Innholdsfortegnelse for Christmas 2021 i History Extra

The ongoing project to create the HS2 high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham has already unearthed remarkable archaeological discoveries, but few have been as extraordinary as a set of Roman-era sculptures found in Buckinghamshire late in October. This statue of a woman, as well as sculptures of a man and a child, was uncovered in the ruins of St Mary’s, a Norman church in the village of Stoke Mandeville. It was built in 1080 in a location that experts think was previously a Roman mausoleum. Other finds include a glass jug with large pieces still intact, despite possibly having been in the ground for more than a millennium. Yet it’s the set of figures that has prompted the most attention. “The statues are exceptionally well preserved, and you really…

Research suggests “wrestler” is actually an African warrior A Roman-era figurine long thought to be a wrestler instead depicts an African warrior, new analysis indicates. The 55mm-high figure made of lead was discovered in the 1920s at Wall Roman Site in Staffordshire, and is thought to have been made near the Mediterranean in the first century AD. The pained grimace on the face meant that when the object was first found, experts believed it to show the suffering of an enslaved person. Opinion shifted in the 1990s, when the individual’s apparent seated position was seen as evidence that it was instead a representation of a wrestling pose. The latest study, however, carried out by English Heritage curator Cameron Moffett has revealed the presence of a socket in the figure’s right…

“He dreamed a career that seemed impossible and made it a reality ” Edgar Mittelholzer was a Guyanese novelist who should be remembered not just for the quality of his writing, but as the earliest recorded writer from the Caribbean to make his living from the profession. I studied Caribbean literature at university, yet I don’t recall his name coming up in my studies. In fact, I came across him quite by chance thanks to a reference to his eerie ghost story, My Bones and My Flute, in Adam Curtis’s recent documentary Can’t Get You Out of My Head. As an avid reader of ghost stories, I was intrigued by this Caribbean writer as most of the canon has been written by European and Anglo-American authors. Race had a hugely…

ON THE M PODCAST Complements the BBC Radio 3 Essay series Our Fathers’ War Pearl Harbor is today seen as a turning point in the Second World War. What was the situation in Japan in the years leading up to its fateful decision to attack the US? The big theme for this period in Japanese history was a sense that global events were turning against Japan. Particularly in military and rightwing circles, there was an idea that the interwar dream of internationalism only favoured the European colonial powers and the United States. Add to that the perceived threat of the Soviet Union, Chinese nationalists, and Americans across the Pacific, and Japan, with its rather awkward geography, was starting to feel encircled. To understand the attack on Pearl Harbor fully, it’s…

As the shifting publication dates of the past year demonstrate, it’s harder than ever to guarantee precisely when the latest books will be released. Yet, with that caveat in mind, here’s a preview of some of the history highlights set to hit bookshelves over the coming months. British imperialism and the nation’s role in the slave trade continue to be hot historical topics, and in White Debt: The Demerara Uprising and Britain’s Legacy of Slavery (W&N, January) Thomas Harding blends research into his own ancestors’ involvement in slavery with a wider look at how the nation should address the subject in 2022. We’ll be speaking to Harding next issue. Meanwhile, in Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire (John Murray, February), Kojo Koram considers whether the era of decolonisation…

Dominic Sandbrook “Since they exploded into the national imagination in late 1962, the Beatles have been synonymous with both the sixties and British culture itself. Will we ever run out of things to say about them? I doubt it, somehow.” Dominic runs through eight landmark moments in the Beatles’ career that defined British society in the sixties on page 18 Annie Gray “I’m forever being asked about the history of Christmas dinner, so I’ve written a book about it. Food tells us so much about who we are and how our society works. Plus, lots of the recipes are delicious.” Annie tucks in to the foods of Christmases past and explains why the traditional dinner was a long time in the making on page 30 Brianna Robertson-Kirkland “Like the star-studded…

Anglo-French rivalry can animate politicians and historians in equal measure - and while the former have been preoccupied with fishing disputes, the latter have been reflecting on the antecedents of this fractious relationship. Ian Dunt (@iandunt) remarked: “Quite apart from Brexit, fish etc, I find the whole Anglo-French rivalry so tiresome. [It] was really striking to me how connected [both nations] were in creating liberalism, and how those who did so - [Benjamin] Constant, [John Stuart] Mill - were so deeply invested in both countries.” Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) added his take on what he described as his “pet subject”, commenting: “Adam Smith discovered the physiocrats and laissez-faire in Paris; [18th-century scholar] Montesquieu [was] profoundly influenced by his time in Britain. The Duke of Bridgewater [was] inspired to build canals after…

