Remembered as much for his failures as his successes, Shackleton has something of a complex legacy. Despite this, he remains a symbol of the unquenchable thirst for knowledge and indefatigable spirit which characterised the ‘heroic age of Antarctic exploration’, and his sheer will to survive remains remarkable to this day.

But behind this semi-mythical figure, there was a very human one. Here is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

A restless youth

Ernest was born in County Kildare, Ireland, in 1874. The Shackletons, an Anglo-Irish family, had 10 children in total. They moved to Sydenham, south London, in 1884. A voracious reader with a taste for adventure, the young Ernest found school dull and left education as soon as possible.

He became an apprentice with the North West Shipping Company, spending the next 4 years at sea. At the end of this period, he passed his examination for second mate and took up a more senior position as third officer. By 1898, he had risen through the ranks to become a master mariner, meaning he could command a British ship anywhere in the world.

Contemporaries remarked Shackleton was far from the standard officer: he might not have liked education, but he picked up enough of it to be able to quote poetry at random, and some described him as a more ‘sensitive’ type than his contemporaries. Shackleton’s career in the Merchant Navy was short-lived, however, after he found himself commissioned into the Royal Navy to embark on the Discovery expedition in 1901.

Discovery 

The British National Antarctic Expedition, known as the Discovery expedition after its main ship, embarked from London in 1901 after years of planning. It was hoped the expedition would make significant geographical and scientific discoveries in Antarctica.

Led by Captain Robert Scott, the expedition lasted 3 years. Shackleton proved himself to be an asset to the crew and well-liked and respected by his fellow officers, including Scott himself. Scott, Shackleton and Wilson, another officer, marched southwards, hoping to achieve a record latitude, which they achieved, albeit with the consequences of scurvy, frostbite and snow blindness.

Shackleton suffered in particular and was ultimately sent home in January 1903 on the relief ship on account of his health. However, some historians have speculated that Scott felt threatened by Shackleton’s popularity, and wanted to remove him from the expedition as a result. There is scarce evidence to support this theory, however.

A pre-1909 photograph of Ernest Shackleton.

Image Credit: National Library of Norway / Public Domain.

Antarctic aspirations

On his return from the Discovery expedition, Shackleton was in demand: his knowledge and first-hand experience of the Antarctic made him valuable to a variety of organisations who had interests in Antarctic exploration. After an unsuccessful stint as a journalist, attempting to stand as an MP and a failed investment in a speculative shipping company, it became clear that the only thing really on Shackleton’s mind was returning to the Antarctic.

In 1907, Shackleton presented plans for an Antarctic expedition, which aimed to reach both the magnetic and geographical South Pole, to the Royal Geographical Society, before beginning the arduous process of finding donors and backers to fund the trip. The final amount was raised just 2 weeks before the Nimrod was due to depart.

Nimrod 

Nimrod departed in January 1908 from New Zealand: despite inclement weather and several early setbacks, the expedition established a base in McMurdo Sound. In doing so, Shackleton broke a promise he had made to Scott that he would not interfere in ‘his’ area of the Antarctic.

The expedition achieved some notable successes, including reaching a new furthest south latitude, the discovery of the Beardmore Glacier, the first successful ascent of Mount Erebus and the discovery of the location of the Magnetic South Pole. Shackleton returned to England a hero, with the admiration of his men, but still deeply in debt.

Whilst Shackleton continued to tell those at home that his place was “at home now”, this was not quite true. The Antarctic still captivated him. Even after Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole, Shackleton decided there were still more achievements he could aim for, including completing the first continental crossing.

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 

Perhaps Shackleton’s most famous, and most disastrous expedition, was the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (often nicknamed Endurance, after the name of the ship), which departed in 1914. Financed almost entirely by private donations, the aim of the expedition was to cross Antarctica for the first time.

Trading somewhat on his name and the glamour and rewards Antarctic success provided, he received over 5,000 applications to join his crew: after years in the inhospitable conditions of expeditions, Shackleton was well aware temperament, character and the ability to get on with people were vital attributes – often more so than technical or practical skills. He chose his crew personally.

A photograph by Frank Hurley of one of the dog sledding expeditions from Endurance.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Endurance became trapped in the ice, and sank after 10 months, in November 1915. Shackleton and his men camped on the ice for several more months before sailing in a small lifeboat to Elephant Island. Known for his dedication to his men, Shackleton gave his mittens to Frank Hurley, one of his crew, on the journey, getting frostbitten fingers as a result.

He subsequently led a smaller party to South Georgia Island: after landing on the wrong side of the island to the whaling station, the men traversed the mountainous interior, eventually reaching the Stromness whaling station 36 hours later, in May 1916, before returning for his men. The expedition has gone down in history as one of the most remarkable feats of human endurance, courage and sheer luck.

Endurance remained lost to the depths of the Weddell Sea for 107 years, until it was discovered during the Endurance22 expedition in a “remarkable state of preservation”.

