Tattoos

For the third episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we dive into the 1291 Siege of Acre - the desperate, violent last stand that ended two centuries of crusading in the Holy Land. We hear how, outnumbered, divided and desperate, the Christian defenders decided to fight to t ...  Show more

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful figures of the medieval world: twice a queen, a crusader, a rebel and the architect of an empire. Through her marriages to Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, she helped create the vast Angevin Empire and reshape European ...  Show more

“As ancient as time, as modern as tomorrow.’ Why have tattoos been reinvented in so many cultures - and with so many different meanings - throughout history? And yet, tattooing is constantly portrayed as a new ‘thing’, when tattoos were just for criminals or sailors. Far from tru ...  Show more

Throughout history, people have got tattooed for a huge range of reasons, whether religious devotion, artistic expression, or to demonstrate cultural belonging – or cultural difference. Dr Matt Lodder talks to Charlotte Hodgman about 5,000 years of tattooing history, exploring ev ...  Show more

George V, Otzi the Iceman, possibly Winston Churchill and … Kate Lister. What do all these people have in common?

They have tattoos. As do a fifth of the population of the United Kingdom.

In this episode, Kate speaks to tattoo historian Matt Lodder about th ...

Most of us present ourselves with some form of cosmetic, so it’s strange that historically there’s been so much judgement around the use of it.

It’s something that’s been there from the Ancient world to the present day, and speaks to so much of the human experience.< ...