“Bond’s role grew out of proportion to Britain’s standing in the world” We had a family trip to our local cinema the other week to see the new James Bond film. How nice to be back, however briefly it may be, in “live” cinema. The film, No Time to Die, had gripping action sequences and an engaging emotional plotline, ending with Bond saving not only HMG, but the entire planet. After the credits had rolled, I found myself musing about the role of 007 in postwar British culture. Born in 1908, Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, was educated at Eton and served as an officer in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. He had grown up on John Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels (which started with The Thirty-Nine Steps in 1915)…

If Columba’s seventh-century biographer Adomnán is to be believed, the saint was a prolific worker of miracles, raising the dead, calming wind and storm, and using a white stone from a riverbed to effect incredible cures. In terms of sheer drama, few of the miraculous feats credited to him can match his encounter with the Loch Ness monster. One day, Adomnán wrote, while Columba was among the Picts, he had to cross the river Ness. As he arrived at the bank, he saw some locals burying a man who had been mauled in the water by a great beast. Immediately Columba ordered one of his companions to swim across the river and bring back a dingy from the opposite bank. The young man, Luigne moccu Min, obediently stripped off his…

Siena Rosso in Bridgerton Netflix’s Bridgerton taps into two very real Georgian obsessions: propriety and scandal. Siena Rosso (played by Sabrina Bartlett) is an opera singer, though little screen time is devoted to her singing. Instead, she is often shown naked, lying in the arms of her secret lover, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. Siena’s styling – beauty spot, exposed shoulders and a scarlet dress – suggests she is a seductive temptress. Bridgerton does well to show the unique social divide between Anthony and Siena. He is her social superior, but he risks his name and reputation if their liaison were ever made public. In reality, a prima donna in Siena’s position also risked her reputation since a relationship with a wealthy nobleman would confirm what everyone already suspected. Jenny Lind in…

On the morning of 7 December 1941 around 350 Japanese planes roared over the US naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in two waves, dropping bombs on the unsuspecting Pacific station. More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the surprise attack, with over 1,000 more sustaining injuries. The ships were packed tightly together in the dock as part of American anti-sabotage measures, and the Japanese torpedoes swept through them with devastating effect: in total, 21 ships were sunk or sustained damage. More than 180 planes stationed on nearby airfields were also destroyed. The US was incensed by the surprise raid. The next day, President Franklin D Roosevelt delivered his “Day of Infamy” speech to a joint session of the US Congress, after which the US declared war on Japan.…

Twelve days of Christmas 1. 25 December: What was stolen from Westminster Abbey on this day in 1950? 2. 26 December: On this date in 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie announced a discovery. What had they been first to isolate? 3. 27 December: What eased a child’s entry into the world for the first time in 1845? 4. 28 December: Where was Constance Markievicz when she became the first woman to be elected to the British House of Commons on this day in 1918? 5. 29 December: Whose murder was witnessed by Edward Grim on this day in 1170, which he later documented? 6. 30 December: Who was murdered in the home of Prince Felix Yusupov in 1916? 7. 31 December: Who, in 1759, bought a 9,000-year lease on the…

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Although it’s long been known that the Vikings reached North America centuries before Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic, the date that they stepped foot on the continent has been an estimation. Now, evidence gleaned from ancient trees and a huge solar storm has for the first time pointed to a precise year: AD 1021. Experts examined the rings of three logs cut from fir and juniper trees and used at L’Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Norse settlement in the Americas (on the east coast of Canada). Each features a ring bearing evidence of radiation, known as an atmospheric radiocarbon signal, generated during a documented solar storm in AD 993. In all three cases, growth rings were produced after that year – indicating that the trees were alive until AD…

LATE MEDIEVAL / TUDOR Gluttons, devils and wine-bibbers Winter is grim, and for the medieval church Advent was a period of religious fast. During this time people couldn’t eat dairy, eggs or animal products, although fish was permissible. So the chance to light big fires, drink and eat was a release of tension and an officially sanctioned period in which to blow off steam. For those who could afford it, Christmas extended over the full Twelve Days, each with feasting and play. Up to the 16th century there were no foods entirely specific to Christmas, but there were dishes connected to celebration and showing off. By the end of the 16th century, some of these were more associated with Christmas than others. Big birds were “in” because farmed fowl was…

