BBC History Revealed Magazine - August 2023

In this issue

Matriarchs and mystics
Meet the fearless queens and ‘influencers’ who wielded power within a deeply patriarchal social order.

Making an honest living
We explore the vast array of jobs that occupied medieval women: from doing the laundry to running businesses.

Changing identities
Uncover the story of the Chevalier d’Éon – the 18th-century French spy who chose to live as a woman..

The Troian War

The ancient clash between the Greeks and Trojans has captivated people for millennia. Danny Bird looks at its influence on the Romans, what archaeologists have found, and whether it was all just a myth

4 mins

William Blake: Romantic visionary

Seeing the world in a way that made his contemporaries think him mad, Blake was a minor figure in his own time. Today, as Danny Bird reveals, he's regarded as one of Britain's greatest-ever artists and poets

3 mins

5 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF BEAUTY

Lucy Jane Santos examines a selection of the cosmetic practices our forebears used in a bid to keep themselves looking their best

4 mins

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MEDIEVAL WOMEN

Dr Eleanor Janega addresses common misconceptions surrounding the lives of women during the Middle Ages

7 mins

DOMESTIC BLISS?

From raising children to baking bread, medieval women were forced to bear the brunt of the household duties

5 mins

PIOUS PIONEERS

Although men still called the shots, women played an active and important role in the development of the medieval church

5 mins

MAKING AN HONEST LIVING

Women of the Middle Ages didn't just carry out chores at home – they crafted, created and cultivated in all manner of environments

4 mins

CHANGING IDENTITIES

What happens when a spy becomes the subject of other people's investigations? Nige Tassell delves into the life of the Chevalier d'Éon - the French master of disguise who defied conventional notions of gender

8 mins

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY

A timeless image of self-actualisation that reveals the power of art to create change

2 mins

THE HUNT FOR THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN

From Alexander the Great to Sir Edmund Hillary, the Yeti has fascinated visitors to the Himalayas for millennia. Jonny Wilkes follows in the footsteps of the cryptid and the explorers who have spent their lives trying to find it

6 mins

Read all stories from BBC History Revealed

BBC History Revealed Magazine Description:

History Revealed brings the past to life for everyone. It’s an action-packed, image-rich magazine with zero stuffiness, jam-packed with facts, features and historical fun. If you enjoy finding out how things happened, love a good story, want to revel in stunning images from the past, or lap up trivia and facts, then History Revealed is the magazine for you.