This Month's Magazine
The February edition of History Today features a bold re-assessment of the life and reign of King John, a ruler too often reduced to a pantomime villain. Graham E. Seel argues that, in fact, John was a formidable and skilful monarch.
Also in this issue, Christopher Farman tells the dramatic story of the Britons who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War; Michael Roberts looks at 18th and 19th century attempts to address the issue of social breakdown; James Ellison takes a long view of Britain’s relationship with Europe; Ian Donnachie looks at the career of the industrialist and social reformer Robert Owen; Armand D’Angour looks at the Greek approach to novelty; and Tim Stanley delves into the delights of Islam.
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Main Features
Richard Almond has trawled medieval and Renaissance sources for insights about ladies’ riding habits in the Middle Ages and what they reveal about a woman’s place in that society.
The year 1812 was a turning point in the career of the industrialist Robert Owen. Ian Donnachie examines his Essays on a New View of Society, in which Owen first aired the ideas about popular education and workers’ welfare that would make him famous as a reformer.
Hugh Purcell tells how Kitty Bowler, a young American, captured the heart of Tom Wintringham, the 'English Captain' at Jarama.
For centuries King John has been regarded as the embodiment of an evil ruler. But, says Graham E. Seel, this image is largely the creation of monastic chroniclers with an axe to grind. A close examination of contemporary records reveals a more nuanced character.
The British Battalion of the International Brigades, formed to defend the Spanish Republic against the forces of General Franco, first went into battle at Jarama in February 1937. It was the beginning of a bruising, often dispiriting campaign, as Christopher Farman explains.
Christopher Allmand examines Alain Chartier’s Le Livre des Quatre Dames, a poem written in response to the English victory at Agincourt, and asks what it can tell us about the lives of women during this chapter in the Hundred Years War.
History Matters
When the world’s population reached seven billion it prompted a great deal of nonsense to be written about Thomas Malthus. Robert J. Mayhew sets the record straight.
Britain’s recent disputes with the European Union are part of a
long historical narrative, argues James Ellison – but it is not the whole story.
Contemporary culture places a high premium on novelty. Armand D’Angour argues that we should consider the more balanced views about old and new found in classical Greece.
Robin Whitlock asks if studies of the decline of societies such as that of Easter Island can shed light on contemporary concerns.
Today's History
As the debate rages about how history should be taught in state schools David Cannadine discusses his recent research project.
As the debate continues on the causes of last summer’s English Riots, Michael Roberts examines previous attempts by reformers to address moral malaise and social breakdown.
Other articles
Roger Hudson explains the story behind a 19th-century photograph of George Washington's mausoleum.
Fundamentalism has become the face of Islam in the West. It was not always so and need not be in the future, says Tim Stanley.
Keith Lowe on the dilemmas faced by a victorious but financially ruined Britain in its dealings with postwar Germany.
Otto I was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope John XII on February 2nd 962.
A selection of readers' correspondence with the editor, Paul Lay.
John Herschel Glenn Jr was the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20th 1962.
Eva Anna Paula Braun was born in Munich on February 6th 1912.
Reviews
A new book by Ian Kershaw attempts to explain why, in 1945, Germany fought on to the bitter end.
Two books that underline the extent to which the Victorians clung on to the roots and language of religious faith after they had abandoned it
Tracy Borman's latest work is a biography of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror and the first queen of England's Norman dynasty.
A vision of the culture, politics and media of 1950s Rome through the lens of the greatest crime scandal of the day.
Roger Crowley's history of the rise of the empire acquired by Venice between 1000 and 1500 is a 'gripping tale of diplomatic cunning and military engagements'.
A paean of praise for the 'backroom boys' of the Second World War.
In the aftermath of American independence, Britain was forced to find another place for criminals who had previously been banished to the New World: the slave forts of West Africa.
An examination of the practices and cultural meanings attached to the night and darkness.
Newsletter
From The Current Issue
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David Cannadine
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Robin Whitlock
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Michael Roberts
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From The Archive
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John Jackson exhumes the extraordinary case of a middle-aged woman from Derby convicted of plotting to murder the Prime Minister. |
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On This Day In History
George Augustus Frederick was appointed Prince Regent to his father King George III on February 5th, 1811. He was a heavy drinker and a compulsive gambler.
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