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Dr David Musgrove, FSA

Dr David Musgrove, FSA

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I’m Dave, and I’m broadly in charge of all the content we produce across the HistoryExtra portfolio, so that’s the print magazine, the website, podcasts, video output, apps and live events. Obviously I don’t make all of it - that would be ridiculous. However, I do write the occasional article, as well as regularly conducting podcast interviews and making podcast series, and producing videos every now and again. I tend to front quite a lot of our live events as well. As a sideline, I have a particular interest in the Bayeux Tapestry. I’ve co-written a book about it, with Professor Michael Lewis (The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry). With the loan of the tapestry to the UK in 2026, I spend quite a lot of time commenting in the media on tapestry matters and doing public talks about it too. I’m also quite an enthusiast about the history of toilets and Victorian long-distance wheelbarrow pedestrianism, and have been known to discuss those matters on national media. I have a doctorate in medieval archaeology. That was an investigation into monastic drainage and land reclamation in the Somerset Levels (along with a side hustle in prehistoric beaver habitats in France). I’ve worked for HistoryExtra in various roles and guises for over 20 years and in that time, I have also written a couple of popular history books.

Shining new light on medieval Europe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Trading and crusading in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hadrian’s Wall: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Ottoman “Age of Discovery”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The man who made King Alfred great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Healthcare before the NHS. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Danelaw: a Viking kingdom in England?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The lost figure of the Bayeux Tapestry: where is Edgar Ætheling?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The collapse of Roman Britain: what happened, plus 9 places which tell us more. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Slaves in the Viking Age: how prevalent were enslaved people in Viking societies?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Social mobility in the Middle Ages: could medieval people improve their station?

Medieval baby names: what were people called in the Middle Ages?

Was the early medieval period a "golden age" for the elderly?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Edward the Confessor: 9 fascinating facts

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #15: What's lurking in the background of medieval maps? And what did medieval people really know about the wider world?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #14: What did an aristocratic household eat in the Middle Ages? And who was Eleanor de Montfort?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #13: Why aren’t monuments to medieval figures included in the statues debate, and was there racism in the Middle Ages?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #12: secrets of the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters 11: Did women fight in the crusades? And why did people follow a goose to the Holy Land?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Are women at the heart of the action in the Norman Conquest?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #9: Do early medieval Irish texts shed light on prehistoric incest?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #8: Did medieval people care about the time? And did they get bored?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #7: what it meant to be 'blue' in the Middle Ages (and more killer rabbits). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #6: Viking military mind games, Anglo-Saxon mind maps, and embroidery before the Bayeux Tapestry. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #4: back to Braveheart, Viking river boats, Picts, and the Crusades. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elma Brenner on medieval wellbeing: "People in the Middle Ages were absolutely focused on staying healthy"

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #3: the salmon of knowledge, rolling Roman mosaics, eels, and Crusades. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roll up, roll up: how the Roman mosaics at Fishbourne Palace were saved. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #2: arrows in the eye, The Last Kingdom, Viking dogs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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