Jennifer Still

Medicine in the Middle Ages was as much about superstition as science, and the tools used by physicians and barber-surgeons often reflected that blend of...

Britain has a long history of protest, and not all of it comes in the form of polite petitions or peaceful marches. Some of the...

History doesn’t always remember the right people. For every famous name that makes it into textbooks, there’s often someone else behind the scenes who actually...

Throughout history, animals have been part of legal systems in ways that now seem utterly bizarre. In the ancient world and through the Middle Ages,...

The Victorian era is usually remembered for its stiff collars, steam engines, and the explosion of industry and empire—but it was also a hotbed of...

History is full of strange twists, but every so often, it throws up coincidences so uncanny they sound made up. These aren’t just curious overlaps—they’re...

History is full of strange, specific, and now-extinct professions that once played a vital role in everyday life. Before industrialisation, digitisation, and modern health and...

The Renaissance was a time of breathtaking innovation in art, science, and craftsmanship, but it was also fiercely competitive. Master artists and craftsmen weren’t just...

The Victorians get a lot of credit for steam engines, railways, and top hats, but they also gave us a surprising number of everyday inventions...

British society has always had its fair share of unspoken rules—what you could say, wear, believe, or even eat without raising eyebrows. However, social taboos...