Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i History Extra

“Killing around a third of the population of Europe, the Black Death was the most savage disaster the continent has ever faced. Even after 650 years, questions remain about the plague, with new theories continually surfacing about its origins and how it was spread. In this issue, however, we explore the consequences of the disease, and in particular a response that shocked even those who had already witnessed the worst of the plague: abandonment. On page 20, Samuel Cohn reveals how the Black Death tore families apart, and even saw doctors and priests running for the hills. As we were completing this edition, news came through of the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s third child. The royal couple are already well versed in parenting, but should they…

The Wankdorf Stadium, Berne: 27 June 1954. As the rain pours down, the thousands of spectators can barely contain their excitement. Today’s World Cup quarter-final sees Brazil’s glamour boys play Hungary, pride of the communist bloc and unbeaten for the last four years. Everybody expects a feast of football. What followed, however, was one of the most notorious matches in sporting history, known as the Battle of Berne. The result of the game was 4-2 to Hungary, but the real story was the violence, which made headlines around the world. The trigger seems to have been Hungary’s second-half penalty, which provoked a pitch invasion by Brazil’s coaching staff, journalists and officials. For the next half-hour the match was a glorified brawl, which saw three players – Brazil’s Nilton Santos and…

“ By spring 1934 Adolf Hitler faced a major crisis. For months, the Stormtroopers, a massive paramilitary organisation over 4 million strong, had posed an increasing threat to Nazi rule. Their arrogant abuse of power made them unpopular with much of the public. But they also made enemies in high places – among the Nazi leadership including the SS, among the conservative elites, and not least among the leaders of the army. The ambition of Ernst Röhm, head of the Stormtroopers, to subordinate the army to a people’s militia under his control made a clash with the Wehrmacht leadership inevitable. And Hitler could not afford to alienate the army. However, he awaited the best moment to rid himself of the SA scourge. By June 1934 he could wait no longer.…

Did the RAF really win the war? How the RAF Won the War, read the title of your April cover feature. Now, I know that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force, and that the RAF played a vital role in defeating the Nazis, but I thought that title was a bit over the top. After all, it could easily be argued that the war in Europe was won by the Russian army or the United States Army Air Forces. The Russian army won a decisive victory at Kursk in the summer of 1943, before beginning its inexorable advance west. And the bombers and fighters of the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force achieved daylight air superiority over Germany in the spring of 1944, ensuring…

The Underground One of the film’s most distinctive scenes is Churchill’s descent onto the London Underground to talk face to face with the public. And why not use the tube to begin a day of location exploration? And if you download and keep the film on your phone or tablet, you can even watch it on the way. Churchill War Rooms Situated a stone’s throw from St James’s Park, the secret underground headquarters where Churchill worked tirelessly during WWII play a major role in the film. The museum that stands there now also makes a fascinating site to visit on your tour of Churchillian discovery. Blenheim Palace After a train journey of more essential viewing on your device, visit Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, birthplace of our protagonist.…

1555 The Peace of Augsburg grants equal legal protection to Lutherans as well as Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. These rights extend to all the secular principalities, counties and cities, but the position of the individually small, but numerous church lands are unchanged. 1608 A minority of discontented princes – led by Frederick IV, the Elector Palatine – form the Protestant Union. Duke Maximilian of Bavaria responds in 1609 with the Catholic League as imperial politics polarise over religious and constitutional issues. 1618 In the so-called Defenestration of Prague, a radical group of Bohemian Protestant nobles throw two councillors and a secretary out of the window of Prague Castle. They are denounced as rebels by the ruling Catholic Habsburgs. Both sides begin arming. 1619 Ferdinand II becomes emperor and…

‘Hartnell rapidly unpacks our notions of ‘the medieval’ Medieval Bodies by Jack Hartnell Profile, 352 pages, £25 “Born, bathed, dressed, loved, cut, bruised, ripped, buried, even resurrected, medieval bodies are a path to understanding the very essence of everyday life in the past.” So Jack Hartnell presents his thesis: through this study of medieval attitudes to head, senses, skin, bone, heart, blood, hands, stomach, genitals and feet, the reader will come to understand what it was like to be alive in the medieval period. It is certainly an excellent and immersive introduction for readers unfamiliar with the period. Hartnell vividly evokes a picture of an era when the world had a different scale, sensory stimuli and even soundscape to our own. This is also an ambitious work in terms of…