Death and legacy

When the Endurance expedition returned to England in 1917, the country was caught up in World War One: Shackleton himself tried to enlist and was given diplomatic posts, achieving little success.

In 1920, tired of civilian life and with the Antarctic still beckoning, he embarked on his final expedition, aiming to circumnavigate the continent and engage in further exploration. Before the expedition could begin in earnest, however, Shackleton suffered a heart attack and died on the island of South Georgia: he had begun to drink heavily and it’s thought this hastened his demise. He was buried on South Georgia, in accordance with his wife’s wishes.

Shackleton died with some £40,000 of debt to his name: a biography was published within a year of his death as both a tribute and as a way of helping his family financially.

As time went on, Shackleton faded somewhat into obscurity against the memory and legacy of Scott’s Antarctic expeditions. However, this reversed in the 1970s, as historians became increasingly critical of Scott and celebratory of Shackleton’s achievements. By 2022, Shackleton was ranked 11th in a BBC poll of ‘Greatest Britons’, cementing his hero status.

Read more about the discovery of Endurance. Explore the history of Shackleton and the Age of Exploration. Visit the official Endurance22 website.

Propelled into popular consciousness by Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall, interest in Cromwell has never been greater.

Here are 10 facts about the son of a blacksmith who went on to become one of the most powerful people in 16th-century England.

1. He was the son of a Putney blacksmith

Cromwell was born around 1485 (the precise date is uncertain), the son of a successful blacksmith and merchant, Walter Cromwell. Not much is known for certain about his education or early years, other than that he travelled in mainland Europe.

His own accounts of the period suggest that he may, briefly, have been a mercenary, but he certainly served in the household of the Florentine banker Francesco Frescobaldi, learnt several languages and developed an extensive network of influential European contacts.

2. He originally set himself up as a merchant

On his return to England, somewhere around 1512, Cromwell set himself up as a merchant in London. Years of building contacts and learning from merchants on the continent had given him a good head for business.

However, this didn’t satisfy him. He began to practice law and was elected a member of Gray’s Inn, one of London’s four Inns of Court, in 1524.

3. He rose to prominence under Cardinal Wolsey

First serving as an adviser to Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, Cromwell’s brilliance was noted by Cardinal Wolsey, at that point Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor and trusted adviser.

In 1524, Cromwell became a member of Wolsey’s household and after years of dedicated service, Cromwell was appointed as a member of Wolsey’s council in 1529, meaning he was one of the cardinal’s most trusted advisors: Cromwell had helped dissolve over 30 small monasteries to pay for some of Wolsey’s bigger building projects.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by an unknown artist, c. late 16th century.

Image Credit: Public Domain

4. His talent was noticed by the King

Wolsey fell from favour in 1529, when he was unable to obtain Henry a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. This failure meant Henry VIII began to reappraise Wolsey’s position, in turn noticing exactly how much wealth and power the cardinal had accumulated for himself during his service.

Cromwell successfully rose from the embers of Wolsey’s downfall. His eloquence, wit and loyalty impressed Henry, and as a lawyer, Cromwell and his talents were much in need in Henry’s divorce proceedings.

Cromwell began to direct his attention towards the ‘King’s Great Matter’, winning the admiration and support of both Henry and Anne Boleyn in the process.

5. His wife and daughters died of the sweating sickness

In 1515, Cromwell married a woman named Elizabeth Wyckes, and the pair had three children: Gregory, Anne and Grace.

Elizabeth, along with daughters Anne and Grace, all died during an outbreak of the sweating sickness in 1529. No one is quite sure what caused the sweating sickness, but it was highly contagious and often deadly. Symptoms, including shivering, sweating, dizziness and exhaustion, would come on rapidly and the illness normally lasted 24 hours, after which a victim would either recover or die.

Gregory, Cromwell’s son, went on to marry Elizabeth Seymour in 1537. At the time, Elizabeth’s sister Jane was Queen of England: Cromwell was ensuring his family was allied with the powerful and influential Seymours.

6. He was a champion of royal supremacy and the break with Rome

It quickly became apparent to Cromwell that the Pope was never going to permit Henry the annulment he desired. Instead of pursuing a dead-end, Cromwell began to advocate for the principles of royal supremacy over the church.

Encouraged by Cromwell and Anne Boleyn, Henry decided that he would break with Rome and establish his own Protestant church in England. In 1533, he secretly married Anne Boleyn and annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

7. He amassed a substantial fortune

Both Henry and Anne were extremely grateful to Cromwell: they rewarded him very generously for his services, granting him the offices of Master of the Jewels, Clerk of the Hanaper and Chancellor of the Exchequer, which meant he had positions in the 3 major institutions of government.

In 1534, Cromwell was confirmed as Henry’s principal secretary and chief minister – roles he had held in all but name for several years. This was arguably the zenith of Cromwell’s power. He continued to make money through various private ventures too, and by 1537 he had an annual income of around £12,000 – the equivalent to around £3.5 million today.

A miniature of Cromwell, painted after the Holbein portrait, c. 1537.

