Table of contents for August 2023 in History Revealed

When William Blake was just four years old, he saw God appear in a window. A few years later, he came across a tree teeming with angels on Peckham Rye. Visions such as these were an everyday occurrence for Blake, a man whose work blurred the barrier between lived reality and the spiritual plane. Largely overlooked during his lifetime and even dismissed as insane, Blake has latterly come to be seen as one of the foremost figures of the Romantic Age. It's a reputation that rests both on the extraordinary imagery of his art and on his resonant poetry. Born on 28 November 1757 in a room above his father's hosiery shop in Soho, London, Blake's parents, James and Catherine, were religious dissenters (Protestants opposed to the Church of England).…

THE ABBESS: HILDA OF WHITBY As the abbess of Whitby – a monastery for both men and women – Saint Hilda (614–680) headed one of the great religious centres of northeastern England. Not only did the monastery produce five bishops, it also hosted the Synod of Whitby of 664, which was, in part, called to decide on which date the English should celebrate Easter. According to the historian Bede, Hilda was so respected that even kings and princes sought her advice. THE ANCHORESS: JULIAN OF NORWICH Julian (c1342– after 1416) is surely one of the most extraordinary religious figures of England's Middle Ages. Aged around 40, she agreed to dedicate the rest of her life to intense prayer and contemplation in a walled-up cell from which she would never leave.…

DR ELEANOR JANEGA ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING MEDIEVAL WOMEN DR ELEANOR JANEGA is a historian specialising in sexuality, propaganda, the urban experience and apocalyptic thought in the late medieval period. Her most recent book is The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society (WW Norton & Co, 2023). To hear Dr Janega discuss medieval women on the HistoryExtra podcast, scan the QR code shown here or visit historyextra.com/medieval-women-qa One could be forgiven for thinking that the past was inhabited almost entirely by men. The way that history has been written means there is often an overwhelming focus on ‘Great Men', leading to a relatively dry run-through of battles and dates and kings and generals who went out into the world and shaped it as they…

AMAZING LIVES In 1777, the Chevalier d'Éon returned to France from exile in London but only on the condition that the claim of being born female was recognised by the French government and crown, despite it eventually being revealed not to be true. In his book Monsieur d'Éon is a Woman, d'Éon's biographer Gary Kates offers several reasons for the double life. “D'Éon's switch was not a compulsion but an intellectual decision that he made between 1766 and 1776 after careful thought and reading,” says Kates, suggesting that d'Éon chose to present as a woman “because he deeply admired the moral character of women and wanted to live as one.” Also, despite his military combat, d'Éon was ill at ease with hypermasculine ideals. Informed by the Enlightenment thinkers, he was…

SASQUATCH NORTH AMERICA Also known as Bigfoot, this large, hairy ape – a cousin of the Yeti – roams the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Since the 1950s, there have been thousands of sightings and footprints, the most famous being a short film of a walking Sasquatch in Bluff Creek, California, shot in 1967 by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. CHUPACABRA AMERICAS This violent vampire creature drains its prey of blood; its name means ‘goat sucker'. Often described as reptilian with spines down its back or as a wild hairless dog, it only cropped up in the cryptid family in the late 1980s, when it was allegedly spotted by farmers in Puerto Rico. LOCH NESS MONSTER SCOTLAND The traditional date for the first sighting is AD 565, when Saint Columba…

TV, FILM & RADIO THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS ONE TO WATCH Lost momentum, other commitments, stories that suddenly seem dated. Hie pandemic, it's safe to say, was behind the cancellation of more than a few TV projects. And for a while, you might have guessed that World on Fire, writer Peter Bowker's World War II epic, would be another Covid-19 casualty. Then, last year, the BBC announced that a second series was in production. For which give thanks because it's a drama that's ambitious, compelling and, as an ensemble piece aiming to tell the story of the conflict from the perspective of those caught up in events and often simply straggling just to survive, very different in tone to most dramas set during wartime. WEEKLY TV &…

Shticks and Stones: Jewish Comedy and Antisemitism / BBC Radio 4, July Jewish entertainers have long used humour to deflect and to counter prejudice, but how has this comedy evolved over the years and how should we understand its interplay with antisemitism? It's a cultural history related in the Archive on 4 slot by actor and scriptwriter David Schneider, who begins in 1903 with Ameriean-bom comedian Julian Rose, who found huge: success in the UK despite his work resting so heavily on stereotypes that he was billed as “Our Hebrew Friend“. Via Yiddish theatre, Sid Caesar, Danny Kaye, Mel Brooks' gloriously tasteless ‘Springtime for Hitler' from The Producers, Seinfeld, Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat and Friday Night Dinner, Schneider traces the story up to the present day as he meets the…

