January 10, 49 BCE — Caesar crosses the Rubicon
“Crossing the Rubicon” is now an expression for passing the point of no return: this is the original incident from...
October 19, 2022
Crime & Law
March 15, 44 BCE — Julius Caesar is assassinated
Shakespeare’s version might be better known, but the best historical account of the death of Big Julie was written by...
October 9, 2022
April 3, 33 CE — Jesus dies upon the Cross
After his betrayal, trials, scourging, being forced to wear a crown of thorns and carry his cross through the city...
July 29, 2022
May 31, 1043 — Lady Godiva makes her famous ride
While there actually was a real Lady Godiva – although, as a Saxon, her name was more likely Godgifu or...
May 4, 2022
May 15, 1252 — Pope Innocent IV authorizes the Inquisition to torture heretics
The Medieval Inquisition was a series of Inquisitions that slowly merged into a more or less continuous process of arrest...
March 24, 2022
June 26, 1284 — The Pied Piper plays Hamelin
The legends are very specific: in the year 1284, the town of Hamelin, in the in Lower Saxony region of...
March 22, 2022
June 15, 1381 – Wat Tyler’s rebellion dies with him
Walter ‘Wat’ Tyler was born in 1341, and little is known of his life before his involvement in the Peasant’s...
March 14, 2022
October 26, 1440 — Gilles de Rais is executed for his crimes
Gilles de Rais first came to prominence as a wealthy nobleman who was one of Jeanne D’Arc’s greatest allies, fighting...
March 9, 2022
October 17, 1483 — Tomás de Torquemada named a Grand Inquisitor
The most notorious of all members of the Holy Inquisition, Tomás de Torquemada’s fervour in punishing heretics and sinners –...
March 4, 2022
February 8, 1587 – Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded
Say what you like about Elizabeth I, Queen of England, but she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty as...
January 19, 2022
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