8. He orchestrated the Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries began as a result of the 1534 Act of Supremacy. During this period, Cromwell spearheaded the efforts to dissolve and expropriate religious houses across England, enriching royal coffers in the process and further cementing his role as Henry’s invaluable right-hand man.

Cromwell’s personal religious beliefs are unclear, but his ongoing attacks on the ‘idolatry’ of the Catholic church and attempts to clarify and enforce new religious doctrine suggest he at least had Protestant sympathies.

9. He played a key role in Anne Boleyn’s downfall

Whilst Cromwell and Anne had originally been allies, their relationship was not to last. Following a dispute over where the proceeds of the dissolution of the lesser monasteries should go, Anne had her chaplains publicly denounce Cromwell and other privy councillors in their sermons.

Anne’s position at court was already precarious: her failure to deliver a male heir and fiery temper had frustrated Henry and he had his eyes on Jane Seymour as a prospective future bride. Anne was accused of adultery with various men from the royal household. She was later tried, found guilty and condemned to death.

Historians debate exactly how and why Anne fell so swiftly: some argue it was personal animosity which spurred Cromwell on in his investigations and evidence collection, whilst others think he was more likely to be acting on Henry’s orders. Either way, it was Cromwell’s forensic and single-minded investigations which proved fatal to Anne.

10. Henry VIII’s fourth marriage hastened Cromwell’s dramatic fall from grace

Cromwell maintained his position at court for several more years, and if anything, was stronger and more secure than ever following Anne’s demise. He orchestrated Henry’s fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves, arguing the match would provide a much-needed Protestant alliance.

However, Henry was less than pleased with the match, supposedly dubbing her the ‘Flanders Mare’. Exactly how much blame Henry laid at Cromwell’s feet is unclear given he made him Earl of Essex shortly afterwards.

Cromwell’s enemies, of which he had many by this point, took advantage of Cromwell’s momentary lack of favour. They convinced Henry to have Cromwell arrested in June 1540, saying they had heard rumours Cromwell was plotting Henry’s downfall in an act of treason.

By this point, the ageing and increasingly paranoid Henry required little persuading to have any hint of treason crushed. Cromwell was arrested and charged with a long list of crimes. He was condemned to death without trial, and beheaded less than 2 months later, on 28 July 1540.

Fighting from an early age

Born in Devon in 1554, (or possibly 1552) Raleigh’s adventuring began early when he volunteered to fight with the Protestant Huguenots in a religious civil war in France at the tender age of 15.

He returned a few years later, and after spurning an Oxford degree he went overseas once again, this time to Ireland. Here he fought once again, and started his long and bitter relationship with the Spanish when he was part of a group ordered to massacre a group of their soldiers who were assisting the Irish rebels at the siege of Smerwick.

After the fighting, this young soldier became a rich landowner in Munster, where he met the English poet Edmund Spenser. After Spenser composed the Faerie Queene in honour of Elizabeth I, the two men headed to her court in London, where it was performed. Here Raleigh met his future patron, the Virgin Queen, who found him rather enthralling.

An 18th century print of Sir Walter Raleigh.

From firm favourite to the tower: Raleigh’s complicated relationship with Elizabeth I

At Elizabeth’s court Raleigh must have made much of his abilities and ambitions as an explorer, for he was given the royal mandate to explore the ‘New World’ in 1584, as well as permission to take some of the profits from his ventures for himself. He had previously sailed to America in 1578 with his half-brother Humphrey Gilbert, a famous explorer of the time, and developed an interest in this exciting new continent.

Raleigh is perhaps best remembered for bringing tobacco and the potato back to England, and did much to make smoking fashionable at court after this trip. Under his supervision, the two attempts to plant the first English colonies in America, at Roanoke, were carried out. The settlers, however, would ultimately disappear without a trace after a promising start.

Despite this disaster Raleigh remained a firm favourite of the Queen until 1592, when she found out that he’d been having an illicit affair with one of her maids of honour, Elizabeth Throckmorton, who he had then married in secret.

Thrown into a jealous rage, the famously capricious Elizabeth threw Raleigh and his new wife into the Tower of London. Her old favourite managed to get himself released by promising to lead an piratical expedition to the Spanish coast, and he returned with an incredibly rich prize of a Spanish trade ship returned from South America before being unceremoniously dumped back in the Tower.

There is a popular story that when Raleigh’s servant first saw him smoking he doused him with water, believing that his master was on fire.

Image Credit: Frederick William Fairholt / Public Domain

After a while, Elizabeth relented, and despite still being out of favour Raleigh was released from the Tower and later elected a Member of Parliament. Emboldened by this rise in his fortunes he decided to act upon a captured Spanish manuscript describing a legendary city of gold in the New World; El Dorado.

His expedition to South America in 1594 – predictably enough – failed to find any gold, but when he returned Raleigh published a book of his experiences called The Discovery of Guiana, which did much to enhance his growing celebrity.

