Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

British History

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, which famously depicts William the Conqueror's victory over the so-called Anglo-Saxons

The Many Myths of the Term ‘Anglo-Saxon’

Two medieval scholars tackle the misuse of a phrase that was rarely used by its supposed namesakes

Map of Nova Scotia made in 1755 by provincial chief surveyor Charles Morris

Unraveling the Colonialist Myths of Nova Scotia

Planners saw the region as a blank space ripe for transformation: the perfect canvas for imperial fantasies

A view of the Thornton Portrait Gallery at the Huntington (L to R): Joshua Reynolds, Diana (Sackville), Viscountess Crosbie, 1777; Thomas Gainsborough, The Blue Boy, 1770; and Thomas Gainsborough, Elizabeth (Jenks) Beaufoy, later Elizabeth Pycroft, c. 1780

Gainsborough’s ‘Blue Boy’ Is Headed Back to the U.K.—but Some Experts Fear for Its Safety

A 2018 panel of nine conservators “strongly recommend[ed] against lending” the fragile 18th-century portrait

View of the dig site in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Sand Dunes in Wales Preserved This Medieval Cemetery for Centuries

Erosion threatens to destroy the historic burial ground at Whitesands Beach in Pembrokeshire

The north-facing orientation of the grave suggests it was a pagan burial.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Sarcophagus Found in England Reveals Roman Burial Practices

A limestone coffin unearthed in Bath contains the remains of two individuals. Possible offerings to the gods were discovered nearby

One highlight of the find included a rare a leopard coin. Officials considered this coinage 'failed' because the costs for producing them were too high.

Metal Detectorist Discovers Black Death-Period Coins

The treasure dates back to the reign of Edward III and probably belonged to a wealthy person in England

The letter sheds light on Jenner's beliefs about the use of cowpox and horsepox in vaccination.

Letter From ‘Father of Vaccination’ Edward Jenner Sold at Auction

Jenner wrote that new research ‘put a stop to the sneers’ of ‘little minded persons’

Scholars used a newly developed technique to test skeletons' teeth for the presence of Yersinia pestis, the pathogen responsible for the plague.

Cool Finds

Why Weren’t These Black Death Victims Buried in Mass Graves?

New research suggests some Europeans who died of the bubonic plague were individually interred with care

This 15th-century illuminated manuscript depicts a courtly gathering attended by a host of young men wearing the pointed shoes fashionable at the time.

Art Meets Science

This Fancy Footwear Craze Created a ‘Plague of Bunions’ in Medieval England

Elite Europeans who wore pointed shoes toed the line between fashion and fall risk, a new study suggests

The older man, who died when he was in his 50s, succumbed to an injury likely sustained during a Viking raid. The second, who was in his 20s when he died, was targeted in the St. Brice's Day massacre of 1002.

Cool Finds

Viking-Era Relatives Who Died on Opposite Sides of the Sea Reunited at Last

Either half-brothers or a nephew and uncle, one died after taking part in a raid, while the other was the victim of an English massacre

Historically, doctors have often treated women's pain as a sign of mental illness.

Myth and Misdiagnosis Have Plagued Women’s Health for Centuries

A new book by scholar Elinor Cleghorn details the medical mistreatment of women throughout Western history

Researchers rarely discover physical evidence of slavery in the Roman Empire.

Shackled Skeleton Reflects Brutal Reality of Slavery in Roman Britain

An enslaved man buried in England between 226 and 427 A.D. was interred with heavy iron fetters and a padlock around his ankles

A defaced statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston is now on view at M Shed in Bristol, England. The museum is asking visitors to reflect on the sculpture's toppling and offer suggestions on what to do next.

Toppled Statue of British Slave Trader Goes on View at Bristol Museum

The display seeks to continue a citywide conversation about the defaced Edward Colston sculpture’s future

“The shape of the Spitfire's wing and all of the compound curves on the airplane made it beautiful,” says the Smithsonian's Alex Spencer, curator of British and European military aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum.

Remembering the Supermarine Spitfire, Iconic Fighter Plane of World War II

‘Spit’ pilots flew their first combat missions over Dunkirk during the Battle of France

Experts describe the Galloway Hoard as the “richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland.”

Trove of Viking-Age Treasures Makes Its Long-Awaited Public Debut

The Galloway Hoard, a collection of 100 rare artifacts buried in Scotland around 900 A.D., is finally on view

“We have these iconic figures from history and literature, who people feel possessive about in some way,” says scholar Miranda Kaufman, author of Black Tudors: The Untold Story. “But you have to remember that it’s not a historical reconstruction: it’s a thriller; it’s a drama; it’s entertainment.”

Why the Controversy Over a Black Actress Playing Anne Boleyn Is Unnecessary and Harmful

Long before Jodie Turner-Smith’s miniseries came under criticism, British Indian actress Merle Oberon portrayed the Tudor queen

The carvings show the large antlers of adult male red deer.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologist Discovers Prehistoric Animal Carvings in Scottish Tomb

The 4,000- to 5,000-year-old depictions of deer are the first of their kind found in Scotland

Artist’s reconstruction of historic structures at the site of Netherton Cross, a 10th- or 11th-century religious sculpture that has since been relocated

Cool Finds

Scottish Archaeologists Discover Only Surviving Traces of Razed Medieval Town

An 18th-century duke seeking to transform his estate into parkland ordered the village of Netherton’s destruction

Before she was hanged in 1898, Nehanda declared that her body would rise again to lead a new, victorious rebellion.

Spiritual Medium Mbuya Nehanda Defied Colonialists in 19th-Century Zimbabwe

A newly unveiled statue in the African country’s capital honors an icon of resistance against British imperialism

Rosary beads and Bible belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots, pictured at Arundel Castle in January 1968. Authorities recently announced the rosary's theft from the English stronghold.

Rosary Beads Owned by Mary, Queen of Scots, Stolen in Heist at English Castle

The Stuart monarch may have carried the golden beads—taken last Friday in a $1.4-million burglary—to her execution in 1587

Page 30 of 64