by Theresa Haynes | May 22, 2024 | Thomas Abell
You don’t have to be an Anglophile to know King Henry VIII had six wives. Even in American schools, many of us memorized the little ditty: “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” The rhyme helps keep the fate of Henry’s wives straight, but it...
by Theresa Haynes | May 22, 2024 | Thomas Abell
Visitors to London’s most popular historical site, the Tower of London, have heard stories of the fortress’s sordid past. On any given day, the black square-hatted Yeomen Wardens, the “Beefeaters,” roam the castle complex, ready to entertain curious tourists...
by Theresa Haynes | Jun 25, 2023 | Thomas Abell
Midsummer was a big deal in the pre-modern world. In Scandinavia, it still is. I lived in Sweden for three summers and saw the traditions firsthand with the flower wreaths, strawberries, green maypoles, silly dances, smoked fish, and snaps. Nothing is quite as sweet...
by Theresa Haynes | Jun 23, 2023 | Thomas Abell
I was writing today, and there he was, all sad eyes and soft fur, sitting faithfully at the end of Katherine’s bed. He refused to leave her side, and when he noticed me, he laid his head on his paws, and I knew he absolutely existed. But then the historian in my...
by Theresa Haynes | Apr 20, 2023 | Travel
Like many American Christians, I have always dreamed of going to Israel and walking through the land of the Bible. Two months ago, a dear friend from college spontaneously called and invited me to join her on a last-minute work trip to Israel. Five days later, I was...