Category: Archive

  • What’s in a map?

    What’s in a map?

    By Zoe Farrell  | @zoeffarrell At first glance, a map is a simple entity. It is a tool through which towns and cities can be organised so that people can gain knowledge of places, roads, waterways and significant buildings. However, maps are often in fact complex objects of state building, propaganda and identity formation. J.…

  • What’s in a Name? Creating and Commemorating Historical Events

    What’s in a Name? Creating and Commemorating Historical Events

    By Harriet Lyon – @HarrietLyon It is a well-known pub quiz fact that the Hundred Years’ War was not one-hundred years long. Nor was it a war, exactly, but rather a series of intermittent conflicts that raged between the House of Plantagenet and the House of Valois during the years 1337-1453. But, for some reason, the ‘Hundred-and-Sixteen…

  • Is Trump the new King Henry II?

    Is Trump the new King Henry II?

    By David Runciman The testimony of Former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee was a highly anticipated moment of political drama. There were many stand-out moments. But as a medievalist, it was particularly interesting to hear Comey and one of his interlocutors compare President Trump to King Henry II of England. So…

  • ‘Rejoice Moscow, Russians are in Paris!’: The curious history of a popular melody

    ‘Rejoice Moscow, Russians are in Paris!’: The curious history of a popular melody

    By Jimmy Chen Within the collection of Cambridge University Library, there is a piece of sheet music for a Russian song dating from the Napoleonic Wars. Insignificant at first glance, this simple song can provide important insights into European musical culture in the early nineteenth century.

  • Proclaiming tolerance and maintaining integrity

    Proclaiming tolerance and maintaining integrity

    By Carys Brown | @HistoryCarys Theoretically, twenty-first-century Britain is tolerant; it is a place where diverse opinions can flourish. However, when opinions come into conflict, the appropriate course of action is not always obvious. As last year’s “Gay cake” row highlighted, the line between intolerance and a principled stance can be unclear. At the same…