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OCTOBER 2023

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In 1307 the world of the K n i g h t s Temp l a r came crashing down. Targeted by the pope and the kings of France and England, they were arrested, interrogated, tried, tortured, and – in many cases – executed. But what was behind this savage attack on the military-religious order? Were the Templars really guilty of the vicious charges they were accused of ? In our cover feature this month (page 22), historian Steve Tibble looks back at the trials to consider the strengths – and weaknesses – of the case against them.

While (spoiler alert) the Templars were often tried for crimes they hadn’t committed, the opposite was the case in the aftermath of the Second World War. Although some senior Nazis were brought to justice, the vast majority never faced the consequences of their actions. One of the most notorious examples is Josef Mengele, the sadistic ‘doctor’ of Auschwitz who fled to South America in the late 1940s. Though Mengele ultimately evaded justice, attempts were made to locate him, and on page 35 we’ve interviewed Gerald Posner who embarked on a mission to track him down in the 1980s.

Finally, I’ve never sought to disguise my identity as the author of this Editor’s Letter, but many of the most fascinating – and disturbing – epistles from history were written anonymously. In her feature on page 40, Emily Cockayne analyses a s e le c t ion of these from the past 150 years, revealing a long history behind the online trolling of today.

I hope you enjoy the issue.

Rob A t ta r Editor

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

1. My timbers shivered

I fo und t he s c a l e of e as t A s i an p i r ac y r eve a l e d i n

Adam Clulow’s piece this month to be quite staggering. For instance, one pirate l e ade r had more t han 17,0 0 0 pirates under her command in t he e a r l y 19 t h c ent u r y

( p age 61).

2. Smel l you ea r l i e r

In this month’s Q&A (page 55), I was surprised to discover that deodor-

ant only became commonplace around 100 years ago, and swiftly c anc e l l e d my p l ans to build a time machine.

3. Man o f t he peop l e

Our feature on the real story of Dick Whittington is full of interesting details, including the fact that the medieval mayor left his entire fortune (around £7m in today’s terms) to charit y (page 52).

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

Sophie Hay “I continually find myself walking through the streets of Pompeii, so I’ve become fascinated by the rich archaeological evidence that can reveal the vibrancy of Roman life that took place along them.” Sophie reveals the secrets of the perfectly preserved streets of Rome’s doomed city on page 28

Gerald Posner “Whether you’re a social justice lawyer or an investigative journalist, nothing gets you quite as focused as the idea that some evildoer has not just gotten away with it, but is enjoying the spoils of what they did – and that was certainly the case with Josef Mengele.” Gerald re fl ec t s on his hunt for Mengele on page 35

Emily Cockayne “An investigation of anonymous letters involves a lot of sleuthing, but i t reveals r ich and intriguing details about past communities and the various ways people related to others.” Emily considers what anonymous hate mail can tell us about our changing society on page 40

Jonathan Sumption “The Hundred Years’ War was a complete war in the sense that we are not just looking at armies marching to and fro. We are looking at the efforts of an entire population, even if they were not directly affected by it.” Jonathan discusses the concluding year s of the pivotal medieval conflict on page 66

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