History

Anything to do with History

Alexie @Alexie - about 4 years ago

Buying Nazism | History Today

Moritz Föllmer’s study of culture in the Third Reich first appeared in German in 2016. Now it is available in English. It is a surprising book in some ways. If we reflect on culture under Nazism, we might think of the films of Leni Riefenstahl, or the attempt to create dr...continued

4 minutes read

Elliott @Elliott - almost 4 years ago

A Historic Turning Point? | History Today

Few of us would have believed at the end of 2019 that the coming year would be more awful than the year past. But 2019 had one final gift for us: 31 December was the day that authorities in Wuhan, China confirmed they were treating dozens of cases of an unknown illness. T...continued

5 minutes read

George @George - over 2 years ago

History of a Memory | History Today

In Milan, St Ambrose (c.339-97) is the ubiquitous anchor of civic identity. Every year the city honours its most deserving inhabitants with a prestigious gold medal named after the saint. A basilica, institutions and public celebrations such as the Ambrosian Carnival all ...continued

4 minutes read

Muriel @Muriel - almost 3 years ago

Do You Exist? | History Today

In Britain we pride ourselves on our freedom. We don’t let the government issue us with identity cards, except in wartime. It’s a fiction, of course: we’re unlikely to get through the day without producing a photo ID. Elsewhere in the world, having the right identity docu...continued

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Abbie @Abbie - 8 months ago

On the Spot: Ali Ansari

Why are you a historian of modern Iran? Because of heritage, the fact that I’m proficient in Persian, and the sheer fascination of studying a former empire trying to find a role.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? The importance of context.Which histo...continued

2 minutes read

Roger @Roger - over 2 years ago

Concrete Plans | History Today

The fame of Albert Speer, the minor classical architect who rose to become the industrial boss of the Third Reich, has brought about a notion that each dictator has an architect on hand to translate his dreams into built reality. Actually, Hitler was fairly exceptional in...continued

4 minutes read

Ezequiel @Ezequiel - 5 months ago

On the Spot: Kristin Semmens

Why are you a historian of Nazi Germany? My German, Ukrainian and Canadian grandparents told stories about their experiences during the Second World War. I wanted to put those personal narratives into context. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? Prett...continued

2 minutes read

Erik @Erik - over 3 years ago

Writ in Water | History Today

Europe’s longest river weaves through what has come to be seen as Russia’s heartland, from the Valdai Hills north-west of Moscow to its delta near Astrakhan where it empties into the Caspian Sea. The Volga also links numerous peoples, including Bashkirs, Mari, Tatars, Udm...continued

4 minutes read

Giovanni @Giovanni - 9 months ago

Beware the Lides of March

March is the month which proverbially ‘comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb’. That proverb, which dates back to the 17th century, is just one of many traditional sayings about the tempestuous nature of this month’s weather. This stormy month, part winter and part...continued

4 minutes read

Garnet @Garnet - almost 3 years ago

Missions and Misunderstandings | History Today

The Perils of Interpreting opens with the 1793 meeting of Lord George Macartney and the Qianlong emperor, an infamous embassy in the history of East-West relations. Typically viewed as a moment where China’s ignorance of the West was thrown into sharp relief, the Macartne...continued

4 minutes read

Erik @Erik - over 3 years ago

Open Access, Closed Minds | History Today

The sort of history books that excite readers of History Today are probably those that combine original research with elegant, accessible prose: perhaps a book such as Christopher Clark’s The Sleepwalkers or Lyndal Roper’s Martin Luther or Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads...continued

4 minutes read

Manley @Manley - almost 3 years ago

A Revolutionary of Letters | History Today

Scientist, traveller, revolutionary. That’s the portrait of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara that emerges from a new collection of his letters that uses material long guarded in Cuban archives. I Embrace You with All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967 begins with Guevara as ...continued

4 minutes read

Sandrine @Sandrine - almost 4 years ago

Recalling Forgotten Voices | History Today

For those in 2020 who did not support the removal of statues (the Secretary of State for Culture among them, you’ll remember), their dismantling constituted a form of erasure: cancel culture’s elimination of the past, the rewriting of history. Of course, the truth is that...continued

4 minutes read

Abbie @Abbie - over 3 years ago

Our Before and After | History Today

This past year has introduced many of us to new ways of measuring time. The cancellation of so many events means it has become difficult to mark time in the usual ways, as weekends and work-days, school terms and holidays have merged into each other. In place of our usual...continued

4 minutes read

Roger @Roger - 11 months ago

How to Revive Wassailing | History Today

When I give talks about the medieval festival year, one of the questions people most often ask me is ‘are there any medieval traditions you think we should revive?’ I’m never quite sure how to answer. Reviving old traditions can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a tricky iss...continued

4 minutes read

Geovany @Geovany - about 4 years ago

Serendipity of the Scholars | History Today

One aspect of life which has been radically curtailed this year has been the chance encounter. When everyone is trying to limit their contact with other people, all kinds of passing interactions have become necessarily brief and often fraught. Now that every activity requ...continued

4 minutes read

Devin @Devin - over 3 years ago

The Long Legacy of a Short Life

One of the most intriguing pieces of lost medieval art was a work of embroidery made in the second half of the tenth century, now known only from a written description. It was an alb, a clerical vestment, adorned with gold, gems and pearls, and it showed the Apostles, all...continued

4 minutes read

Hulda @Hulda - over 3 years ago

Non-essential Freedoms | History Today

Bookshops are back and that’s something to celebrate. Among all the kinds of ‘non-essential’ activities prohibited over the past year, browsing second-hand bookshops may not have been high up everyone’s list of yearned-for normality, but it was pretty high up on mine and ...continued

4 minutes read

Giovanni @Giovanni - over 3 years ago

The Historian Embodied | History Today

When TV producers suggest that I put on historical costume, I tend to recoil. In part this is so as not to step on Lucy Worsley’s toes and I’m sure it’s partly vanity; certain I really wouldn’t suit a gable hood (the Tudor headdress that looks like a jewel-encrusted birdh...continued

4 minutes read

Grayce @Grayce - 3 months ago

‘Outposts of Diplomacy’ by G. R. Berridge review

We all know what embassies are: grand houses where pompous people stand under chandeliers drinking champagne to no obvious purpose. Why should we waste our money on these overpaid toffs when modern technology allows instant communication between world leaders?G.R. Berridg...continued

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Hank @Hank - 3 months ago

‘Outposts of Diplomacy’ by G.R. Berridge review

4 minutes read

Ezequiel @Ezequiel - 11 months ago

History Today Review of the Year

Ukraine War One Year On With 24 February marking the first anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine (Crimea and Donbas having been occupied in 2014), William Rees looked at the precedents for Vladimir Putin’s narrative of Western collapse (‘Decline and Fall...continued

4 minutes read

Alexander @Alexander - 6 months ago

‘The House Divided’ by Barnaby Rogerson review

In the span of a few decades the Muslims transformed from a tribal confederation of Bedouins to masters of a vast, cosmopolitan empire stretching from the Hindu Kush to the Iberian peninsula. It is an extraordinarily complicated period, both in terms of the events themsel...continued

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Giles @Giles - 6 months ago

‘The House Divided’ by Barnaby Rogerson

4 minutes read

Maida @Maida - over 3 years ago

Out of Time, But Not Out of Tune

A few months before the first lockdown I was browsing through a book I’ve often read before. It’s a collection of poems by the 15th-century friar James Ryman, who wrote a large number of English carols and hymn translations. It includes poems for all seasons of the year, ...continued

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