A lot of History

Here you will find quite a few of my reflections on various topics related to medieval history, with a particular focus on the Wars of the Roses and other similar disputes, in any time, in any place, and in any universe.
You can also find the same articles in Italian under the category “Articoli in Italiano”

  • Who decided that Richard III had to be the villain of the story?

    “History is written by the victors.” And never has this phrase been truer especially when it comes to Richard III. For centuries, Richard’s name has been synonymous with tyranny, treachery, and cruelty. A deformed king, power-hungry, even capable of murdering his own nephews just to cling to the throne. This is the image etched in

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  • Richard III and Harald III Hardrada: Brothers of Fate in History

    If I were to mention these two names: Richard III and Harald Sigurdsson, you might not immediately see why I have chosen to place them together in the same sentence. And yet, these two kings have far more in common than one might imagine. History is filled with rulers whose greatness was overshadowed by the

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  • Who said that people in the Middle Ages didn’t wash?

    When we think of the Middle Ages, we often picture dirty, sickly people, foul-smelling streets, and a complete lack of hygiene. But was it really like that? Let’s debunk a myth… In reality, personal hygiene was more common than we might think, though the practices were quite different from ours (which makes some of them

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  • What if reincarnation were real?

    How many times have we felt like we knew a place we had never visited or had a special connection with someone we just met? Or perhaps we’ve noticed striking resemblances to a historical figure or felt an inexplicable urge to act in ways that seem to belong to another era. Of course, we’d all

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  • The beautiful love story of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (Oh wait, no).

    WARNING: LONG POST – Reading time: 5 minutes if you read fast 😀 I often hear people say that the marriage between Elizabeth of York and Henry VII was, despite being political, also a love match. Apparently, he was deeply attached to his wife, respected her, and when she died, he spent a fortune on

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  • When Love Transcends Time

    When Love Transcends Time

    The landscape of love stories that have shaped history is vast, immense even, but few are as poignant and intense as that of Abelard and Héloïse. Theirs was a forbidden, painful, and contested love, yet one that left an indelible mark on literature and Western thought. But who were Abelard and Héloïse?Peter Abelard was one

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  • Today, as yesterday, sans remevyr.

    It was around 9 p.m. when Elizabeth died. After giving birth to her daughter Katherine, she endured almost two weeks of agony, excruciating pain, fever, and relentless hemorrhages led her to her death on February 11, 1503. February 11 was also her birthday. She had just turned 37. Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of King

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  • Is time circular?

    Is time circular?

    We are accustomed to thinking of history as a sequence of events unfolding progressively. However, if we closely examine the past, recurring patterns emerge—events that repeat with unsettling precision, leaving us with one fundamental question: could time be circular? Various civilizations have believed in the cyclical nature of time. In ancient India, the concept of

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  • 12 years ago, Richard III returned to the world “beyond any reasonable doubt.”

    It was February 4, 2013. 11:00 was fast approaching, and there was a palpable buzz at the University of Leicester. In that room, there were journalists, historians, enthusiasts, scientists… everyone, absolutely everyone, ready to bear witness. Let’s go back six months. On August 25, 2012, beneath the cold concrete of a private parking lot in

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  • History is not chaste, and neither are we.

    If I said the word “godemiché” what would come to mind? Wait, let’s take a step back. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, sexual satisfaction was considered a fundamental aspect of life. Even then, objects designed exclusively for female pleasure existed, often with purposes that were not even too subtly voyeuristic. In short, pleasure was

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