Francis I by Leonie Frieda Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 400 pages, £25 Western Europe in the first half of the 16th century witnessed a triumvirate of attractive, virile young monarchs, whose relations altered from intense brotherly love to bloody hatred frequently and with wide-reaching consequences. In England, Henry VIII always dominates our view of this period, with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Francis I of France slipping in and out of the spotlight as needed. Henry’s story has been told many times, but Frieda’s new biography of Francis irrefutably proves that it is not the only story worth telling. Frieda captures early 16th-century France in all its brilliant and dramatic juxtapositions. Francis was in many ways a modern monarch, committed to developments in the arts and sciences, but his unexpected…

Easter Island Jennifer Vanderbes (2003) Two women in two different eras both become obsessed by the mysterious culture of Easter Island in this haunting and imaginative first novel. In 1913, Elsa Beazley, newly married to an anthropologist, immerses herself in the island’s past and present. In a parallel narrative set 60 years later, a recently widowed American botanist arrives on Easter Island and is drawn into a relationship which proves to hold a connection to Elsa. Euphoria Lily King (2014) Inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, the controversial anthropologist who wrote Coming of Age in Samoa, this evocative novel unfolds a love triangle against an unusual backdrop. In Papua New Guinea, Nell – the character based on Mead – and her husband join forces with another anthropologist and head…

“The Lyme Jurassic ecosystem was one of the first ancient worlds reconstructed in words and pictures” It’s a sound you don’t hear on too many other British beaches, at least not beyond Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. It’s tinny and metallic, and on busy days, it’s all around you. It’s the sound of geological hammer on rock, the sound of hoped-for discovery. As it’s the first warm afternoon of the Easter school holidays, today you can hear that chiming sound right along the coastline around Lyme Regis and Charmouth. This fossil-rich stretch of coast has been the haunt of palaeontologists, both professional and would-be, for centuries. Today is no exception. The main beach-access car parks have no vacant spaces. The chance to discover evidence of life that has been trapped in rock…

“ The moment you set foot in Bruges, you’re surrounded by an overwhelming sense of history” Picture the scene: you’re at the top of an 83-metre-high medieval building, looking out across a bustling market square that has been used as such since AD 958. This square, the Markt, was once the commercial centre of the medieval city of Bruges, Belgium, and the building from which you are admiring it is the 13th-century Belfry of Bruges, once the home of the treasury and the municipal archives. This has to be one of the most spectacular views in Bruges, and it’s one that, despite several visits to the city, I experienced for the first time just recently. The reason being that I’m terrified of heights. But I was determined to confront my…

Q When and where did the art of bell ringing begin? Trevor Cowburn, by email A Ever since the early Middle Ages, bells have been used in Christian churches to call people to worship, and sometimes also to ring out signals and warnings. However, the art of ‘musical’ bell ringing did not really emerge until the 16th or 17th century. The carillon, an array of bells housed in the tower of a church or other building, originated in 16th-century Flanders, Belgium. Refined over the next decades, it is basically a huge musical instrument, with each bell played using levers and pedals. The change ringing we associate with English churches is altogether different, and was made possible in the post-Reformation period by new bell mechanisms – particularly wheels, stays and sliders,…

Maids of honour Various legends surround the origins of these delicious little custard tarts, all of which involve one of history’s biggest food lovers: Henry VIII. According to one story, Henry discovered the recipe locked away in a chest at Hampton Court Palace, and named the tarts after his mistress Anne Boleyn, who was then a maid of his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Another suggests that he found Anne and her ladies-in-waiting eating the tarts, and confiscated the recipe when he discovered how delicious they were. Records from 1526 show that Henry loved custard tarts so much that he would even devour them on designated fast days, as part of feasts including lobster, porpoise and seal. INGREDIENTS 375g puff pastry 50g butter, softened 50g caster sugar 1 egg, beaten 1…

Janina Ramirez Warrior women have obsessed me for many years. I am delighted to be able to reassess one of Anglo-Saxon England’s finest fighting females: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians. • Janina delves into the fascinating life of a fearsome female warrior on page 44 Peter H Wilson The Thirty Years’ War, fought between 1618 and 1648, is often presented as Europe’s great religious war. However, a closer look reveals a more complex situation and gives us a better understanding of why it proved so protracted and destructive. • Peter shines a light on one of Europe’s worst conflicts on page 50 Elizabeth Foyster In Georgian Britain, there was plenty of parenting advice, much of it written by clergymen, teachers, midwives and physicians. There were new challenges, but also perennial…