BOOKS & PODCASTS THIS MONTH'S BEST HISTORICAL READS AND LISTENS BOOK OF THE MONTH Abacus, £30, hardback, 448 pages Welcome to the Roman empire at its height: incredibly wealthy, intimidatingly powerful and, to modem eyes, often intensely alien. Historian and broadcaster Tom Holland Is our guide to a dynasty that spanned decades from the end of the first century AD and a vast sweep of territory from the Atlantic to Arabia. Yet this glittering world of stability and prosperity was both made possible by, and held together by, the threat of violence. This is an incisive, accessible account of a fascinating era.…

Yale University Press, £18.99, hardback, 240 pages For any self-respecting pharaoh, excess was key. Ramesses II, for instance - who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC - could claim more monuments, and more children, than any of his peers. Yet given that those other rulers achieved equal or greater success on other terms, why has this ‘King of Kings' become so exalted? Toby Wilkinson's entertaining biography explores that question, suggesting that self-promotion was key - and that this ancient hype man's story may hold lessons for us today.…

Amazing archaeological discoveries bit.ly/AmazingPod123 Whip-wielding archaeologist Indiana Jones returns to our screens this summer - and while the character's adventures remain the stuff of fantasy, his real-life counterparts have thrilling tales of their own to tell. Historian Michael Scott shares some of those stories, and discusses the extent to which fictional treasure hunters reflect reality. The History Hour: Inuit children and more bit.ly/HistoryHourPod123 This compendium of BBC Radio's history output reliably offers an eclectic look at the past, and this episode is no exception. From the stories of the Inuit children removed from their families during the 20th century to an unlikely race pitting runners against riders on horseback, it's by turns moving and amusing - but always fascinating. Historical echoes of the Ukraine war bit.ly/UkrainePod123 Tracing the history of…

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Having spent most of the year wondering how we can afford to stay warm, the brief dog days of summer give us an opportunity to complain that it's now too hot. So what can history teach us about cooling down? The easiest thing to do when overheating is suck on a piece of ice, which was something very much on the mind of King Zimri-Lim of Mari, in what is now Syria. His beautifully preserved Cuneiform library tells us that he built an ice house around 1780 BC. He boldly claimed it was the first ever – and perhaps it was – but the record goes silent after his (probably fatal) encounter with the Amorite king Hammurabi. Digging insulated pits to keep snow and ice in during summer had also…

In England in 1377, as many as a third of adult women were single, a figure that didn't even include widows or nuns. Lacking financial security, many women in poverty delayed getting married in order to raise themselves socially and economically through work. Therefore, the towns and cities, where work was easier to come by, had a disproportionately high number of single women. As well as doing so to improve their day-to-day existences, they worked hard in order to build up a dowry and make themselves more marriageable. When it came to sexual relations, these single women weren't necessarily inexperienced, but with sex outside marriage being frowned upon, social scorn was common, as the historian Professor Maryanne Kowaleski has pointed out. “In medieval Europe, with its strict classification of women…

Some medieval women took to the practice of pilgrimage to spread their beliefs. Margery who, though not nuns, made their name on the road. After suffering a period of crisis in the late 14th century, Kempe began to experience visions of Christ, and became a visually recognisable figure during her journeys across Europe. Dressed in white and in a state of near-constant weeping, her displays of devotion gained such a reputation that she attended audiences with other prominent religious figures of the day. Though some have reconsidered Kempe's story through modern understandings of mental illness, her power as an influencer is shown in her 15th-century dictated book, The Book of Margery Kempe, the earliest-known autobiography in English, which offered a new perspective on the female middle-class medieval experience. Religion wasn't…

BOOKS The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society By Dr Eleanor Janega (WW Norton & Co, 2023) In this vibrant, high-spirited history, Dr Eleanor Janega turns to the Middle Ages to unfurl its suppositions about women and reveal what's shifted over time – and what hasn't. A Medieval Woman's Companion: Women's Lives in the European Middle Ages By Prof Susan Signe Morrison (Oxbow Books, 2015) Comprising 20 short biographies, this book shines a light on the trailblazing medieval women who are now considered vital for understanding the era in a full and nuanced way. Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It By Dr Janina Ramirez (WH Allen, 2022) Dr Janina Ramirez's groundbreaking reappraisal of medieval feminity looks…

