History Fiend

St George's Day is upon us once again, and interest surrounding the festival of England's primary patron saint shows no sign of abating. It's common knowledge that, according to legend, St George killed a dragon, but what else do you know about him? Here, writing for   History Extra , Jonathan Good, associate professor of history at Reinhardt University in Georgia, brings you 10 lesser-known facts about England’s patron saint… 1 St George is not English If he ever existed (and there’s no proof he did), George would likely have been a soldier somewhere in the eastern Roman Empire, probably in what is now Turkey. According to legend, he was martyred for his faith under Emperor Diocletian in the early fourth century, and his major shrine is located in Lod, Israel. 2 His earliest legends were so outlandish that the Pope condemned them Early Christians were known to exaggerate the tortures endured by their martyrs, but St George is in a league all of...

Bearded, violent beyond reason and singularly successful at suppressing everyone around them. This, says Janina Ramirez, is the popular – yet questionable – image of Vikings. But how violent were they really, and did they actually wear horned helmets? These are myths that need to be unpicked The Viking Age stretched from the ninth to the 11th century. During this time Viking culture had a huge impact on great swathes of Europe, Asia, Africa and even America – many centuries before Columbus sailed the oceans. They could navigate the known world and commanded respect wherever they went. Yet the Vikings are surrounded by myths. Here are eight of them busted… 1 Myth 1: They wore horned helmets Let’s get this out of the way straight off. There is no evidence that the Vikings wore horned helmets, and nothing like this has ever been discovered in any archaeological dig. They certainly wore helmets but they would have been simple skullcaps, designed to protect the he...

He is considered one of the defining figures of the 20th century, remembered for his inspirational speeches and for leading Britain to victory in the Second World War. But you might be surprised to learn that Winston Churchill had a patchy academic record, almost married a woman other than Clementine, and was one of the first adopters of the 'onesie'... In his book,  How to Think Like Churchill , Daniel Smith charts the defining moments in the politician’s life, and reveals the key principles, philosophies and decisions that made him the wartime leader we remember him as. Here, writing for  History Extra , Smith reveals 10 things you might not know about Churchill… In the half century since he died, there can be no contemporary British figure whose story has been so scrutinized as Churchill’s. Of course he has his critics, and sometimes with good reason. He could be stubborn and impetuous, driven by ego, and sometimes unsympathetic to the plight of o...

To mark the 100 year commemorations of the Representation of the People Act, the Education Service worked with professional film-maker Nigel Kellaway, to engage young people (aged 16-19) with suffrage records held at The National Archives.