Wolf Hall, Thomas More and the Turks
Wolf Hall, Thomas More and the Turks One of the joys of the BBC’S outstanding dramatization of ‘Wolf Hall’ is its historical accuracy. While each programme is being broadcast, Tudor historians ecstatically tweet away pointing out how much the series is getting right – though there are minor slips like showing wisteria, which apparently was […]
Two fifteenth-century prelates and crusading – Piccolomini and Cusa
Two fifteenth-century prelates and crusading – Piccolomini and Cusa The Church produced some outstanding figures in the fifteenth century and none more so than Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (1405-64), who became pope in 1458 as Pius II, and Nicholas of Cusa (1401-64), who was made cardinal in 1448. They make for an interesting comparison. Piccolomini hailed […]
A Crusading Richard III ?
A crusading Richard III? In the spring of 1484 Richard III’s position on the throne of England was as secure as it would ever be. He had put down a rebellion against his usurpation a few months previously and was doing what he could to get Henry Tudor ousted from his exile in Brittany. […]
1414 and 1914: the origins of ‘Prussianism’
1414 and 1914: the origins of ‘Prussianism’ Recent days have witnessed a heated debate between Michael Gove, the combative Secretary of State for Education, and Tristram Hunt, Gove’s shadow on the Labour benches, about the most appropriate way to commemorate the First World War. Reacting strongly against what he sees as a left-wing tendency to […]
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