HISTORY OF ART Embroidering the Earth's Mantle It is unusual to encounter a piece of art that feels both historical and modern, yet Surrealist artist Remedios Varo's 1961 work - the centre piece in a triptych of three thematically linked paintings – feels as if it could just as well step from the pages of a late-medieval manuscript as from a 20th-century work of science fiction. The story it tells is equally enigmatic. In a tower perched high in the air, a secret rite appears to be taking place: six novitiates, dressed in identical blue robes, each with their own bolt of cloth, embroider intricate designs – trees, buildings, animals – into the fabric. A sinister, masked figure reads a book, stirring the cauldron from which snakes their magical thread.…

Oppenheimer / In cinemas from Friday 21 July On 16 July 1945, a group of scientists and military personnel gathered in the Jornada del Muerto desert. New Mexico. Following years of work led by J Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos Laboratory and a central figure in the Manhattan Project, they were about to witness the detonation of the world's first atomic weapon in a top-secret test eodenamed ‘Trinity'. Years later, Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who also possessed a rare combination of administrative ability, engineering knowledge and ambition, reflected on what his team had achieved. The awe-inspiring sight of the world's first nuclear explosion brought to mind, he said, words from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, which he translated as, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.“…

William Collins, £25, hardback, 320 pages Intriguingly, the Special Air Service, or SAS, was borne out of a lie, conceived to convince Britain's World War II opponents of the existence of an elite paratrooper unit. This fake battalion soon gave its name to the newly formed, genuine SAS, which became known for its daring exploits and gruelling training programme. Joshua Levine's vibrant, fully authorised account draws on previously untapped archive material to bring to life the individuals who transformed fantasy into reality and, in the process, played a key role in shaping the war's outcome.…

Bloomsbury Circus, £25, hardback, 512 pages This Joint biography traces the intertwined fortunes of three women - Mary, Queen of Scots, Catherine de Medici and Elisabeth de Valois - across the 16th century, from their time together as young women in the French court to their respective roles as queens of Scotland, France and Spain. It vividly illuminates their ambitions, motivations and fears, as well as the overwhelming odds and difficult choices faced by female rulers in an era of male power and shifting allegiances.…

EPISODE 1: BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH Julius Caesar, at the height of his powers, became the victim of a brutal assassination by senators on 15 March 44 BC. Professor Barry Strauss describes the momentous events of a day that would transform Rome forever. EPISODE 2: WAS THIS AMBITION? Bom into a minor Roman noble family, few could have imagined the extraordinary destiny that awaited Caesar. Professors Catherine Steel and Philip Freeman examine the man's early life and trace the origins of his voracious aspirations. EPISODE 3: MASTER OF HIS FATE Delve into the final decade of Caesar's life: a tumultuous era of civil war, megalomania and his romance with Cleopatra. Professor Philip Freeman, Dr Jane Draycott and Dr Volker Heuchert chart the climactic events that defined Caesar's later career.…

HEIGHT OF BEAUTY 1935 Soaring over the entrance to San Francisco Bay in California, the majestic Golden Gate Bridge stands as a testament to human ingenuity and engineering prowess. Spanning 1.7 miles and costing over $35m, its construction was a feat of innovation and sheer determination. Thousands of workers, who battled treacherous winds, fog and tides, were employed on the four-year project. The bridge's distinctive orange colour, chosen as it blends with the nearby hills and contrasts with the ocean and sky, adds to its allure, as does its Art Deco aesthetic. This image, from October 1935, shows catwalks linking the bridge's two towers, put in place to help workers tasked with ‘spinning' the suspension cables needed to support the roadway deck.…

MASTODON TOOTH RESURFACES ON CALIFORNIA BEACH The tooth of a prehistoric mastodon has been discovered by chance in California. The surprise find was made by Jennifer Schuh, who spotted the object while walking near the mouth of Aptos Creek in Santa Cruz County on 26 May. Unsure about what she had discovered, Schuh posted a photograph of the fossil on Facebook, piquing the interest of a palaeontologist who revealed its likely origins. However, upon returning to the site, Schuh discovered the tooth had vanished, prompting a media appeal. Fortunately, the fossil was located by jogger Jim Smith, who donated it to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Mastodons roamed California between five million and 10,000 years ago, dying out around the end of the last Ice Age. The tooth…

Q: How equal were medieval men and women in the workplace? A: Medieval men and women had different roles and responsibilities, but when it came to daily work, there were instances of equality between them. In the peasant class, for example, women were not only doing the same tasks as men but also taking on additional responsibilities. In the context of middle-class, artisanal occupations, women played a significant role as well. If a person belonged to a guild, such as a glover, their wife would typically be involved in the same work, making gloves alongside her husband. Additionally, women were expected to handle bookkeeping and financial matters, which were considered feminine tasks at the time. However, it's important to note that women were not always accorded the same level of…

