The Rise of Christianity

Was Richard the Lionheart really England’s greatest medieval hero? Or is he one of history’s most successful myths, more heroic in legend than in life?Over eight centuries, Richard has handled Excalibur, been celebrated in medieval romance, reinvented in novels and films, and eve ...  Show more

What's the best cure for a hangover? What's the most effective way to curse your enemies? How do you keep demonic powers at bay?The medieval Celtic world was filled with magic which became absorbed and restructured within a Christian worldview, as saints, prayers, and sacred obje ...  Show more

The popes of Rome emerged from the humblest of beginnings. The first was a fisherman, charged with spreading the word of God under the watchful eye of a pagan Roman Empire. But just a few centuries later, the papacy had flourished into one of the wealthiest, most powerful inst ...

As two of humanity's great religions, Islam and Christianity have shaped much of the world's history. Empires across the globe have risen and fallen under their influence, and there have been many occasions for them to go head-to-head on the battlefield. So what have been some ...

Why did Christianity become so deeply embedded across western Europe in the centuries after the end of the Roman empire? To what extent did the old gods of Rome survive? And how did the concept of being Christian change over the course of the Middle Ages? Professor Mark Pegg of W ...  Show more

Between 1598 and 1785, the Papal or Roman Inquisition in Modena, Northern Italy, put 393 Jews on trial. Regarded as infidels, Jews were accused of, among other things, blasphemy, employing a Christian servant, owning prohibited books, and having sex with Christians. But the tr ...