Medieval

The Battle of Hastings depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry

The Battle of Hastings is considered one of the most important battles of England's history. It put an end to Anglo-Saxon England, and started a new era of Norman rule. Following the death of Edward the Confessor in January 1066, Harold…

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Fact of the Day

The average height of the average male in the twelfth century was five-foot-seven.

Quote of the Day

"No-one loves armed missionaries "

~ Robespierre, 1792

On This Day

1154 King Stephen, who had wrested control of England from his cousin, Empress Matilda - and broken his oath in the process - died of a stomach disorder. Thanks to the Treaty of Winchester, Matilda's own son, Henry, became king instead of Stephen's eldest surviving son, William.

1400 One of the greatest poets of the English language, Geoffrey Chaucer, died of unknown causes (according to the engraving on his tomb) but possibly on the orders of the enemies of the recently-deposed Richard II. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, and his remains are now interred in Poets' Corner.

1415 The outnumbered English, led by Henry V, won a decisive victory against the French - helped massively by their use of the longbow - at the Battle of Agincourt.

1760 George II died when his heart ruptured following an incipient aortic aneurysm, and his grandson, George III, acceded to the throne.

1822 The First Siege of Missolonghi begins as part of the Greek War of Independence.

1854 'Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell Rode the six hundred': British light cavalry charged in a frontal assault against well-defended and well-sited Russian guns in the Crimean War. The Charge of the Light Brigade has become a prime example of bravery in the face of futile death.

1917 (Julian calendar). Lenin's Bolsheviks seize power by capturing the Winter Palace in Petrograd.