28 h. ago Scots runner to spend night in 16th century jail to raise cash for Tokyo marathon bid

Chris Watson will be locked up in the Thieves' Pot, the dark, cramped dungeon hidden beneath the Thistles Shopping Centre in the heart of Stirling.

Economics

7 d. ago Newly discovered portrait may depict ‘fair youth’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets

Earl of Southampton may have given writer the miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, which has defaced heart on its reverseThe discovery of a previously unknown portrait miniature by one of Elizabethan England’s greatest artists would be significant enough. But a work by Nicholas Hilliard that has come to light is all the more exciting because it has a possible link to William Shakespeare, and a 400-year-old enigma of a defaced red heart on its reverse, suggesting a love scorned.Hilliard was Queen Elizabeth I’s official limner, or miniature painter. His exquisite portraits, small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, are among the most revered masterpieces of 16th-century British and European art. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Pink Scottish castle that 'inspired Walt Disney' named among finest in the world

The 16th century castle in Aberdeenshire was in the list alongside other iconic European landmarks.

Politics

1 week ago 'Trumpet Crumpet' Alison Balsom will retire after final gig at last Night of the Proms to spend more time with Skyfall director husband Sam Mendes and rest of her family

The musician, who is married to Skyfall director Sam Mendes, confirmed this would be her 'last night on stage'.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘A dangerous moment’: the emboldening of Britain’s far right

In a summer of anti-migrant rallies, flags and nationalistic rhetoric, observers warn there is a lack of government voices pushing backThe Bell hotel in Epping has seen a lot since it was built in the 16th century as a coaching inn, serving travellers passing through the historic Essex market town and on to London, 15 miles to the south-west. This has long been a place that bustled with outsiders, though they have not always been welcome – the small green common opposite was once named after a beacon that local stories say was built to warn of invasion.Though now wrapped in ugly 1960s extensions that have stripped it of anything approaching charm, the unassuming building – close to agricultural land and a cricket pitch – is an unlikely place to spark a potential political crisis. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Africa and maps: drawn true, its scale and promise can’t be ignored | Editorial

The push for fairer cartography rejects colonial shrinkage of a huge continent by the Mercator projection. This is not pedantry. It’s politicsThe African Union wants to replace the world’s most popular map with one that more accurately represents the continent’s size. This demand may seem better suited to geography departments than heads of government. Yet in politics, symbols matter. And the Mercator projection, devised in the 16th century to help European sailors navigate their way to conquest and commerce, has quietly shaped how we see the world for centuries.By stretching the higher latitudes and squeezing the equatorial belt, the Mercator projection distorts the relative size of continents. Europe and North America loom vast, while Africa and South America shrink. Greenland often appears roughly the same size as Africa, when in reality the continent is 14 times larger. The impression is that the north is large and central, the south peripheral and marginal. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Tudor England's unluckiest deaths revealed... including priest who 'tumbled off a toilet seat' and the butcher who walked home in slippers

In their new book, An Accidental History of Tudor England, historians Steven Gunn and Tomasz Gromelski use coroner records to reveal a side of the 16th century rarely seen.

Events

3 w. ago Monastic music that survived Henry VIII’s dissolution brought back to life

Buckland Abbey recreates music telling of medieval life in extraordinary discoveryAlmost five centuries ago a community of monks in the West Country of England gathered to sing, imploring their God to help them endure the challenges of medieval life.Thanks to an extraordinary discovery of music that survived Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th century, the songs created by the Buckland Abbey monks were ringing out again across the hills and woods of the Tavy valley in Devon this weekend.The University of Exeter Chapel Choir will perform the music live in Buckland Abbey’s medieval Great Barn on 16 and 17 August. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago African Union joins calls to end use of Mercator map that shrinks continent’s size

Member states back Correct the Map campaign that urges governments and organisations to use more accurate mapThe African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size.Created by the cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” the African Union Commission deputy chair, Selma Malika Haddadi, told Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was “marginal”, despite being the world’s second-largest continent by area, with more than 1 billion people. The union has 55 member states. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Climate crisis harming world heritage painted houses in Burkina Faso, say residents

Tiébélé’s wavy-walled houses covered in geometric lines showing signs of disintegration amid erratic weatherA world heritage site that was once a famous tourist destination is suffering from signs of disintegration, as climate change affects weather patterns.The wavy-walled houses covered with singular geometric lines of the Royal Court of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso, established in the 16th century, are recognisable all over the world. The paintings represent the thoughts, culture, and religion of the Kassena people, literally written on the walls. Continue reading...

Society