For centuries the depiction of women was kept within the confines of religious, and moral, ideological imagery until the Italian Renaissance swept up the fifteenth century to enhance and entrance the majority of the elite classes in Europe. Christianity had hindered female progress with images that encompassed the traditional values of being a woman while … More Women in Renaissance Portraiture (Extended Edition)
Nikolai Aleksandrovich, known as Tsar Nicholas II, was the last Russian Emperor and a member of the illustrious Romanov dynasty that had sat on the imperial throne since the early seventeenth century. Born on the 18th of May in Tsarskoye Selo, now Pushkin, Nicholas was born to rule only to die in a bloody revolution … More Political Unrest in Russia: The Abdication of Nicholas II
This month we are investigating a non-European pre-modern civilisation and I took some time to research a topic that really gripped my interest. Usually in Europe the founding of civilisation is kept within the confines of Egypt, China, India and Mesopotamia when studying academic history. Very few universities offer modules that look into the deeper … More A 5000 Year Old Pyramid City: Caral, Peru
Late last year I got the opportunity to read an advance issue of Medieval Warfare and since it was a chance to keep up to date with different historical literature since graduation I was delighted. A couple of issues were sent to W.U.HSTRY and Lilly (W.U.HSTRY ruler) sent this one over to me as it … More Medieval Warfare Vol. VI, Issue 6 Review – January/February 2017
This is my second contribution towards the effort to document the events of World War One on this blog, and another attempt at modern history, and this time I am profiling a man who preceded Adolf Hitler as president of Germany, Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (Paul von Hindenburg to his … More A Portrait of Hindenburg
From the 19th of June to the 12th of July 2016 a fellow W.U.HSTRY contributor and I travelled around eight countries in the space of three weeks. We both shall be writing posts on our favourite memories, moments or monuments from the trip which included Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Prague, Florence, Bern and Paris. This … More Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen
Expression through movement has been a key part in ceremonial and celebratory events since man learned to walk. But the most beautiful and evocative of dance creations did not become what we would recognise today until the glittering Renaissance courts of fifteenth century Italy. Nobles used the basic steps and arm movements during weddings, masques … More A Short History of Ballet
A couple of weeks ago I attended the inaugural lecture of Creative Writing Professor Neil McCaw, who entertained university and public people alike upon the effect of Sherlock Holmes on the world. McCaw assessed the fact that Sherlock Holmes was a world-wide phenomenon who was used in a variety of ways including increasing morale during … More The Phenomenon of Sherlock Holmes
In c.1028 a key player in one of the biggest historical upheavals in English history was born to an unmarried French woman. Herleva was a member of the ducal household of Normandy in the lower ranks of society, potentially the daughter of a tanner, but had been a short-standing mistress to the Robert I who … More Up to 1066 – The Early Life of the Conqueror
This blog post will be a summary so far of a module I have been studying in my third year at Winchester University. Medieval childhood is described by the historian Gregory Bailey as largely a hidden topic but crucial in understanding what people considered to be the life cycle in this period. Its culture comes … More Medieval Childhood