Over the next few years Raleigh’s adventures continued as he was wounded capturing the Spanish city of Cadiz, lead an expedition to the Azores and helped defeat the lesser-known third Spanish Armada in 1597. A national hero and restored to Elizabeth’s favour, everything was falling into his lap until 1603, when the queen whose rule had come to define an age, suddenly died.

Raleigh returns to the tower

Her successor, James I, was less inclined to reward handsome explorers and he and Raleigh certainly got it off on the wrong foot. The hero of Cadiz was implicated in a plot that year to overthrow James and replace him with his cousin and imprisoned in the Tower of London for 13 years. There Raleigh mused on past glories and took to writing, composing a well-regarded history of ancient Greece and Rome during his long stay.

Suddenly and unexpectedly in 1617 he was pardoned by the King, and given permission to lead a second expedition to find El Dorado. During this expedition, just as fruitless as the first, a detachment of Raleigh’s men attacked a Spanish outpost without having been given orders to do so, and in the confused fighting Raleigh’s son Walter was killed. And worse was to come.

England was now at peace with Spain, and when James was informed of this incident by the Spanish ambassador he held he now aged explorer responsible. With his friends in high places now long-gone Raleigh was lead to the block on 29 October 1618. A still-popular and beloved son of England, one of the judges at his less than fair trial later said:

“The justice of England has never been so degraded and injured as by the condemnation of the honourable Sir Walter Raleigh.”

Noted for its authoritarian, anti-Semitic and xenophobic tendencies, the new regime worked in collaboration with the Nazis and oversaw the rounding up and deportation of French Jews, bolstered the Nazis with forced labour, foodstuffs and raw materials and persecuted other ‘undesirables’.

Debates have raged amongst historians about whether Vichy France was simply a puppet state of the Germans, whether it had its own agenda and how Vichy France can be viewed in relation to the French Republic. Only 4 senior Vichy officials were tried for crimes against humanity: a tiny number compared to how many were involved in upholding the new regime. Here are 5 of the most important figures in Vichy France.

1. Philippe Pétain

A First World War hero, nicknamed the ‘Lion of Verdun‘, Pétain became Head of State following the fall of France in 1940. After months of brutal warfare and the realisation that there was no way France could continue to fight the Germans, many initially welcomed Pétain’s prominent reappearance in national politics.

However, he quickly began to show authoritarian tendencies: the Third Republic was voted out of existence and parliament adjourned indefinitely, a new motto, “Travail, famille, patrie” (“Work, family, fatherland”) put in place and Pétain gave himself virtually untouchable governing power.

Marshal Philippe Pétain.

Image Credit: Public Domain

The new government collaborated with the Nazi regime, with Pétain signing anti-Semitic laws into place and acquiescing to Axis requests for supplies and defence in the colonies. Despite everything, Pétain retained his popularity with the French people.

After the fall of the government, Pétain was tried for treason by the new provisional government, led by Charles de Gaulle. He was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to death, although due to his advanced age, this was commuted to life imprisonment. Many agitated for his release, but it was seen as too unpredictable a decision for the new government.

Pétain died in 1951 after becoming increasingly infirm. Charles de Gaulle later described Pétain’s life as

“successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre”

2. René Bousquet

Born in 1909, Bousquet became a national hero after rescuing dozens of people from drowning in floods: he was awarded the Legion of Honour and rose rapidly within the government, being named sous-préfet for Vitry-le-François in 1938, and a préfet in 1940 following the French armistice with Germany.

In 1942, Bousquet was appointed general secretary to the Vichy France police: despite attempts to gain autonomy for the French police, they remained firmly in collaboration with the Nazis. Bousquet helped facilitate the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup and the Marseille Roundup, cancelled orders not to arrest minors or parents of small children, and oversaw the transportation of thousands of Jews to concentration camps in Eastern Europe.

René Bousquet on trial in 1948.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Under pressure from the French paramilitary, Bousquet destroyed his archives and resigned his post in December 1943. He spent much of the rest of the war in Germany. In 1944, he was tried and found guilty of indignité nationale (national unworthiness) for his involvement in the Vichy government.

Unusually, Bousquet managed resurrect his political career in the 1950s and was close to President Francois Mitterrand. In 1991 he was indicted for war crimes by the national government: shortly before his trial was to begin, he was murdered. His killer claimed the act was justified by Bousquet’s war crimes.

3. Louis Darquier de Pellepoix

Darquier had long been involved in Fascist politics: his views, particularly on anti-Semitism, were well-known and well publicised. In 1942, he was appointed the Vichy’s Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs: the SS had found his predecessor too moderate in his approach to what Darquier described as the ‘Jewish problem‘.

Under Darquier, mass deportations of French Jews to concentration camps began, and despite his enthusiastic anti-Semitism, he was fired in February 1944 for incompetence. He later claimed that Auschwitz’s gas chambers were never used to kill humans and those Jews who had testified were lying.

Following the end of the war, Darquier fled to Spain, where he was protected by Franco’s Fascist regime. Requests for his extradition were refused, and he was tried and sentenced to death in absentia in 1947 by the French High Court of Justice.

