Language

The first English-speaking pope

The lost language of Adrian IV (1100-1159)

May 14 •

How the Goths changed the fate of Europe

A guide to Gothic language and history

May 10 •

The strange death of English ‘R’

And why it survived in America

Apr 26 •

“She” is a weird word

The mysterious origin of a simple pronoun

Apr 9 •

When poetry didn’t rhyme

The ancient art of alliterative verse

Mar 12 •

When English worked like Latin

And how it all fell apart

Feb 26 •

The invention that ruined English writing

Because it came 25 years too early

Feb 12 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts