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European History

In 16th-century England, death by plague, depicted in the wood carving above, might have been an easy way to go compared to the accidents that could befall a person in everyday life.

Cool Finds

Here Are Some of the Weird Ways You Could Die in Tudor England

Pole vaulting and bacon are among the odd causes of death discovered by historians

The Egtved girl was a high-born female from the Bronze Age. In her grave in Denmark, she wears a wool dress. Wool textiles and a bronze belt plate that resembles the sun surround her remains.

Cool Finds

What Was Life Like for a Girl in the Bronze Age?

Analysis of a 3,400-year-old burial traces the life story of a Bronze Age female

Aquascutum, stemming from Latin for "water" and "shield," was a leading trenchcoat manufacturer.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Classy Rise of the Trench Coat

World War I brought with it a broad array of societal changes, including men’s fashion

Evidence from reindeer combs, like the one above, hints that the Vikings may have traded with Denmark before they started raiding England.

Vikings Didn’t Just Raid, They Traded Too

Reindeer artifacts found at Medieval market sites suggest the famed raiders tried the merchant thing first

Did This Map Guide Columbus?

Researchers decipher a mystifying 15th-century document

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Discussion

Reader responses to our May issue

Why We’d Be Better Off if Napoleon Never Lost at Waterloo

On the bicentennial of the most famous battle in world history, a distinguished historian looks at what could have been

European Bison (Bison bonasus) at Prioksko-Terrasnyy Reserve in Russia

Cool Finds

Europe Once Had Bison, and now They’re Making a Comeback

Just like their American cousins, the bison needed help after their numbers were decimated by habitat loss and hunting

New Research

Northern Europeans Were Not So Sold on Farming

A new study of ancient beads shows “an enduring cultural boundary” between northern and southern Europe during the Neolithic Age

New Research

Here’s How Europeans Quickly Evolved Lighter Skin

Darker skinned people lived in Europe until fairly recently

Journalists walk along the new Caminito del Rey in El Chorro-Alora, March 15, 2015.

“The World’s Most Dangerous Trail” Reopens This Week

A once-deadly path is now a modern tourist attraction

Who Determined That the Sun Was a Star and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Hermione, 17 years in the making, replicates the original wartime frigate that ferried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780.

The Marquis de Lafayette Sails Again

Now that the ship that the Frenchman took on his 1780 trip to America has been rebuilt, its time to revisit his role in history

The details of the replica (under construction last year), its area nearly the size of a football field, are based on 700 hours of laser scanning in the actual cave.

Finally, the Beauty of France’s Chauvet Cave Makes its Grand Public Debut

A high-tech recreation of the immortal artworks shines a new light on the dawn of human imagination

Commemorate the storied document's 800th anniversary with a few special accessories.

The Ridiculous World of Magna Carta Kitsch

Throughout the United Kingdom, retailers are going mad over an 800-year-old document

The Black Death is immortalized by the plague masks of Venice, like this stylized version used in a Carnival costume.

Plague Pandemic May Have Been Driven by Climate, Not Rats

The bacteria responsible for the Black Death were reintroduced to Europe multiple times, possibly due to the changing climate

DNA from Richard III’s bones revealed two instances of royal infidelity since the 14th century.

They Found Richard III. So Now What?

What the remains of the “hunchback” king can teach us about other English royals

Cocoa roasters at the Hershey Chocolate Company in Pennsylvania

The World of Chocolate

The Short Rise and Fall of the Crazy-for-Cocoa-Trade Cards Craze

In the late 19th-century, when you bought chocolate, the grocer dropped a delightful prize into your bag, a trade card to save and share

Miguel de Cervantes is best known for creating Don Quixote, a whimsical knight.

Cool Finds

Did Archaeologists Just Find Miguel de Cervantes, 400 Years After His Death?

A centuries-old crypt could hold the answer to the mystery of Cervantes’ missing remains

Journey back to the Paris of the Marquis de Sade by strolling around the Marais, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

Tour Paris With the Marquis de Sade as Your Guide

Traces still remain in the City of Love of the famed author and sex icon

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