4. Paul Touvier

Touvier was born to a conservative Catholic family in 1915, and after a relatively obscure childhood, was mobilized for the war effort in 1939. The Touvier family were firm supporters of Philippe Pétain’s and although Paul initially fought against the Wehrmacht, he deserted the French army.

The establishment of the Milice (Vichy France’s militia) opened up a new career path for Touvier, who was eventually appointed head of intelligence under Klaus Barbie in the Chambéry Milice. In June 1944 he organised the execution of 7 French Jewish prisoners in retaliation for the assassination of the Vichy France Minister for Propaganda Philippe Henriot by the Resistance.

After the liberation of France, Touvier went into hiding. In his absence, he was sentenced to death for treason and collusion with the Nazis: the statute of limitations expired before his punishment could be carried out and Touvier later had his lawyers request a pardon. The pardon was granted in 1971 in the face of public outcry. He was arrested in 1989 having fled indictment once again, and died in prison in 1996.

5. Pierre Pucheu

Pucheu was a successful industrialist: his politics, including opposition to the Munich Agreement, were initially aligned to his business interests, although he became increasingly right-wing in reaction to what he perceived as the growth of communism.

Following the occupation in 1941, Pucheu’s political profile rose considerably and he was made Minister of the Interior in 1941. Despite his enthusiasm for anti-Semitism and anti-communism, Pucheu did not like the German occupation of France and pushed for a some degree of French independence, aligned with German interests.

As a result of this stance, Pucheu was replaced in 1942. Promised safe passage, he arrived in Morocco in 1943, where this was rescinded and he was quickly arrested and charged with treason. In March 1944 he was executed on the orders of Charles de Gaulle for his collaboration with the Nazi regime.

In this episode of the podcast series The Ancients, Dr.Chris Naunton joins Tristan Hughes to put forward several theories about the ongoing mystery of the whereabouts of Cleopatra’s lost burial place. 

Cleopatra is one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous figures. Pharaoh in her own right, she ruled Ptolemaic Egypt for 21 years until her death by suicide in 30BC, when Egypt came under the control of Rome. One of the mysteries that plagues ancient historians and archaeologists is the location of Cleopatra’s tomb, which it’s believed will help provide a valuable window into Cleopatra’s life and death.

There are tiny clues which hint at the tomb’s location: accounts of the period say that Cleopatra was building a monument for herself and her lover Mark Antony rather than being buried in the mausoleum which housed many of the Ptolemies. As ruler of Egypt, a building project like this would have been vast and the tomb itself would have been lavishly appointed.

Some accounts of Cleopatra’s life suggest that the building was completed by 30BC – and in fact, having been chased to Alexandria by Octavian, she effectively took refuge in her mausoleum for a time in fear for her life. In this particular version, the mausoleum is described as having multiple floors, with windows or doors in an upper level which allowed Cleopatra to communicate with those on the ground outside.

Where in Alexandria might it have been?

Alexandria was hit by an earthquake in the 4th century AD: much of the ancient city was partially destroyed and submerged as the sea bed dropped several metres. It’s quite likely that Cleopatra’s tomb was in this part of the city, but extensive underwater archaeological research hasn’t provided any hard evidence – yet.

Cleopatra had closely associated herself with the goddess Isis in her lifetime and one history suggests that her mausoleum was located close to one of Alexandria’s Temples of Isis.

Was she actually buried in her mausoleum?

Some historians have hypothesised that Cleopatra wasn’t buried in Alexandria at all. She committed suicide, probably partly in an attempt to avoid be captured and paraded humiliatingly through the streets of Rome by Octavian.

Even having avoided humiliation in life though, many believe it was unlikely Octavian would have permitted her the burial she wanted. One theory is that Cleopatra’s handmaidens smuggled her body out of the city to Taposiris Magna, a few kilometres west by the coast.

Another theory is that she is buried in an unmarked, rock cut grave in a Macedonian-Egyptian cemetery. However, the general consensus believes Alexandria is still the most likely site: and the quest to find her tomb remains.

Learn more about the theories of Cleopatra’s burial place and the ongoing attempts to find them in The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra on The Ancients by History Hit.

But what happened in these intervening 600 years? Who were the Anglo Saxons, and how did they shape what England has become today?

1. The Anglo-Saxons didn’t completely displace the local population

The Anglo-Saxons, as we call them, were a mix of all kinds of peoples, but were mainly formed by immigrants from Northern Europe and Scandinavia – predominantly from the tribes of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes.

The collapse of Roman power in Britain left something of a power vacuum: these new peoples settled in the east of England and moved their way west, fighting, occupying and incorporating existing peoples and land into their new society.

2. They certainly didn’t live in the ‘Dark Ages’

The term ‘Dark Ages’ has increasingly fallen out of favour with modern historians. Generally this term was applied across Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire – in Britain in particular, the economy went into freefall and warlords replaced previous political structures.