What impact did the bicycle have on the lives of Victorian women? In the late 19th century, middle and upper-class women – and men – enthusiastically took up this exciting new form of mobility. Prior to this, exercise was deemed unnecessary and even unhealthy for women, but little could stop women from cycling once they had experienced the unparalleled freedom promised by the bicycle. It enabled them to be in, and move through, public spaces in new ways – sometimes unchaperoned – at speed, at new times and in different places. Women’s cycling raised issues, though. A female body on a bicycle – how it moved and in what ways it was dressed – swiftly sparked a public debate about the broader role of women in society. How did society…

Surely, no one who served in the Second World War could doubt the commanding role played by the RAF in securing final victory from the Battle of Britain onwards. In his excellent article How the RAF Won the War (April), Patrick Bishop referred to the work of Typhoons and Spitfires of Second Tactical Air Force “roaring overhead, hacking at the retreating Germans” in the final stages of the war in north-west Europe. As a member of a commando brigade at the time, I can certainly recall Second TAF’s effectiveness. It was April 1945 and we were engaged in a bitter three-day battle in dense woodlands on the far side of the river Aller, at Essel in Lower Saxony. Opposing us were troops from three battalions of SS panzers and Wehrmacht…

Prepare to meet the ‘man-midwife’ The 18th century saw male doctors storming Britain’s delivery rooms Women gearing up to give birth in Georgian Britain needed all the moral support they could get – and, for centuries, that support had come exclusively from one gender. Throughout the Tudor and Stuart periods, the delivery room was a woman-only zone, populated by female relatives, friends and neighbours offering encouragement and advice. The father was nowhere to be seen, banished from the birthing room to wait for news elsewhere. But then, in the 18th century, this traditionally female bastion was disrupted by the ‘man-midwife’. William Smellie (1697–1763) was the most influential of a new generation of male medical practitioners who claimed to be every bit as knowledgeable about childbirth as women. And he bolstered…

There are only a handful of warrior women from the past who have captured imaginations for centuries. The most famous are Boudicca, her chariot complete with spiked wheels, and the armoured teenager, Joan of Arc. These were the exceptions – women in a man’s world who men followed into battle. But there is one warrior woman who is less celebrated. This year, exactly 11 centuries ago, Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, died and was buried in Gloucester. She was exceptional for many reasons. She is one of the few known women who not only held a role within the household as mother and lady – and within the court, as daughter and wife to kings – but also wielded power on the battlefield. What’s more, she is the only queen…

Harold Hayward Born in 1897 in Alcester, Harold signed up with the 12th Gloucestershire Regiment, fighting on the western front in November 1915. He was injured at the Somme in September 1916 but recovered and returned to the lines, now as an officer. Newly commissioned Second Lieutenant Harold Hayward was serving with the 15th Welch (Carmarthenshire) Regiment in June 1918. He had served in the ranks himself earlier in the war and knew how important it was to establish a strong relationship with his men. I was not Welsh and of course that was a slight barrier – that I didn’t speak with a Welsh accent, which they all did. I had known what it was to be addressed as, “Hey you!” so I wrote down all their names and…

Winchester Date: 5-7 October Where: The historic Great Hall and Ashburton Hall in the nearby Elizabeth II Court. They are located in the centre of Winchester, a short walk from the town’s train station. Both venues accommodate people with disabilities. Please let us know of any access requirements when booking tickets. What’s on: Thirty speakers over three days, plus book-signings, free History Fringe talks and a fully stocked WHSmith bookshop. York Date: 19-21 October Where: The newly refurbished Yorkshire Museum and the stunning King’s Manor, which is close-by. Both venues are situated in central York, a 10–15 minute walk from the train station. Both venues accommodate people with disabilities. Please let us know of any access requirements when booking tickets. What’s on: More than 25 speakers, plus book-signings, free History…

In West Germany, the protest movement took the form of a battle between the generations The Long ’68: Radical Protest and Its Enemies by Richard Vinen Allen Lane, 464 pages, £20 What did the late 1960s look like? Those who are old enough to remember them often look back nostalgically on an era of affluence, creativity, youthful idealism and sexual adventure. However, as Richard Vinen reminds us, there was another version of the 1960s – one of protest, unrest and frequent violence. Vinen defines ‘1968’ not as a single year, but as a phenomenon with roots in the early 1960s and consequences that lasted long afterwards. At the core of his book is a comparison between four nations that experienced radical protest during this era: the US, France, West Germany…

