As an acquaintance of nobles and kings, he was able to write chronicles of events during his lifetime that form one of the most significant sources of medieval history surviving today. Find ... Read More

By the year 1349, the Black Death had struck nearly all of Europe and Britain. But a few places were to escape the worst of the epidemic. Our latest map displays the ... Read More

He's one of the patron saints of Italy, as well as the patron saint of animals and the environment. Saint Francis of Assisi was also a highly influential figure in 13th-century Church ... Read More

Of his ten-year reign as England's king, Richard I only spent six months on the sceptered isle. But though his record in governing England could hardly be worse, his reputation as a ... Read More

Known as "the founder of modern astronomy," Copernicus's theory of a heliocentric cosmos would prove revolutionary in the history of scientific thought. Find out more about this important astronomer in our Who's Who ... Read More

In the late fifteenth century a Domenican friar spoke out against corruption in Italy and made enemies in high places. For a time he governed Florence in the form of a democratic ... Read More

Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr led a successful people's rebellion against England's iron-fisted rule in the early 15th century and arguably became the most famous and highly regarded figure in Welsh history. This article, ... Read More

Did he really shout "Once more into the breach" as he led his valiant troops at Agincourt? Perhaps not, but he was undoubtedly a figure to inspire Shakespeare in one of his greatest ... Read More

Born on September 12, 1494, this intelligent, chivalrous knight was a humanist and enthusiastic sponsor of the arts. Legend has it that Leonardo da Vinci died in his arms. Who was France's first ... Read More

This autumn some medieval manuscripts are making appearances in U.S. museums. If you're not lucky enough to visit the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles or the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort ... Read More

On September 10, 1547, one of the lesser-known battles between Scotland and England took place outside Musselburgh. Though slight in political impact, it might be considered the first "modern" battle on British soil. ... Read More

Did Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli work together on a project to divert the course of the river Arno? According to Roger D. Masters they did, and he unfolds the story of their ... Read More

Though her beginnings were humble and even somewhat suspect, this cunning courtesan rose through Byzantine society to become one of the most powerful women in the empire's history. Her marriage to Emperor Justinian I ... Read More