With the emperor dead and two thirds of his army destroyed Adrianople was one of the major setbacks in Roman history.  In fact it has often been regarded as one of the decisive battles in the decline and fall of the Roman empire. It was certainly regarded as extremely serious by the people at the

I was shocked to hear the news that women will not be allowed to become bishops in the Church of England.  I had no idea that they were banned in the first place.  I had thought that when they were allowed to join the clergy in the first place, that opened up the whole hierarchy.

The opening lines of Henry V, the ‘Oh for a muse of fire’ ones, are justly famous for their beauty and literary flare.  But at the end of the day, they are basically an excuse for poor staging.  We are being told that the actors are doing their best but you’ll have to use your

Since the time of the first emperor. Augustus, there had been a rough equilibrium between the empire and the German tribes.  The empire had been too big for the Germans to defeat, but too overextended to threaten their independence.  But with the Huns now about to wipe out the Germans the position had changed.  The equilibrium

The origin of the Huns is obscure.  Gibbon traces it back to early first century when they were known as the Tanjou and lived on the borders of China just north of the Great Wall. This was not a coincidence. The Tanjou were a force to be reckoned with.  They had put together a vast

“If a thing can be said in ten words, I may be relied upon to take a hundred to say it. I ought to apologize for that. I ought to prune, pare and extirpate excess growth, but I will not. I like words – strike that, I love words.” – The Fry Chronicles   A