Map of Anglo SAxon homelands and settlements based on Bede’s Ecclesiastical History

Image Credit: mbartelsm / CC

Part of the ‘vacuum’ of the 5th and 6th centuries in particular stems from the lack of written sources – in fact, in Britain, there’s only one: Gildas, a 6th century British monk. It’s thought many of the libraries pre-dating this were destroyed by the Saxons, but also that there wasn’t the demand or skill to be producing written histories or documents during this period of turbulence.

3. Anglo-Saxon Britain was made up of 7 kingdoms

Known as the heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon Britain was formed of 7 kingdoms: Northumbria, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Wessex and Mercia. Each nation was independent, and all vied for supremacy and dominance through a series of wars.

4. Christianity became Britain’s dominant religion during this period

Roman occupation had helped bring and spread Christianity to Britain, but it was only with the arrival of Augustine in 597AD that there was a renewed interest – and increased conversions – to Christianity.

Whilst some of this may have stemmed from faith, there were also political and cultural reasons for leaders to convert. Many early converts kept a hybrid of Christian and pagan customs and rituals rather than committing to one side fully.

5. The first precursor to English was spoken during this period

Old English – a Germanic language with origins in Old Norse and Old High German – developed during the Anglo-Saxon period, and it was at around this time the famous epic poem Beowulf was written.

6. It was a culturally rich period

Barring the first two hundred years after the collapse of Roman rule, the Anglo-Saxon period was incredibly culturally rich. Hoards like those found at Sutton Hoo and the Staffordshire Hoard evidence the craftsmanship being executed at the time, whilst surviving illustrated manuscripts show that no expense was spared in the creation of texts and art.

Whilst our knowledge of the intimate details of the Anglo-Saxon period is somewhat hazy, the evidence we have shows that this was a period rich with artisans and craftsmen.

7. We know little about lots of areas of Anglo-Saxon life

The lack of written sources mean that historians and archaeologists have a lot of grey areas over Anglo-Saxon life. Women, for example, are something of a mystery and it’s hard to understand their role or what life might have been like for a woman in this period because there are simply no records or indicators – although to some, the absence of mentions of women speaks volumes.

8. The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings fought for supremacy

Vikings arrived at Lindisfarne in 793, and from then on, began to tussle with the Anglo-Saxons for control of Britain. Some Vikings settled in the east of Britain in an area known as the Danelaw, but disputes between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings continued, with Anglo-Saxon Britain coming under the rule of the Vikings for periods.

Both Anglo-Saxon and Viking rule was brought to an abrupt end by the defeat of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066: the Normans then began their reign.

How did Anglo-Saxons cook?

Food would largely have been boiled or roasted over an open fire: in the summer months, cooking would have taken place outside over an open fire, whereas in the winter, people would pack into smoky rooms to keep warm and cook over fires inside. Clay ovens were used for bread-baking and occasionally an early version of a skillet would have been perched over an open fire to fry things.

A replica of an Anglo Saxon house at West Stow. Houses were largely made of wood, so cooking inside over an open fire could be potentially fatal.

Image Credit: Midnightblueowl / CC

People would have eaten with a knife and potentially spoon – hygiene was poor, and eating was much more visceral and messy than it is today. War and disease were all potentially fatal threats to food production and growth in Anglo-Saxon England, and periods of extreme hunger were not unusual, particularly for the poorest in society.

What animals did the Anglo-Saxons eat?

Pigs were plentiful and the only animal the Anglo-Saxons used solely for eating. As they produce large groups of offspring who mature quickly, these animals were the most efficient form of meat production.

Anglo-Saxons also ate beef, chicken, mutton and goat from time to time. Beef was usually reserved for the richer tables and many herds of cattle were looked after predominantly for their milk, a very useful resource, and their hides would have been turned into leather. The Saxons also preserved goats for their milk production, while they kept chickens for their eggs and sheep for their wool. These animals were usually only slaughtered when they became lame, unproductive, old or for special occasions.

Wealthy Anglo Saxons also ate game, including deer, wild boar and wild birds. Hunting for sport – or for food – wasn’t common practice, but the elites would have done so from time to time.

A 1908 illustration of Beowulf at a banquet.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Fish

Fish was consumed by many, particularly those who lived by the sea. Shellfish too, like oysters, cockles, eel, lobster and crab were eaten. Fish were a valuable commodity as they could be smoked or salted and stored for winter when other food was scarce. Salted fish was thought to have been imported from Scandinavia.

Vegetables in early medieval England

Salt was mined in Worcestershire and the Anglo-Saxons used it both for preserving food and for flavouring blander dishes like stew. Vegetables including onions, garlic, cabbage, turnips, mushrooms, beetroot, parsnips, carrots (which were white or purple at the time), peas and beans formed the basis of many Anglo-Saxons’ diets. It’s unclear how much was cultivated and how much was foraged from wild.

Vegetables were also used to flavour meals as at that time the Saxons used herbs solely for medicinal purposes. Spices like pepper, coriander, cinnamon and ginger were used very occasionally in wealthy households, but most Anglo-Saxons would not have ever tasted these spices.

