Issue July 2023 - BBC History Magazine (2024)

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BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

in this issue

In This IssueWELCOME JULY 2023"When I was six years old I took part in a school adaptation of the Exodus story, in which I played the pharaoh who was so reluctant to let the Israelites go. My historical knowledge was significantly more limited at that age, but one thing I knew even then was the name of that pharaoh: Ramesses. Of all the dozens of rulers of ancient Egypt, Ramesses II’s name has endured more than any other. He’s been lionised by everyone from Herodotus to Percy Shelley, and is the only pharaoh to be known as ‘the Great’. But does he deserve this exalted reputation?In our cover feature this month, Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson revisits Ramesses’ extraordinary reign to determine whether he was a brilliant leader or simply a master of propaganda. Turn to…1 min

In This IssueTHIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORSSimon Schama“When the pandemic happened, I decided to tell a story about the history of medicine. And it converged with a long interest of mine about the perils of excessive national defensiveness.”Simon introduces some of the early pioneers of lifesaving vaccines on page 31Channing Joseph“Where possible, I think it’s crucial to describe people in the way in which they thought of themselves, and using the terminology that was used in the period and place in which they lived.”Channing considers how we can share the stories of LGBTQ people from the past on page 11Christienna Fryar“Perhaps the continuing reluctance to discuss Britain’s slavery history beyond the work of British abolitionists has created a tendency to separate Windrush from the centuries that preceded it.”Christienna retraces the long and thorny road to HMT…1 min

EVERY MONTHANNIVERSARIES7 JULY 1307Edward I dies on his way to fight in ScotlandThe end of the English king’s life echoes that of his hero, ArthurKing Edward I is probably chiefly remembered for three things. First, for his height: he was more than 6ft tall, earning the byname ‘Longshanks’. Second, for finding and interring the bones of King Arthur at Glastonbury Abbey – or so he asserted. And finally, for his victories beyond England’s borders in Wales and Scotland – earning the epithet ‘Hammer of the Scots’.The decade following Edward’s invasion of Scotland in 1296 was marked by bitter conflict between his troops and Scottish forces fighting to retain independence from an English king. And in 1307, at the ripe old age of 68, Edward – a warrior to the end –…6 min

The ConversationAre some LGBTQ histories being overlooked?What challenges are there in charting the experiences of LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer] people in the periods you study?Florence Scott: I work on England in the early medieval period, and the biggest challenge I have is a lack of evidence. There are very few surviving written sources for this time compared with other periods, and those that exist tend to be religious documents. As the church was very wealthy, it was the biggest producer of written material at this time, so most documents pertain to the elites in society, and have a religious focus. Hence individual people’s lives, and their experiences of gender and sexuality, are captured only very rarely in the written source record. That’s a huge pitfall with studying LGBTQ people in this period, because…10 min

The ConversationTHE PANELFlorence Scott is completing a PhD on gender and queenship at the University of Leeds and is the author of the Substack newsletter and podcast Ælfgif-who?Tim Wingard is a lecturer in late medieval history at the University of York, whose work focuses on nature, gender and sexuality in medieval England and north-western EuropeChanning Gerard Joseph is a journalist and queer historian whose work focuses on sexuality and gender identity from the American slavery era to the early 20th centuryFleur MacInnes is a third-year history PhD student at the University of Oxford looking into trans-feminine experiences of the women’s liberation movement in Britain in the 1970s and 1980sAnthony Delaney is honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter. His work explores gender and sexuality, particularly same-sex households, in 18th-century England…1 min

Issue July 2023 - BBC History Magazine (2024)

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