Inside a torture chamber

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

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

From penance to indulgence, everything you need to know about Christian holy journeys in Middle Ages Europe

Strange murder mysterie s from times gone by

FT has covered these a number of times, with one of the earliest and most disastrous examples taking place in Hammersmith in 1804 (see FT296:42-45, 310:30-35, 452:16-18). Then a semi-rural village on

Four more great escapes you can follow on foot across the country.