Fruit eaten by the Anglo-Saxons

Fruit was relatively plentiful in the summer. Cherries, berries of all kinds, apples, pears and plums were eaten by many, cooked with, and were often made into alcohol.

The only other sweet food available was honey and bee hives were cultivated in many towns and villages. Honey was also turned into an alcoholic drink, mead, which was also known as honey wine and would have been drunk at banquets and feasts as well as in more everyday settings.

Grain

Barley – and later wheat – were staples of the Anglo-Saxon diet. They would have been dried and milled into flour: bread was served with almost every meal and remained a core part of diets in England until the arrival and subsequent cultivation of the potato in the 16th century. Barley was also used to make pottage (known as briw to the Anglo-Saxons), which was a thick stew of grains boiled with vegetables like peas or beans that featured heavily in the diets of ordinary people.

Barley was also fermented to brew ale, which was drunk by people of all ages and classes – it was more commonly drunk than water.

What did the Anglo-Saxons drink?

Ale in different variations was the drink of choice for most of the population. Water in many places, particularly river water, was often polluted as most used rivers for waste disposal. For both adults and children therefore, ale was their main source of hydration. Children were given weak, diluted ale and, if they lived in the right place, spring water. Cider was also made in the autumn and consumed by a large proportion of the population.

In the richer and safer kingdoms like Wessex, food was usually available. Still, this was a period of continual warfare and the winter months were harsh – especially for those not under the protection of a lord. If a harvest failed, food wasn’t stored properly, or a marauding army burnt the crops and stole the livestock, then for many surviving the winter became a challenge.

History of the Temple of the Tooth

The subject of fierce fighting, it is said that the tooth – one of the Buddha’s teeth and therefore one of the most important Buddhist relics – was first brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD and has been part of the politics of the local region ever since. Legend has it that whoever owns the tooth has governance over the local area. However, the Temple of the Tooth itself was first built in 1603, with the current temple dating back to the 18th century.

The Temple of the Tooth was part of Kandy, a royal city founded in the 14th century that became the capital in the 16th century. Subject to various colonial invasions, Kandy fell to the British in 1815. The Royal City of Kandy is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple was damaged by militant organisations in the late 20th century, but was rebuilt extensively both times.

History of the Yasukuni Shrine

The shrine was initially established in 1869 to commemorate those who gave their lives in service of the Emperor during the Boshin War. Since then, over 2,500,000 names have been enshrined at Yasukuni, amongst them the casualties of wars since 1853, including those killed in the Boshin War, the Seinan War, the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, World War I, the Manchurian Incident, the China Incident and World War II, known in Japan as the Greater East Asian War.

Yasukuni has become seen as a controversial site since the enshrinement of 14 class A war criminals there in 1979, despite the fact that six of them had been executed by the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East: many view this as a glorification of Japan’s brutal wars of expansion in the 20th century. Other Asian countries, particularly China and South Korea, find visits to the shrine extremely offensive and hurtful, suggesting it shows a lack of understanding and remorse for Japan’s war crimes.

Ever since then, the site has been shunned by many: Emperor Hirohito refused to visit the site following this enshrinement, and Prime Ministers have generally followed suit. Shinzo Abe caused a stir after he visited the shrine to inform the spirits about his resignation from office.

Yasukuni Shrine today

The Yasukuni Shrine follows the traditional Japanese customs of offerings to the dead such as food and ceremonies of appreciation. The Yasukuni Shrine treats every one of the names enshrined there equally, worshipping them as divinities.

The shrine is part of a six hectare precinct and the shrine itself is surrounded by statues and commemorations to other victims such as war widows, the kamikaze pilots and animals. You’ll enter via the impressive 25m high steel and bronze torii, which was first erected in 1921 to mark the main entrance to the shrine.

Near Yasukuni stands the Yushukan Museum, one of Japan’s war museums and often a subject of controversy for foreign visitors due to its portrayal of World War II. The English translations here are less comprehensive than they might have been, but overall it is fascinating, covering Japanese military history dating back to the days of the Samurai.

Getting to the Yasukuni Shrine

The shrine is located in central Tokyo, very close to the Imperial Palace complex: it’s easily accessed via public transport. The nearest stations are Kundanshita and Ichigaya, both under a 10 minute walk away. Taxis from anywhere in the city will be able to drop you here.

Women were often marginalised within the Resistance: they made up only about 11% of its members. Nonetheless, those women who were involved achieved remarkable things and acted with great courage and character to help collect and pass on intelligence and participate in sabotage operations.

1. Marie-Madeleine Fourcade

Born in Marseille and educated in Shanghai, Fourcade met a former French military intelligence officer, codenamed Navarre, in 1936 and was recruited by him in 1939 to work for a network of spies, later known as the ‘Alliance’. Navarre was arrested and imprisoned in 1941, leaving Fourcade to lead the movement.

She did so extremely successfully, managing to recruit agents who gained important military intelligence which was subsequently transmitted to the British clandestinely. During this time, Fourcade spent months on the run, giving birth to her third child and leaving him hidden at a safe house during this time.

