewan Forbes stood to inherit his family’s baronetcy. But, as a transgender man, he would soon find himself embroiled in a top-secret legal case – with consequences that still affect the lives of trans people today. Professor Zoë Playdon examines a very different type of ‘coming out’ story

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY

Jan van Eyck’s 15th-century masterpiece has intrigued art historians for centuries, but what secrets does it contain?

LETTERS TO SANTA COMPETITION

Following the success of 2020’s Postcards from the

WHAT IF... KING EDWARD VIII HADN’T ABDICATED?

Historian and author Dr Susan Williams tells Jonny Wilkes about the possible outcomes had the lovestruck king married Wallis Simpson while keeping his place on the throne