List: Writing History | Curated by Pauline Montagna

Aug 21, 2024
19 stories
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Writing HistoryEssays and reflections on history, particularly Medieval Italy, Britain and Australia.
Pauline Montagna
The Curse of the Tichborne Dole: A Medieval Postscript to the Amazing Story of the Tichborne…Could a medieval curse have predicted the challenge posed to the Tichborne family by the notorious Tichborne Claimant?
May 28, 2022
May 28, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Butcher or Baronet: The Amazing Story of the Tichborne ClaimantHow could this rough, dirty and barely competent Australian butcher have made a convincing claim to one of England’s oldest and richest…
May 27, 2022
May 27, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Lord Leicester’s Love Child: Part TwoDespite, or perhaps because of, his unfortunate birth, Sir Robert Dudley went on to have the exciting life his father might well have…
May 26, 2022
May 26, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Lord Leicester’s Love ChildDiscover a long forgotten love affair at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.
May 25, 2022
May 25, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Perkin Warbeck: The Man Who Would be KingCould Perkin Warbeck have actually been Richard of York, rescued from the Tower of London and returning to England to reclaim the throne…
May 24, 2022
May 24, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The ‘Pyjama Girl’ Mystery: case closed or forced shut?The ‘Pyjama Girl’ case was one of Australia’s most sensational murder mysteries, but did the police really ‘get their man’ in the end?
Mar 10, 2022
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Mar 10, 2022
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Pauline Montagna
Dictating Morality: the exclusion of Mrs Mabel FreerWhy was a British woman given a dictation test in Italian on her arrival in Australia in 1936? We might never know the answer.
Mar 13, 2022
Mar 13, 2022
Pauline Montagna
A Fatal Tryst: The Bogle/Chandler MysteryAt the height of the Cold War, a brilliant physicist and the wife of his colleague are found dead ‘in flagrante delicto’. Was it murder…
Mar 15, 2022
Mar 15, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The ‘Flogging Parson’ and the Convict GirlIn colonial New South Wales, a convict girl defies a panel of magistrates and refuses to accuse her master of sexually abusing her. Were…
Mar 9, 2022
Mar 9, 2022
Pauline Montagna
A Warrior of the Golden HordeThe Golden Horde, the Mongol empire of the west, ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, roamed the Russian steppe, coming far west…
Feb 2, 2022
Feb 2, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Slavery in Medieval ItalyAlthough largely hidden from history, slaves were a significant but largely unrecognised class in Medieval Italy.
Feb 3, 2022
Feb 3, 2022
Pauline Montagna
La Pestilenza: The Black Death in ItalyThe Black Death entered Europe through Italy where it brought with it utter devastation.
Feb 6, 2022
Feb 6, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The Scourge of Italy: the Condottieri and their mercenary armiesThe Medieval Italian city states outsourced their war making to mercenary armies, a cost cutting measure that would cost them dearly.
Feb 7, 2022
Feb 7, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The Duel of HonourThe Duel of Honour was invented by the Italians, and while brutal, it had an elaborate set of rules.
Feb 8, 2022
Feb 8, 2022
Pauline Montagna
La Caccia: Hunting in Medieval ItalyHunting in all forms was popular in Medieval Italy, especially amongst the aristocracy.
Feb 1, 2022
Feb 1, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Women and Marriage in Medieval ItalyMarriage in Medieval Italy was was more about cementing an alliance between families than finding love, and women had very little say in…
Jan 31, 2022
Jan 31, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The Merchant of PratoFrancesco di Marco Datini, better known as the Merchant of Prato, left a personal archive that has given us an intimate portrait of the…
Jan 30, 2022
Jan 30, 2022
Pauline Montagna
The Medieval Italian City StateNorthern Italy’s characteristic walled cities flourished during the late Middle Ages and laid the foundations for urban life in modern…
Jan 27, 2022
Jan 27, 2022
Pauline Montagna
Northern Italy in the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages in Northern Italy were a tumultuous time marked by an economic boom which led to the foundation of Europe’s modern urban…
Jan 26, 2022
Jan 26, 2022