From astronomy to almanacs, Professor Anne Lawrence-Mathers explores the historical origins of weather forecasting in a new post for The Conversation. It’s official: according to the UK’s Met Office, February 2020…Read More >
history
Roman Catholic priests have been celibate for a thousand years – but this could change
For almost a thousand years, Roman Catholic priests have been required to be celibate. But this age-old practice is now under fire, with the suggestion that the rules should be…Read More >
Celebrating 100 years of women in Parliament
On 28 November 1919, Nancy Astor was elected to Parliament, becoming the first female MP to take her seat. A century on, a train named in her honour took VIP…Read More >
Stenton Lecture: Pagan Survivals in the Christian Middle Ages
Professor Ronald Hutton The Department of History’s annual Stenton lecture is an opportunity for a wide audience of interested local people, school students, and university staff and pupils to hear…Read More >
The Mirrors of Versailles: War & Peace in 1919 Paris
Dr Liliana Riga (University of Edinburgh) and Professor Jack E. Spence, OBE (King’s College, London) The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 marks a key moment in the attempt to create…Read More >
A complex and controversial new saint
Papal historian Professor Rebecca Rist reflects on the canonisation of John Henry Newman – writer, polemicist, musician and reader – and a man who was both traditional and progressive. On…Read More >
Seven things you probably didn’t know about life in medieval castles
Dr Karen Dempsey’s research tells the stories of medieval people’s lives through the objects they used and cared about, in the spaces where they lived and worked. Here she tells…Read More >
Fragments in the archive: stories of slavery, sexual violence and testimony
Enslaved women make only fleeting appearances in the historical records from colonial and antebellum America – as property rather than people. But after the Civil War, there was an outpouring…Read More >
