Q&a

LEECHES and baked owl might not be the first remedies we reach for when feeling poorly, but in the Middle Ages, that was just what the doctor ordered. Medieval medicine was a mix of magic, myth and cu

In AD 897, Pope Formosus was put on trial for the crimes of perjury, coveting the papacy and violating canon law by holding more than one bishopric at a time. In truth, the whole thing was a spectacle

For about a decade I was convinced I was mortally ill. The identity of my illness changed several times, but the fear was always the same: in short, that I was dying; that I had some dreadful and no d

The question about wild swimming I get asked most often is: “is it safe?” Rarely does this query refer to the risk of drowning – the usual concern is about the quality of the water. And understandably

The piece I’d never part with

Graceful and practical in equal measure, the parasol has a long and colourful history when it comes to creating shade. Deborah Nicholls-Lee takes cover