ONLINE EVENTS Tickets £12 Expert speakers Join leading historians live as they discuss their thought-provoking new books, exploring the myths and fables of Britain and examining the life and reign of King George III Q&A sessions Each 45-minute lecture is followed by a dedicated Q&A session, allowing you to put your historical queries direct to the experts Signed books Pre-order each of the featured books, signed by the author or with a signed bookplate, via independent bookseller Fox Lane Books Easy access Tickets cost £12 and provide remote access from anywhere in the world. Sign up to our newsletter to get advanced notice about our upcoming events: historyextra.com/newsletters Amy Jeffs Storyland: Truth, Myth and the Middle Ages 2 December In her talk, Amy will explain how she chose which medieval…

Why did America oppose Japanese expansion into China? Although the US was technically neutral in the conflicts in Europe and Asia up until the end of 1941, that isn’t to say that they didn’t have a dog in the fight. The US had great sympathy with Britain in the European theatre, and China in the Asian theatre. Considering the US and Japan had strong business ties, the groundswell of public support for China may seem somewhat surprising. Some of the support was because of the huge market potential of China if it became more developed. There was also an idea that Nationalist China was something like an early version of the US – having thrown off the imperial system, it had the potential to embrace an American-style democracy. The success…

1 Operation Pedestal: The Fleet that Battled to Malta 1942 by Max Hastings (William Collins) 2 Ancestors: A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials by Alice Roberts (Simon & Schuster) 3 The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England by Marc Morris (Hutchinson) 4 Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War by Jonathan Dimbleby (Viking) 5 Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages by Dan Jones (Apollo) 6 Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera (Viking) 7 Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm by John Nichol (Simon & Schuster)) 8 Letters to Camondo by Edmund de Waal (Chatto & Windus) 9 The Bomber Mafia: A Story Set in War by Malcolm Gladwell (Allen Lane) 10 Unwell Women: A Journey through Medicine and Myth…

LINDSAY DUNCAN, one of the stars of new BBC drama Around the World in 80 Days, discusses her role as aristocratic adventurer Jane Digby – a trailblazing woman who filled her life with travel, culture and romance You guest-star as Jane Digby in an episode of a new drama based on Jules Verne’s Around the World In 80 Days. Who was she? She was a real woman they’ve put into the drama, which is a really clever idea. Years ago, someone had told me about a book called The Wilder Shores of Love [1954, by travel writer Lesley Blanch]. It’s an account of the lives of four quite extraordinary women. And one of them is Jane Digby [1807–81]. In the last part of her life, which is where we see…

WIN BOOKS WORTH OVER £200 FOR ONE WINNER Across 8 Native American leader, said to have helped found the confederacy of the “Five Nations” of the Iroquois (8) 9 Celebrated document of 1215, subjecting the English king to the rule of law (5,5) 12 Surname of American writer and eccentric; her Paris home was a salon for leading writers and artists between the two world wars (5) 13 Ancient land in what is now north-east Iran, where an empire, lasting about 500 years, was founded by Arsaces I (7) 14 A colleague (and later rival) of Richard Burton in the quest for the source of 43 down (5) 15 Roman literary patron remembered for his correspondence with Cicero (7) 18 Name, adopted in 1984, of the landlocked west African country…

Britain in 1921 Sarah Hellawell examines the state of the nation as it emerged from the First World War Slave uprising Thomas Harding on his family’s connections to the 1823 uprising of enslaved people in Demerara The BBC begins David Hendy explores the corporation’s origins in the first of a new series of pieces on the history of the BBC A saintly scourge Matthew Gabriele and David M Perry on the contradictions of French king Louis IX…

Alfred the Great 849-99 IN PROFILE Alfred the Great was king of Wessex from 871–99. He won a decisive victory against the Vikings at the battle of Edington in 878, and successfully defended his kingdom against further Viking attacks. Generally considered an enlightened warrior king, he brought scholars to his court, translated key texts from Latin and improved England’s legal system and defences. “The emphasis Alfred placed on learning, language and literature shows him to be a figure enormously ahead of his time” When did you first hear about Alfred? I got the Ladybird children’s book about him at school and have been interested in him ever since. What kind of man was he? Alfred was clever and insightful without being duplicitous. However, there was a certain amount of elbowing…