On 1 February 1587 Queen Elizabeth I of England signed the death warrant of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, after months of deliberating on the matter. Mary, who had at one point been Queen of France and the daughter in law of Catherine de' Medici, had been tried and found guilty of taking part... Continue Reading →
Over six hundred years ago a woman known as Julian of Norwich wrote what is now regarded as one of the greatest works of literature in English. Based on a sequence of mystical visions she received in 1373, her book is called Revelations of Divine Love. Julian lived through an age of political and religious... Continue Reading →
Today's post isn't history related at all, but please indulge me for a moment. As many of you know, I suffer from Type 1 Diabetes. I can clearly remember the day I was diagnosed - I was at school and we were watching Oliver Twist. All of a sudden I felt seriously unwell, worse than... Continue Reading →
Today's post is a little different from what I normally post here, but I thought I'd get it written down anyway. Today, 14th February 2017, isn't Valentines Day to me - although I've gotten my partner a cheesy card - it's the anniversary of the day I was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic. Twenty one... Continue Reading →
On the 26th April 1478, as the host was raised within a crowded Santa Maria Del Fiore, carnage erupted. This moment was to be the finale of a conspiracy that had been concocted by the Pazzi family and their allies, in which the aim was to assassinate the two Medici brothers. But why did they... Continue Reading →
