Holy grail: Did you mean...?

A medieval manuscript illustration depicting the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (r. 1191-1197 CE). (Codex Manesse, 1305-1315 CE)

Portrait of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (l. 1747-92), wearing a field marshal's uniform. Painted in the workshop of Jean-Marc Nattier, c. 1790.

The Holy Cross Cathedral is the main Greek Catholic church of Uzhhorod, Ukraine and is the residence of the Mukachevo bishops. The cathedral was founded in 1640. The exterior of the cathedral is done in the neoclassical style.

The facade of the Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Orléans, France. 13-16th century CE.

The German Crusade of 1197 CE, also known as the 'Emperor's Crusade', was led by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (r. 1191-1197 CE). Although the emperor died on his way east, his army did capture Beirut from the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty...

The Debate Between Sheep and Grain (c. 2000 BCE) is one of the best-known Sumerian literary debates in a genre that was popular entertainment by the late 3rd millennium BCE. In this piece, personifications of grain and sheep argue which is...

The Carolingian Dynasty (751-887) was a family of Frankish nobles who ruled Francia and its successor kingdoms in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The dynasty expanded from Francia as far as modern Italy, Spain, and...

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...

Part of Votive Panel of Jan Očko of Vlašim depicting Charles IV. Tempera on limewood, before 1371. National Museum, Prague.

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns organised by popes and Christian western powers to take Jerusalem and the Holy Land back from Muslim control and then defend those gains. There were eight major official crusades between 1095...