Topic description and stories

Jan Steen, Mother and Child (17th-century painting). Image courtesy of York Museums Trust

Early foster care gave poor women power, 17th-century records reveal

03 Oct 2024

A rare collection of 300-year-old petitions gives voice to the forgotten women who cared for England’s most vulnerable children while battling their...

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Samuel Pepys’ fashion prints reveal his love of fancy French clothes

22 Jul 2024

A collection of French fashion engravings offers precious new insights into the life of Samuel Pepys years after his premature final diary entry. The...

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Opinion: There’s no such thing as a natural-born gambler

22 Apr 2016

Anthony Pickles (Division of Social Anthropology) discusses why gambling is a relatively modern invention.

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How artisans used colour printing to add another dimension to woodcuts

21 Jan 2016

An exhibition of early colour printing in Germany shines a light on the ways in which technology jump-started a revolution in image making. The...

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What is so unusual about a sloth’s neck?

11 Nov 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, X is for...

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Great Comet of 1577, which Kepler witnessed as a child.

The astronomer and the witch – how Kepler saved his mother from the stake

22 Oct 2015

Ulinka Rublack, Professor of Early Modern European History, discusses the reputation of astronomer Johannes Kepler and his mother Katharina, and the...

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"The Code Of Honor—A Duel In The Bois De Boulogne, Near Paris", wood engraving by Godefroy Durand

To the death

13 Jul 2015

Dr John Leigh has written the first book exclusively devoted to the duel in literature. In Touché, he offers a compelling picture of the ways in...

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Derge iron water bottle.

Where to find a dragon in Cambridge

24 Jun 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, D is for...

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The Sedgwick Museum bears

Lord Byron and the bears beneath Cambridge

10 Jun 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, B is for...

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Left - portrait of Charles V; centre - portrait of Henry VIII; right - portrait of Pedro Maria Rossi

What goes up must come down: a brief history of the codpiece

30 Apr 2015

Only briefly in vogue, the codpiece has left a rich legacy in art, literature and – most recently – in televised costume drama. In focusing her...

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Mr Knight’s galliard by John Dowland

‘Crown jewels’ of English lute music go online

11 Dec 2014

Handwritten copies of scores by composers of English lute music have been digitised in a programme to make a precious legacy available to...

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Remember, remember: how education “beyond the seas” kept Catholicism alive

05 Nov 2014

Bonfire night marks a plot in 1605 to burn down the Houses of Parliament. It’s also a reminder of the ferocious divides that existed between...

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