MedievalFest

This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre Pigott Theatre. It will be simultaneously live streamed on the British Library platform. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person (physical) or to watch on our platform (online) either live or within 48 hours on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out in the confirmation email you receive after booking.

Prepare to go medieval as HistFest brings a historical extravaganza to the British Library this December! Join us for a special day of talks and discussions with leading historians, writers and speakers, who'll delve into rich medieval histories to explore global stories, war, literature, and much more.

Doors open at 10:00. 

Half price tickets available for Members, Students, Under 26 and other concession groups.

10.30AM – ANNA KOMNENE, BYZANTIUM AND THE WIDER WORLD

Princess Anna Komnene wrote one of the most important primary sources in medieval literature, The Alexiad. Peter Frankopan details Anna Komnene’s life and times within the context of Byzantium and the wider medieval world, in conversation with Rebecca Rideal.

• Peter Frankopan is Professor of Global History at Oxford University. He is the author of books including The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, The Earth Transformed and The First Crusade: The Call from the East (‘A dazzling book’ – Time Out). He is also the editor of the 2009 revised translation of Anna Komnene’s The Alexiad. 

• Rebecca Rideal is a historian, bestselling author, award-winning producer, and the director of the HistFest. Her book, 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire (John Murray) is “gripping and beautifully written” (BBC History Magazine). She tutors at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education and is host of the Killing Time podcast.

12.30PM – HOW TO OVERTHROW A MEDIEVAL RULER
From the brutality of the battlefield to conspiracies at court – what does it take to overthrow a medieval ruler? Charlie Higson and a star-studded team of experts, Nathen Amin, Helen Castor and Lubaaba Al-Azami, take a deep dive into medieval plots, conspiracies and power.

Charlie Higson is an author, actor, comedian and writer for television and radio. He wrote the Young Bond series which has now sold over a million copies in the UK and has been translated into over 24 different languages. His TV successes include The Fast Show, Randall and Hopkirk Deceased and 2015’s Jekyll and Hyde.

Nathen Amin is an author from Wales who focuses on the fifteenth century. He is the author of The House of Beaufort (2017), Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders (2021) and Son of Prophecy: Origins of the Tudor Dynasty (2024). Nathen is a trustee of the Henry Tudor Trust and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Helen Castor is a historian and a Bye-Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Her first book, Blood & Roses, was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the English Association's Beatrice White Prize. She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, was made into a BBC series, and The Eagle and the Hart has just been published to wide acclaim.

Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami is Lecturer in Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature at the University of Manchester and a research fellow at the University of Liverpool. She is founding editor of the digital platform Medieval and Early Modern Orients. Her book, Traveller in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India Connected England to the World (John Murray Press, 2024), is out now.

1.45-2.45PM live music – be captivated by the astonishing Kate Arnold on the hammered dulcimer. Classically trained on violin and vocals, most of Kate’s work is based around the hammered dulcimer, often using live-looping and real-time electronic effects. She is working on a new album drawing partly on material encountered during her current PhD research on medieval crusade songs and their Arabic counterparts. 

3PM – MEDIEVAL LITERATURE: FROM BEOWULF TO DU FU
Historians Michael Wood, Heather O’Donoghue and Janina Ramirez traverse the globe to explore medieval literature – from the epic tale of Beowulf to the oeuvre of one of China’s greatest poets, Du Fu (712-70). What can literature tell us about the Medieval period more broadly?

This event is kindly supported by PLB Ltd.

• Heather O’Donoghue is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse at University of Oxford. Her latest book, Beowulf: Poem, Poet, Hero (Bloomsbury Academic), published earlier this year. She has also broadcast with the BBC on the topic of the Norse Gods.
• Michael Wood is the author of multiple bestselling books, Professor of Public History at Manchester University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. His latest book is In the Footsteps of Du Fu. 
• Janina Ramirez is a lecturer in medieval history at the University of Oxford, a critically acclaimed broadcaster, and the author of Private Lives of the Saints, Julian of Norwich, Beowulf: A Ladybird Expert Book, and the instant Sunday Times bestseller Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages.

5PM – MEDIEVAL BODIES
From Sutton Hoo to Richard II I – much of what we know about the medieval world comes from what has been buried in the earth. Raksha Dave and Shazia Jagot explore the lives of medieval people through the evidence they have left behind. What can burial sites tell us about medieval health? Which recent finds have been most surprising?

• Raksha Dave is an archaeologist, author and broadcaster, and President of the Council for British Archaeology. A regular on Channel 4's Time Team, Raksha has since presented shows including ‘Digging for Britain’, ‘Digging up Britain’s Past’ and 'Inside Windsor Castle'. Her book Lessons from Our Ancestors won the Discover category for the British Book Awards 2024. 

• Shazia Jagot: Dr Shazia Jagot is Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Global Literature at the University of York. Her research focuses on cultural and intellectual interaction between the Islamic world and Medieval Europe. She holds a PhD from the University of Leicester and has worked in Jordon, Denmark, and the UK. She is on the advisory board for the British Library’s Medieval Women exhibition.

This event accompanies the British Library exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words (25 October – 2 March 2025). Separate ticket for exhibition entry required. Explore the Medieval Women events series here.

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