David Musgrove
@djmusgrove.bsky.social
Content director BBC History magazine; HistoryExtra web and podcast
Here's a Friday thought for you. What if there was more than one Bayeux Tapestry made in the 11th century? Prof John Blair has a hunch about that open.substack.com/pub/historye...
What if there was one more than one Bayeux Tapestry?
Where's Wadard and what has he got to with an exciting new theory about the 11th-century embroidery?
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Here's a Friday thought for you. What if there was more than one Bayeux Tapestry made in the 11th century? Prof John Blair has a hunch about that open.substack.com/pub/historye...
The most powerful conversation I’ve had in my Life Lessons from History series: this chat with @helengittos.bsky.social about the importance of ritual in our lives, and I guess how we cope with our deaths, really made me think. Hope it does the same for you. open.substack.com/pub/historye...
Why we should be better about talking about death, with Dr Helen Gittos
For our ancestors, death was part of daily life. We can learn from their open conversations about this taboo topic, says Dr Helen Gittos, and create modern rituals to help us cope
open.substack.com
August 30, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The most powerful conversation I’ve had in my Life Lessons from History series: this chat with @helengittos.bsky.social about the importance of ritual in our lives, and I guess how we cope with our deaths, really made me think. Hope it does the same for you. open.substack.com/pub/historye...
My take on the curious case of the wrong moustache in King and Conqueror. Am I correct in contemplating whether we've been suckered in by an overly literal interpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry? historyextralifelessons.substack.com/p/the-wrong-...
The wrong moustache in the Battle of Hastings
What's going on with the facial hair in King and Conqueror, have we been suckered in by an overly literal understanding of the Bayeux Tapestry, and what did a Viking beard really look like?
historyextralifelessons.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 3:32 PM
My take on the curious case of the wrong moustache in King and Conqueror. Am I correct in contemplating whether we've been suckered in by an overly literal interpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry? historyextralifelessons.substack.com/p/the-wrong-...
Coming to @historyextra.bsky.social some time soon
Greatly enjoyed recording a podcast with @djmusgrove.bsky.social this afternoon.
August 16, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Coming to @historyextra.bsky.social some time soon
Reposted by David Musgrove
Over on Substack, inspired by my book ‘Silence of the Gods’ @djmusgrove.bsky.social attempts to learn from Europe’s last pagans… open.substack.com/pub/historye...
Hug a tree like a pagan from the margins of Europe
David Musgrove finds out from Francis Young why we should engage in creative spirituality in the same way that the non-Christian people of the Baltic and far north did for centuries
open.substack.com
August 2, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Over on Substack, inspired by my book ‘Silence of the Gods’ @djmusgrove.bsky.social attempts to learn from Europe’s last pagans… open.substack.com/pub/historye...
I'm pretty sure I didn't call for it to be renamed, and it isn't breaking news to say that it isnt a tapestry and most experts think it was made in England, but all press is good press if it makes more people interested in the mighty Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry should be re-named the 'Canterbury Embroidery' because it was probably made in Kent and ISN'T a tapestry, historian says
Dr David Musgrove said the 230-foot long artefact was most likely woven in Kent rather than France and was created using an embroidery technique, meaning it...
Dr David Musgrove said the 230-foot long artefact was most likely woven in Kent rather than France and was created using an embroidery technique, meaning it...
Bayeux Tapestry should be re-named the 'Canterbury Embroidery'
Dr David Musgrove said the 230-foot long artefact was most likely woven in Kent rather than France and was created using an embroidery technique, meaning it is not a tapestry.
www.dailymail.co.uk
July 25, 2025 at 11:54 AM
I'm pretty sure I didn't call for it to be renamed, and it isn't breaking news to say that it isnt a tapestry and most experts think it was made in England, but all press is good press if it makes more people interested in the mighty Bayeux Tapestry
I find myself curiously fascinated by the history of poo, and what people did with it. So I spent a happy few hours writing up this piece about how the city fathers of Victorian Manchester struggled to find a place to dump their urban excrement.
www.historyextra.com/period/victo...
www.historyextra.com/period/victo...
What did Victorians do with their poo? The battle over the 19th-century excrement explosion
The industrial revolution caused huge growth in the urban population – and with it, a rising tide of human waste. Find out how the leaders of Victorian cities tried to cope with the excrement explosio...
www.historyextra.com
June 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I find myself curiously fascinated by the history of poo, and what people did with it. So I spent a happy few hours writing up this piece about how the city fathers of Victorian Manchester struggled to find a place to dump their urban excrement.
www.historyextra.com/period/victo...
www.historyextra.com/period/victo...
There’s a lot to worry about in the world. But that’s nothing new. The ancient Babylonians and Assyrians were very big on worrying, and also very proactive about trying to deal with it. What can we learn from them to assuage our anxieties? historyextra.substack.com/p/give-away-...
Give away your worries, like an ancient Mesopotamian
What can we learn about managing worrying from the people of ancient Assyria and Babylonia? Dr Selena Wisnom offers some Near Eastern wisdom to Dave Musgrove
historyextra.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 12:10 PM
There’s a lot to worry about in the world. But that’s nothing new. The ancient Babylonians and Assyrians were very big on worrying, and also very proactive about trying to deal with it. What can we learn from them to assuage our anxieties? historyextra.substack.com/p/give-away-...
Morning all. I'm doing a new thing. It's Life Lessons from History, where I ask historians to tell me things that will help us live healthier, happier, better lives today. My first guest is Ronald Hutton, who told me to allow a little enchantment into my life open.substack.com/pub/historye...
Don’t fear the fairies – but do allow a little enchantment into your life
In an age in which we are no longer mortally afraid of the supernatural, there's space to enjoy freely magic and ritual, Professor Ronald Hutton tells David Musgrove
open.substack.com
May 31, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Morning all. I'm doing a new thing. It's Life Lessons from History, where I ask historians to tell me things that will help us live healthier, happier, better lives today. My first guest is Ronald Hutton, who told me to allow a little enchantment into my life open.substack.com/pub/historye...