Holy grail: Did you mean...?

Simon Reeve begins in Istanbul, Turkey, a busy medieval staging post for pilgrims to the Holy Land. Before falling to the Ottoman Empire, it was the centre of Roman Christianity under Emperor Constantine. His mother Helena, arguably the first...

Boniface cuts down holy oak of 'Jupiter' or Donar.

The 'Banner of the Holy Wounds' which was used by protesters during the Pilgrimage of Grace uprising of October 1536 CE against the reforms of the Catholic Church made by Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE).

Equestrian portrait of Charles I of Spain aka Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor by Titian depicting Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg in April 1547 where he defeated the Protestant forces of the Schmalkaldic League, 1548. Museo del Prado...

Illustration of an enthroned Lothar I, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 840-855), King of Middle Francia (Lotharingia) and Italy (r. 843-855). Copied by G.W. Hutin, 1821, from a 9th-century manuscript of the Gospels. The British Museum, London.

Illustration of an enthroned Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 875-877 CE), King of West Francia (r. 843–877) and Italy (r. 875–877). Copied by G.W. Hutin, 1821, from a 9th-century manuscript of the Gospels. The British Museum, London...

Stained glass from St Etheldreda's church in Ely Place, London.

The Investiture Controversy, also referred to as the Investiture Contest or Investiture Dispute, was a conflict lasting from 1076 to 1122 between the papacy of the Catholic Church and the Salian Dynasty of German monarchs who ruled the Holy...

Dr Thomas Asbridge presents a revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable violence...

The Ark of the Covenant refers to the box-like container that held the tablets of the Law received by Moses on Mount Sinai. Tradition claimed that it contained two stone tablets, carved by God, listing the first ten commandments given to...