1066 and all that … the day the Channel Islands became part of England
On Sunday the 14th October 1066 ‘William the Bastard’, Duke of Normandy (andthe Channel Islands), invaded and defeated the Anglo Saxon king of England, so that henceforth the Bastard was to be forever known as William the Conqueror. In this article we look how at how he won at Hastings.
The Bayeux Tapestry – The Missing Ending
The Bayeux Tapestry is a beautiful historical artefact that never fails to impress. However this thousand years old embroidery, has a secret. It’s ending is missing! That is until the residents of Alderney crafted a new ending for this iconic artefact.
Did English used to have gendered nouns? … Yes!
In Romance languages (and many others), nouns have a gender. English today doesn’t but it wasn’t always so. In this article we look at how this situation came about.
Speak Like a Saxon
Despite first appearances, the English we speak now is a direct descendant of Anglo-Saxon. So have you ever wondered what Anglo-Saxon might have sounded like ? In this article we look at how Anglo-Saxon was written and how it would have sounded.
Origin of the Months and Days of the Year
We use them everyday to order our lives to record, analyse and make sense of things. We’re talking about the days and months of the year. What are their origins ? You may be surprised in that they all have origins deep within our pagan past.
Our Living Language
The English language is a constantly evolving. New words are constantly being added. Even the alphabet is not immutable. For example did you know that not so long ago there were 27 letters on the alphabet ?
Kings & Queens of England
From the 10th century Athelston to our very own Elizabeth II, the history of the British monarchy is one of religious conflict, political intrigue, invasion, love, murder, gluttony and colourful connections. Here’s a time line of them all.