In 1975, the European message was one of hope Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain by Robert Saunders Cambridge University Press, 530 pages, £24.99 The 1975 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Economic Community didn’t really change anything. By a margin of two to one, the country agreed with the government that we should continue to be members, and life and politics went on the same as before. Consequently, it’s never loomed very large in histories of the period. Following the contrary outcome in 2016, however, it takes on greater significance, making this a perfect time for Robert Saunders’ definitive account of events in 1975. The differences are what stand out. In 1975, the European message was one of hope. Membership was sold as being “modern,…

“It’s about the dirty, violent, sometimes forgotten underbelly of the suffrage movement” How Women Won the Vote with Lucy Worsley TV BBC One Scheduled for June Today, we take the idea of casting a ballot for granted. Yet we only have to go back to 1918 and the Representation of the People Act to find the moment when women, provided they were aged over 30 and met a property qualification, were granted the vote – along with all men over the age of 21. It’s a centenary being marked across the BBC in a season where the cornerstone is a 90-minute documentary presented by Lucy Worsley. Her film serves as a reminder that this was a long campaign encompassing people from across society and was successful precisely because of this.…

1 Runswick Bay WHITBY, NORTH YORKSHIRE Where fossil hunters still flock A few miles north of Whitby, Runswick Bay is a rich treasure trove for fossils when the tide is right – ammonites in particular. The Yorkshire coast is a magnet for palaeontologists, both professional and amateur. You can also admire many of its fossils in nearby Whitby and Scarborough Rotunda museums. discoveryorkshirecoast.com 2 Natural History Museum CENTRAL LONDON Where ancient fossils are on show The Natural History Museum’s collection of marine reptile fossils features a great many discoveries from the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, including several finds made by Mary Anning in the early 19th century near her hometown of Lyme Regis. nhm.ac.uk 3 Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre DORSET Where a sea-reptile resides Visit this year and you’ll come…

BEST TIME TO GO Bruges is often busy, but if you’re interested in culture, the best time to visit is in the summer when the city hosts a number of festivals. Alternatively, if you visit in December you can take advantage of the Christmas market, complete with ice rink, in the Markt. GETTING THERE From London, Bruges is easily accessible by Eurostar, with a change at Brussels. It is about an hour and a half drive from Brussels airport. Once there everything is within walking distance. Alternatively, you could take a ride on a horse and cart or hire a segway. WHAT TO PACK Don’t forget your camera to capture all the pretty sights and, due to the amount of walking you’re likely to do, comfortable footwear is also advisable.…

1. Which European monarch paid a three-month visit to England in 1698 to learn about shipbuilding? 2. The first steam locomotive to haul passengers on a public railway line was built by George 3. Originally called Criss Cross Words, which popular board game was devised in 1938 by New York architect Alfred Mosher Butts? 4. After being sworn in on 21 November 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton (above) became the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. How long did she serve for? 5. Where would you find a depiction of a dwarf called Turold? 6. The lump of stone below is all that remains of Fotheringhay Castle, which saw the birth of a king and the execution of a queen. Who were the two monarchs? QUIZ ANSWERS 1.…

“The songs he wrote were iconic and will live forever, just like the Beatles’. He was one of the greatest live performers – the sparks seemed to fly out of him” Freddie Mercury was the lead singer of rock band Queen who sold more than 150 million records worldwide. Born in Zanzibar to Parsi parents, he moved to London in his teens and studied art before co-founding Queen. The group scored a string of hits including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You and Radio Ga Ga, and stole the show at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. He died at 45 from an Aids-related illness. When did you first hear about Freddie Mercury? As a young chorister at Bangor Cathedral, Wales. The older choristers were always going on about…

When, in February, I wrote a column about the British Nationality Act of 1948, I could hardly have imagined how relevant it would become to a story that has dominated news headlines over the past month. The act, as readers may recall, was one of 20th-century Britain’s most extraordinary pieces of legislation. The fruit of the Commonwealth Conference of 1947, it came out of the tumultuous time in which the empire was breaking up, leaving India tragically partitioned. The act gave British citizenship, and with it the right to travel to and settle in Britain, to the people of the empire – in theory, a quarter of the Earth’s population. It was while the bill was being debated in June 1948 that the Empire Windrush landed at Tilbury, with 492…

In 1355, the Italian writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a passage of text that – even at a distance of 650 years – is truly chilling. Describing the great plague that had ravaged Europe from the late 1340s, Bocaccio related that the pandemic “caused various fears and fantasies to take root in the minds of those who were still alive and well. And almost without exception,” he went on, “they took a single and very inhuman precaution, namely to avoid or run away from the sick and their belongings.” What Boccaccio wrote next was more shocking still. “This scourge had implanted so great a terror in the hearts of men and women that brothers abandoned brothers, uncles their nephews, sisters their brothers, and in many cases wives deserted their…

