John Balliol had to decide whether his first loyalty was to the throne of Scotland or to the man who put him there.

What were the Scots thinking back in 1290, when they asked King Edward I of England, of all people, to choose them a king?

As a young prince Henry V was ‘fierce and of wanton courage,’ Thomas Elyot tells us, but there was one man with courage to match his.

When the Rising of the North went all wrong in 1569, rebel leader Thomas Percy turned to trusted ally Hector of Harlaw for help.

A much-travelled Spanish visitor amazes an English audience with his tales of wonder overseas, until he is brought up short by his servant.

In the days of King James I, Thomas Coryat visited Italy and came home with an affected Continental habit: eating with a fork.