Topic description and stories

Thomas Cromwell painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1532-3. The Frick Collection

Trinity College prayer book belonged to Thomas Cromwell, new research suggests

09 Jun 2023

The Hardouyn Hours, a jewelled fifteenth-century prayer book in Trinity College Library belonged to Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to King Henry...

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Henry VIII statue on the Great Gate of Trinity College Cambridge

Katherine Parr did not persuade Henry VIII to found Trinity College Cambridge

17 May 2022

King Henry VIII had already made up his mind to found Trinity College Cambridge and Christ Church Oxford before Cambridge lobbied his queen, a re-...

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Left: Giovanni Battista Moroni, Portrait of a Gentleman with His Helmet on a Column, ca. 1555-56. Middle: Giovanni Battista Moroni, The Gentlemen in Pink, 1560, Palazzo Moroni, Bergamo. Right: Moretto da Brescia, Portrait of a Man, 1526, Oil on canvas.

Arms and the man: how a culture of warfare shapes masculinity

31 Mar 2016

The trappings of violence were embedded into the culture of 16th century Europe. Victoria Bartels, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of History, has...

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How artisans used colour printing to add another dimension to woodcuts

21 Jan 2016

An exhibition of early colour printing in Germany shines a light on the ways in which technology jump-started a revolution in image making. The...

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Great Comet of 1577, which Kepler witnessed as a child.

The astronomer and the witch – how Kepler saved his mother from the stake

22 Oct 2015

Ulinka Rublack, Professor of Early Modern European History, discusses the reputation of astronomer Johannes Kepler and his mother Katharina, and the...

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Detail of one of the triumphal arches built for the entrance of James I to London in March 1603, devised by Stephen Harrison and engraved by William Kip. Photograph by Michael Fleming.

Wondering what to pack for university? A guitar, perhaps, for the “refresshynge of the witte”?

24 Sep 2015

What to take to university is a question foremost in the minds of thousands of freshers up and down the country. Christopher Page’s latest book ‘The...

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Distillation in the 15th century, from Liber de Arte Distillandi de Compositis by Hieronymus Brunschwig

Men in stripes: spot the difference in early modern woodcuts

16 Jul 2015

Sixteenth-century woodcuts often depict young men wearing striped doublets or striped hose. When historian of science Tillmann Taape embarked on a...

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Derge iron water bottle.

Where to find a dragon in Cambridge

24 Jun 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, D is for...

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The Sedgwick Museum bears

Lord Byron and the bears beneath Cambridge

10 Jun 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, B is for...

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Left - portrait of Charles V; centre - portrait of Henry VIII; right - portrait of Pedro Maria Rossi

What goes up must come down: a brief history of the codpiece

30 Apr 2015

Only briefly in vogue, the codpiece has left a rich legacy in art, literature and – most recently – in televised costume drama. In focusing her...

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Detail from 16th century Persian manuscript, 'The marvels of creation and the oddities of existence'

A Book of Strange and Wonderful Tales and its Eminent Translator

20 Dec 2014

Crocodiles have pearls in their ears; statues move and speak. The first English translation of a collection of Arab fantasy stories opens a window on...

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Mr Knight’s galliard by John Dowland

‘Crown jewels’ of English lute music go online

11 Dec 2014

Handwritten copies of scores by composers of English lute music have been digitised in a programme to make a precious legacy available to...

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