By Tim Lambert The Observation of Mercury Mercury is named after the messenger of the Roman gods. Mercury is visible to the naked eye and it has been known since Ancient Times. In the early 17th century Galileo observed Mercury through his telescope. In 1631 Pierre Gassendi became the first man to observe a transit… Continue reading A Short History of the Planet Mercury
A Short History of The Planet Mars
By Tim Lambert The observation of Mars The planet Mars was named after the Roman god of war. However, it was impossible to observe any details on Mars until the telescope was invented. Galileo was the first person to turn a telescope on Mars in 1610. The telescope Galileo had was not powerful enough to… Continue reading A Short History of The Planet Mars
A History of Jupiter and Saturn
By Tim Lambert Jupiter The planet Jupiter is named after a Roman god. It has been known since ancient times but before the invention of the telescope, nothing could be seen on its surface. Saturn is also named after a Roman god and has also been known since ancient times. In 1610 Galileo discovered 4… Continue reading A History of Jupiter and Saturn
Common Myths About the Middle Ages
By Tim Lambert The Arabs burned the Library of Alexandria This is very unlikely to be true. In ancient times there was a great library at Alexandria in Egypt. According to the story when the Arabs conquered Egypt in 640 AD Caliph Omar ordered all the books in the library to be burned. They supplied… Continue reading Common Myths About the Middle Ages
A Biography of King Canute
By Tim Lambert Canute was a great king of the 11th century. He was probably born in the early 990s (the exact date is not known). His father was King Sweyn of Denmark. It’s believed his mother was Polish. In 1013 his father, the Danish king Sweyn invaded England. His fleet sailed up the Humber… Continue reading A Biography of King Canute
A Biography of William the Conqueror
By Tim Lambert His Early Life William the Conqueror was born about 1028. He was the son of Robert I Duke of Normandy. His father died in 1035. At first, William was too young to rule but as he grew older he took control of Normandy. In 1053 he married a woman named Matilda of… Continue reading A Biography of William the Conqueror
A Biography of King Richard I
By Tim Lambert King Richard I was born in 1157 in Oxford. His father was Henry II and his mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was an educated man. In 1172 he became Duke of Aquitaine. In 1183 his older brother Henry died and he became heir to the throne of England. Richard succeeded his… Continue reading A Biography of King Richard I
A Biography of King John
By Tim Lambert His Early Life King John was born in December 1166 or 1167. John was a younger son of Henry II and he was not expected to become king. His father conquered Ireland and in 1185 John was sent to that country. The expedition was a failure and John returned to England in… Continue reading A Biography of King John
Tudor Clothes
By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Yvonne Shaw For rich Tudors fashion was important. Their clothes were very elaborate. For the poor clothes had to be tough and practical. All classes wore wool. However, it varied in quality. The rich wore fine-quality wool. The poor wore coarse wool. The Tudors used linen to make shirts and… Continue reading Tudor Clothes
Tudor Education
By Tim Lambert In the early 16th century, many boys went to chantry schools. Rich men left money in their wills to pay priests to pray for their souls. After the religious changes of the 1540s, the chantry schools were closed. However many rich men founded grammar schools. Boys usually went to a kind of… Continue reading Tudor Education