Archives

What was the world’s first novel?

Q&A What was the world’s first novel? • SHORT ANSWER It somewhat depends on what defines a novel, but The Tale of Genji has it all • LONG ANSWER The most common answer to this question is The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, an epic piece of Japanese literature written in the early 11th […]

What is a cilice?

Q&A What is a cilice? • SHORT ANSWER Either a hairshirt or a barbed metal chain. Either way, it’s going to hurt • LONG ANSWER Throughout the centuries, and to this day, some Christians have put faith above comfort by wearing one of the two types of cilice. The first version is better known as […]

Was Napoleon defeated by rabbits?

Q&A Was Napoleon defeated by rabbits? • SHORT ANSWER If only the other European powers had thought to attack Napoleon with bunny soldiers • LONG ANSWER The year was 1807 and no man in Europe was as powerful as Napoleon Bonaparte: as emperor of France, he had swatted aside coalitions formed against him with monumental […]

How old is the Auld Alliance?

Q&A How old is the Auld Alliance? • SHORT ANSWER More than 700 years ago, France and Scotland came together in their shared anti-Englishness • LONG ANSWER The purpose of France and Scotland forming the Auld Alliance can be summed up by the adage: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Forged on 23 […]

Why do we say ‘goodbye’?

Q&A Why do we say ‘goodbye’? • SHORT ANSWER It has morphed from the original 16th-century parting phrase • LONG ANSWER With so many variants of goodbye, from ‘farewell’ to ‘see you later, alligator’, the word today seems to be regarded with a certain formality, even finality. Yet it was initially imbued with religious significance […]

Where did the Celts come from?

Q&A Where did the Celts come from? • SHORT ANSWER The answer to this one is like Disney’s greatest works: a fairy tale • LONG ANSWER Today, there are six so-called Celtic nations – Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany – but they are where Celtic cultures and languages survived, not […]

Welcome

Welcome to the Christmas 2021 issue of BBC History Revealed, from editor Charlotte Hodgman