Latest Posts

  • Historical Figures: Ada Lovelace, The First Computer Programmer

    I have been meaning to write about Ada Lovelace for a very long time, and as today is Ada Lovelace day I figured what better excuse to start my new series on important historical figures of the past with her. The day falls on the second Tuesday of every October, and was founded in 2009…

  • Royal People: The Princes in the Tower

    One of the most tragic stories of the English monarchy – and one that has captivated people for centuries – is that of the two Princes in the Tower. The two Princes in question were Edward V of England and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York. When they were 12 and 9 years old,…

  • A Brief Moment of History: The Day a Bus Jumped Tower Bridge

    There are lots of interesting small moments in history that often slip by people – after all, much of history focuses on the big battles, the big people, the defining moments of how we got to where we are today. But many of the smaller moments can bring us joy, amusement, and interest, and so…

  • Mythical Creatures: A History of Dragons

    One of the most prevailing and popular creatures of folklore and legend is the dragon. From Mesoamerica, Medieval Europe, Asian folklore, to more modern depictions in books such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire, dragons crop up time and again. Unlike other legends, the essence of…

  • Medieval Marginalia: At It Like Rabbits

    The pages of medieval manuscripts might be something that sounds very boring, but for those in the know, they read more like fantastical comic books. Pages upon pages of doodles in the margins showing imaginary creatures, hybrid animals, people doing all manner of activities, and many, many animals. A few months ago, I wrote about…

  • Women of Just History Posts: International Women’s Day 2018

    As today is International Women’s day, and women hold such a huge focus in my blog, I thought it would be remiss of me to not do a post to celebrate. Over the past year and a half I have written about plenty of amazing royal women, and I am hoping to soon expand into…

  • Fashion as Liberation: Edwardian Women’s Hatpins

    “No man, however courageous he may be, likes to face a resolute woman with a hatpin in her hand.” When you think of fashion, you probably think of a variety of things. Superfluous trends, silly styles, strange catwalk concoctions. However, whilst fashion has been ridiculed for centuries, over many periods of history fashion has been…

  • Royal People: Anna Komnene – Historian, Physician, Byzantine Princess

    When people think of medieval princesses, they often think of an almost fairy-tale like person. A beautiful young woman who was married off at a young age to a foreign prince, traded as a political pawn, with little agency of her own. Of course, this was often far from the truth, and one such example…

  • New Year, New Me: A History of Calendars

    So the New Year is here, and I’m sure many of you will have made resolutions or goals for how you’re going to make this year better than the last. As humans in a modern world, we are ruled by time. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years dictate our lives – what we are…