Images

A 17th-century visual manual on how to load and fire a musket.

Scythian gold appliqués. Treasure Gallery, Altes Museum, Berlin.

A 19th-century painting by Andrew Carrick Gow depicting Oliver Cromwell at the head of the New Model Army at the battle of Dunbar in Scotland in September 1650 during the English Civil Wars (1642-51). (Tate Collection, Lonodon)

An example of the breastplate armour typically worn by infantry and some cavalry in the early stages of the English Civil War (1642-51). (Ludlow Museum, Shropshire, England)

A re-enactment of a charge by pikemen as was seen at such engagements as the 1648 Battle of Maidstone during the English Civil War (1642-51). The event was 'Military Odyssey' in Kent in 2011.

Two members of the Sealed Knot demonstrate matchlock firing as used by musketeers, for example, during the English Civil War (1642-51). The priming charge has fired but not yet the main charge. At Fernhurst Furnace, West Sussex, England.

The Jovial Christmas Polka sheet music cover by Alfred Concanen. Published in the 19th century.

A Byzantine wall mosaic from Ravenna showing the three Wise Men or Magi (aka the Three Kings) who visited the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The three figures are traditionally named as Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, although they...

A 1917 French New Year's card showing two Christmas party-goers kissing under the mistletoe. Design by Xavier Sager.

A detail of a 19th/early-20th century Christmas card showing a lady gathering mistletoe in the snow. (Welcome Collection Gallery)