Peter Sawyer obituary
Influential scholar of the Vikings who challenged the standard view of them as invaders and destroyers
Miriam Griffin obituary
Oxford classical scholar and expert on Seneca who offered new insights into the torrid world of Roman imperial politics
Ian Roy obituary
Other lives: Expert on the English civil war
The cult of Mary Beard
The long read: How a late-blossoming classics don became Britain’s most beloved intellectual
West Country witchcraft and the hanged women of urban Exeter
Why were so many women accused and then put to death in 16th and 17th century Devon?
Hard times: 20th century conflict dominates historical fiction
Research into 650 novels submitted to the Walter Scott prize finds the second world war is the favourite setting for historical novels, while the shifting Victorian and Georgian eras eclipse ‘just a smattering’ of ancient settings
Denis Mack Smith obituary
Eminent historian of modern Italy who was a true populariser of his subject
Hilary Mantel was right – some academics dislike novelists. But why?
Hostility between academics and popular historians has a lengthy history of its own. Yet it doesn’t make sense – nonfiction and fiction nurture each other
Why Lucy Worsley will do whatever it takes to get people involved
The television historian says silly costumes and play acting help get her message across
Spy report that criticised Marlowe for ‘gay Christ’ claim is revealed online
British Library releases ‘Baines note’ in which playwright Christopher Marlowe scandalously suggests Christian communion should be smoked in a pipe
Dictionary of 50,000 surnames and their origins published
Four-year study by linguists and historians of British and Irish records back to 11th century analyses family names
Alex Danchev obituary
Historian and biographer who explored the political and ethical force of art
Lost cities #4: Pompeii was preserved by disaster. Now it risks ruin all over again
The volcanic eruption that destroyed the Roman city also froze it in time – but now, 2,000 years later, it is alive with people who threaten its existence all over again
Antony Copley obituary
Other lives: Historian and campaigner who taught at universities around the world
Why you should record the stories of your parents or grandparents
The story of GR Gemin’s Italian immigrant parents moving to Wales in the 1950s has inspired his new book, Sweet Pizza. One regret: never recording the oral history of his dad before he died