Europe
Egbert Anglo Saxon King of Wessex 802-839
King Egbert of Wessex, a brief claim to fame achieving a fleeting Overlordship over much of Southern England and the Mercians. His victory at the Battle of Ellandune would pave the way for the unification of England under Alfred the Great…
Read MoreEleanor of Aquitaine Mother of English Kings
Wealthy educated and powerful and that was just at 15, married to the Kings of France and England, forging the most powerful alliance in Northern Europe with the Angevin Empire created with the marriage to Henry II, through their complex family relationships, two sons would be King of England and many of her grandchildren would form the basis of the bloodlines of the important European Kingdoms for centuries to come, this was a woman on which history pivots…
Read MoreKing John Plantagenet of England 1199-1216
John a jealous child, conspiring against kith and kin, was that so unusual, Magna Carter and the loss of the Anjevin Empire, what were the outcomes of John’s reign as heir to his brother the Lionheart…Plantagenet by birth what family traits had he inherited?
Read MoreRichard I Coeur de Lion Plantagenet King
Richard the First, Richard Coeur de Lion the Lionheart, hero or villain? How does he fit in history why was he so absent from England. A formative member of the House of Angevin as son of Henry II…was he a better King than his younger brother King John?
Read MoreHenry II Plantagenet King of England
Henry II creates the Anjevin Empire but by failing to unite his sons and wife in the line of succession causes more trouble than he resolves, what would happen during his reign kicks-off the English Plantagenet dynasty but also sows the seeds of it’s demise…
Read MoreAngevin and Plantagenet Empire
What led to the downfall of the Anjevin Empire? Where does the word Plantagenet come from? When did the French last successfully invade england? A converging and connecting point in history between empires and dynasties find out more with this linked chrnology…
Read MoreWellcome Trust Mapping Britain’s Genealogy
The Wellcome Trust’s map of British Genealogy reveals some fascinating insights into the DNA make up of the British Isles and heralds a whole new area of scientific and historical research. Just how Anglo Saxon are we? Go and see for yourself at The Royal Society’s summer exhibition.
Read MoreForetelling The Future. The Science of Hooke and Higgs
Robert Hooke’s memorial tablet in St Paul’s Cathedral, calls Hooke ‘One of the most ingenious men who ever lived’, Hooke had the ability to creatively question science, to prompt debate and hopefully to make others think about future developments, even hundreds of years after his death. Peter Higgs never thought that his theories and predictions would be realized in his lifetime, just like Hooke and other great scientists his work has paved the way for others to think creatively and the result has been the discovery of the Higg’s Boson.
Read MoreHow the Higgs Boson Particle Was Found
History in the making a little about CERN and how the Higgs Boson is just a bonus because CERN already gave us the internet…:)
Read MoreIona heart of Celtic Christianity
Iona the centre of the development of Celtic Christianity the base with Lindisfarne from which Pagan Northumbria is converted, possible place of creation of the masterpiece and artefact of illuminated manuscript the Book of Kells leaving an enduring imprint on our history…
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