When a film approaches a subject matter as ubiquitous and emotive as WWII, specifically Winston Churchill’s determination to take the ultimate stand against Hitler’s aggression, the challenge is to bring it to the screen in as fresh and compelling a way as possible. Darkest Hour takes this weighty story and breathes new life into it, with the help of powerhouse performances, cinematic flair and spellbinding use of makeup and costume. Just as the film’s plot delves behind the scenes of Churchill’s gargantuan task to convince cabinet colleagues and the public alike of the need to challenge Hitler, the inner workings of the production itself make for a fascinating tale. At the centre of it all is Gary Oldman’s astonishing transformation into Winston Churchill. In the role that won him his…

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A Short History of Ireland 1500-2000 By John Gibney Yale University Press, 296 pages, £16.99 The demand for books on Irish history seems to be insatiable. The field is already well served by several longer tomes. Among them, Roy Foster’s Modern Ireland (1988) endures and Thomas Bartlett’s Ireland: A History (2010) is outstanding. Not only that: the last few years has seen the proliferation of multi-authored ‘handbooks’ and ‘companions’ to Irish history, reaching a climax with the launch in Dublin Castle at the end of April of a multi-volume Cambridge History of Ireland. In this crowded field, what sets John Gibney’s work of synthesis apart is its skilful combination of readability and, despite its modest length, breadth. Gibney is well known in Ireland as a historian and critic with eclectic…

A Little History of Archaeology by Brian Fagan Yale University Press, 288 pages, £14.99 Indiana Jones is the most famous archaeologist ever. He’s not real of course, but there are actual figures in the history of archaeology who have a touch of Indy about them. The circus strongman turned pharaoh-hunter Giovanni Belzoni, the Homeric enquirer Heinrich Schliemann, and the desert explorer Gertrude Bell all had adventures worthy of a Spielberg film. In a book about the story of archaeology, it would be easy to fill the pages with tales of digging derring-do from such big personalities. Brian Fagan, the noted prehistorian, does not disappoint in that regard, but neither does he provide a narrative of just one remarkable discovery after another. Yes, you get Howard Carter seeing “wonderful things” as…

In 1861, Emperor Alexander II of Russia passed legislation intended to give liberty to millions of Russian peasants and servants. It was a remarkable moment. As to its deeper meaning, that’s a question for Melvyn Bragg and his guests on In Our Time (BBC Radio 4, Thursday 17 May), when they discuss the emancipation of the serfs. On Thursday 24 May, another set of experts meet to discuss Margaret of Anjou, the queen of England on two occasions thanks to her marriage to Henry VI. In another continuing Radio 4 series, Great Lives (Tuesday 29 May) includes Barbara Stocking, the former head of Oxfam, speaking up for Catherine the Great. Returning on Tuesday 5 June, Making History (BBC Radio 4) features the usual eclectic mix of stories, ranging from flirting…

Eastern treasures EXHIBITION Splendours of the Subcontinent: Four centuries of South Asian Paintings and Manuscripts The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London 8 June–14 October - 0303 123 7301 • royalcollection.org.uk When British trade routes to south Asia opened up at the end of the 16th century, the power and riches of the Mughal empire – particularly the magnificence of the Mughal court – inspired countless artists to capture its splendour in intricate paintings and manuscripts. This month, for the first time, highlights from the Royal Collection’s extensive collection of south Asian paintings and manuscripts will go on display, alongside paintings, prints, drawings and photographs from the wider Royal Collection. Together, these works of art will explore the more than 400-year shared history of the British monarchy and the rulers of…

1. READING ABBEY QUARTER Visit Reading Museum to discover the story of Reading Abbey and then explore the Abbey Ruins to uncover its 900 year history. Visit our website to see our exciting events programme. readingabbeyquarter.org.uk | 0118 937 3400 2. THE MERCHANTS HOUSE Rare example of a seventeenth century merchant’s house on Marlborough High Street. Open for guided tours from April to October. themerchantshouse.co.uk | 01672 511 491 3. DE HAVILLAND MUSEUM The UK’s oldest aviation museum, and dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the de Havilland Heritage. We are a “working” museum staffed by volunteers – always willing to answer your questions. dehavillandmuseum.co.uk | 01727 826 400 4. BAMBURGH CASTLE A stunning coastal fortress at the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Explore fourteen rooms, The Aviation Artefacts…