In 1943, Fourcade headed to London to work with British intelligence briefly. This secondment was forcibly extended by her control officers, who only allowed her to return to France in July 1944. Following the end of the war, she helped take care of over 3,000 resistance agents and survivors and chaired the Committee of Resistance Action from 1962 onwards.

Despite her prominent role within the French resistance and leadership of the longest-running spy network, she was not decorated after the war or designated as a resistance hero. She continued to maintain a relatively high profile in international politics for the rest of her life, and was involved in the trial of Klaus Barbie, the so-called Butcher of Lyon, for war crimes in the 1980s.

2. Lucie Aubrac

Born in 1912, Lucie Aubrac was a brilliant history teacher and committed supporter of communism. She and her husband Raymond were some of the first members of the French Resistance, forming a group called La Dernière Colonne, better known as Libération-sud.

The group carried out acts of sabotage, distributed anti-German propaganda and published an underground newspaper. Few other women had such prestigious roles in Resistance groups or activities. Lucie continued to teach history and perform her role as a dutiful mother and wife during this time.

Lucie Aubrac, photographed in 2003.

Image Credit: Paulgypteau / CC

When her husband was arrested, she executed a daring scheme to break him and 15 other prisoners free from the Gestapo. In 1944, Lucie became the first woman to sit in a parliamentary assembly when Charles de Gaulle created a consultative assembly.

Lucie’s story has since been tainted by accusations from Klaus Barbie that her husband Raymond was actually an informer, whilst historians began noting inconsistencies within Lucie’s memoirs, published in English as Outwitting the Gestapo. Some believe the Aubracs’ communist sympathies led to the attacks on their character. Lucie died in 2007, and was dubbed by President Sarkozy as ‘a legend in the history of the Resistance’.

3. Josephine Baker

Better known as an iconic entertainer of the Roaring Twenties, Baker was living in Paris at the outbreak of war in 1939. She was quickly recruited by the Deuxième Bureau as an ‘honourable correspondent’, gathering intelligence, information and contacts at parties and events she attended. Her work as an entertainer also provided her with an excuse for moving around a lot.

As the war progressed, she carried notes written on invisible ink on her sheet music across Europe and North Africa, as well as housing supporters of the Free France movement and aiding them to get visas. She later ended up in Morocco, ostensibly for her health, but she continued to carry messages (often pinned to her underwear) with information across to mainland Europe and to Resistance members. Baker also toured French, British and American troops in North Africa to provide entertainment.

Following the end of the war, she was decorated with the Croix de guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance, as well as being made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by Charles de Gaulle. Her career continued to be successful, bolstered by her wartime heroics.

Joséphine Baker photographed in 1930.

Image Credit: Paul Nadar / Public Domain

4. Rose Valland

Valland was a respected art historian: in 1932, she began working in the curatorial department of the Jeu de Paume in Paris. In 1941, following the German occupation of France, the Jeu de Paume became a central storage and sorting depot for artworks looted by the Nazis from assorted public and private art collections. Over 20,000 works of art passed through the museum’s walls.

For the next four years, Valland kept notes about what was brought to the museum and where it was headed. She spoke decent German (a fact she hid from the Nazis) and so was able to understand much more of proceedings than she ever let on. Valland’s work also allowed her to pass on details of shipments of art so that they would not be targeted by members of the Resistance for sabotage or detonation, including details of a shipment of nearly 1000 modernist paintings to Germany in 1944.

Following the liberation of Paris, Valland briefly came under suspicion of being a collaborator, but was exonerated quickly. After months of working with the Monuments Men, she finaly turned over her detailed notes on repositories of looted art.

It’s thought that her work allowed over 60,000 pieces of art to be returned to France. Valland also acted as a witness during the Nuremberg Trials (including that of Hermann Goering, who stole large quantities of art) and worked with the French army and government to continue to return art to France.

She received the Légion d’honneur for her services and was awarded the Médaille de la Résistance as well as being decorated by the German and American governments.

5. Agnès de La Barre de Nanteuil

61° Operational Training UNIT (OTU) RAF 1943. Agnes is sitting in the command seat.

Image Credit: Creative Commons

Aged just 17 when war broke out, de Nanteuil joined the Red Cross in 1940 and later joined the Resistance where she was known as Agent Claude. Having been a keen member of the scouts as a teenager, she took up a role as a scout leader which allowed her to travel from place to place on a bicycle with messages hidden in her handlebars, or to place landing lights for parachuters.

In March 1944, she returned home to find the Gestapo waiting for her: one of the other members of the Resistance had revealed her identity under torture. De Nanteuil was imprisoned and tortured for information multiple times, but disclosed nothing. In August 1944, she was packed into an old cattle car for deportation to Germany when she was shot: either in an attack by British planes or by a Nazi soldier to prevent her escaping.

She died from her injuries a few days later: before she passed away, she forgave the Resistance worker who had betrayed her. She was posthumously awarded the Resistance Medal by Charles de Gaulle in 1947.