Contents

CHRISTMAS 2012

FEATURES

20 The dark side of the Anglo-Saxons Early medieval England wasn’t the utopia of popular perception, argues Ryan Lavelle

28 Shopping with the Romans If you fancied splashing your sesterces then, says Claire Holleran, the imperial capital was the place to do it

37 Toys and games that killed in Tudor England Steven Gunn and Tomasz Gromelski on the mishaps that could befall playing children in the 16th century

42 The Maya and the Apocalypse Rob Attar considers whether an ancient people really predicted the end of the world in December 2012

50 Napoleon’s great cultural charade Alan Forrest reveals how the emperor used the arts to project a favourable image of himself to the French people

56 The Victorian trade in dead bodies Elizabeth T Hurren describes how paupers’ bodies were dissected for medical research in the 19th century

4

EVERY MONTH

6 Letters

8 The big picture

News 10 Breaking news

16 World news in context: Catalonia

33 Big days in history by Dominic Sandbrook

47 Changing times by Chris Bowlby

61 Books of the year Experts select their favourite reads of 2012,

plus the best historical fiction and DVDs

73 TV&Radio What’s on over Christmas

Out&About 76 Where history happened: The Tudor Navy 82 Ten things to do at Christmas

84 Ye olde travel guide: Philadelphia 1774

Miscellany 91 Q&A: Your historical questions answered 95 Christmas prize crossword:

Your chance to win £189 worth of books 96 Christmas quiz

98 My history hero by Ian Rankin

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USPS Identification Statement BBC HISTORY (ISSN 1469-8552) (USPS 024-177) Christmas 2012 is published 13 times a year under license from BBC Worldwide by Immediate Media Company Bristol, 9th Floor, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN, UK. Distributed in the US by Evergreen Marketing, 116 Ram Cat Alley, Suite 201, Seneca, SC 29678-3263. Periodicals postage paid at Seneca, SC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBC HISTORY, PO Box 669, Selmer, TN 38375-0669.

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