Catherine of Siena clearly wasn't a fan of the easy life. The Italian mystic and author could have rested on her laurels in her home town in Tuscany, where she had gained a reputation for her dedication to the sick and poor, and her ecstatic visions. Instead, she decided to embark on a mission to save the Catholic Church and bring peace to Italy. And so, in the mid-1370s, Catherine set out to foster peace within the church, and encourage Pope Gregory XI to quit Avignon (which had been the seat of popes since 1309) and return to the papacy's traditional home in Rome. Shortly after, Gregory entrusted Catherine with the thorny task of negotiating a peace with the rebellious city of Florence. FORBIDDEN FRUIT Pope Urban VI, who succeeded…

Some working women decided to find strength in numbers by joining trade guilds. Similar to today's trade unions, they were dedicated to specific crafts, and designed to protect the rights of the workers who belonged to them. Although some guilds barred women from entry entirely, others allowed female members to join under certain circumstances – such as if their spouse had belonged to the guild, and then passed away. But some guilds broke the mould entirely, and were solely operated by and for women. For example, Rouen in France was home to two female-only textile guilds, which flexed their power in the city until they were dissolved in the 18th century. Both organisations allowed women to come together and take individuals who threatened their trading rights to court, and set…

AMAZING LIVES CHEVALIER D'ÉON After decades of speculation, gossip and even gambling on the matter, in 1810 it was an elderly Londoner called Mrs Cole who finally discovered the truth. For the previous 14 years, this widow had shared an apartment with a French spinster, the Chevalière d'Éon. During the last few of those years, the chevalière – the female equivalent of a chevalier, or knight – was largely bedbound. Both women were in their early eighties; both also lived in poverty and suffered poor health. Now, on 21 May 1810, at the age of 81, the Frenchwoman was dead. Unsurprisingly, it was Mrs Cole who found the body. Mourning the passing of her friend and flatmate, she solemnly began to prepare the corpse to receive visitors, aiming to provide some…

Charting the life of Henry VIII's second daughter in the wake of the monarch's death, writer Anya Reiss's drama makes it clear from the off that Elizabeth Tudor lived in times when high polities and religion were linked in dangerous ways. The first and only series (sadly, it was cancelled stateside by broadcaster Starz last year) covers the reign of the boy king Edward VI. Alicia von Rittberg (pictured) stars as the teenage Elizabeth, Romola Garai as Mary Tudor, Jessica Raine as Catherine Parr and Tom Cullen as Thomas Seymour, a charmer who abuses his power.…

Bodley Head, £30, hardback, 864 pages This bold, ambitious book charts the ways in which South Asia gained independence from the British empire, and the opportunities and disasters that awaited the new nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh throughout the second half of the 20th century. As well as chronicling decades of often brutal polities, Joya Chatteiji also switches focus to explore the experiences of individual people and the social and cultural dimensions - food, cinema, wrestling - that reveal the diverse, complex stories of life in the region.…

FICTION Canongate Books, £16.99, hardback, 416 pages The popular series of historical crime novels written by Ambrose Parry - a pseudonym for husband-and-wife team Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman - here reaches its fourth entry. It's 1853, a paradoxical time of great scientific innovation and fascination with the spirit world, and a murderer is on the loose in Edinburgh. With the first instalment, The Way of All Flesh, set to be adapted for TV, this is a great time to catch up with the exploits of daring duo Will Raven and Sarah Fisher.…

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR HISTORICAL PUZZLE EVERY ISSUE Test your history knowledge to solve our prize puzzle - and you could win a fantastic new book ACROSS 5 Annie_(1860-1926), US sharpshooter (6) 7 Lindsay_(1923-94), British filmmaker, best known for If… (1968) (8) 9 in Greek myth, a shipmate of Jason (8) 10 Nodule of knapped flint (6) 11 US resort, developed in the 19th century by Jonathan Pitney (8,4) 13 Midwestern Sioux tribe (6) 15 Texas city in which John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 (6) 18 In Christian tradition, the first day of Lent (3,9) 21 City in India, site of a major chemical leak in 1984 (6) 22 Rock band formed in 1980 by former members of Joy Division (3,5) 23 Nicola_(b1970), first minister of Scotland between 2014 and 2023 (8) 24 Prophet and military leader, in the…