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Christopher Howse

Christmas quiz

Christopher Howse 15 December 2018 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse. Illustrated by Castro

Val d’Aran in the Catalan Pyrenees [Getty}

The peculiar allure of the Pyrenees

Christopher Howse 1 December 2018 9:00 am

On 26 August 1880 Henry Russell consummated his marriage in an unusual way. He was, to his own mind, married…

Christmas quiz

Christopher Howse 16 December 2017 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse Illustrated by Castro

Saint Helena and the Emperor Heraclius restore the Holy Cross to Jerusalem after its recapture from the Persians. Altarpiece by Miguel Jimenez and Martin Bernat, c.1485

From Tree of Death to Tree of Life: the history of the cross

Christopher Howse 29 April 2017 9:00 am

Among Christians, the cross is seen as an instrument of execution and an emblem of victory. Christopher Howse explores the paradox

The piety and wit of Monsignor Ronald Knox

Christopher Howse 21 January 2017 9:00 am

During the second world war, while one brother was editing Punch as a national institution (‘Working with him was a…

The Spectator's 2016 Christmas quiz

Christopher Howse 10 December 2016 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse Illustrated by Castro

The answers

Christopher Howse 10 December 2016 9:00 am

Say so 1. Theresa May 2. David Cameron (overheard on air, speaking to the Queen) 3. Jeremy Corbyn 4. Stephen…

The Oxford English Dictionary: not just a labour of love, a feat of endurance

Christopher Howse 20 August 2016 9:00 am

What the Great Eastern was to Brunel, the New English Dictionary was to James Murray (1837–1915) — an unequalled task…

St Mark’s Gospel is as good as EastEnders

Christopher Howse 30 July 2016 9:00 am

More brides in Britain go down the aisle to Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ than to any other tune, Simon…

Breaking the commandments on Moses’s mountain

Christopher Howse 28 May 2016 9:00 am

A medieval party of 800 Armenians at the top of Mount Sinai suddenly found themselves surrounded by fire. Their pilgrim…

St James by the Master of Mambrillas (early 16th century)

A pilgrim’s progress to Santiago

Christopher Howse 16 April 2016 9:00 am

In his friendly and beguiling voice, Jean-Christophe Rufin explains (in a way that reminded me of the pre-journey relish of…

The sacrifice of Iphigenia: Agamemnon’s crime was ‘impious’, according to Lucretius

What did the ancient Greeks believe?

Christopher Howse 27 February 2016 9:00 am

It is a curious fact that the modern Hebrew for ‘atheist’, Tim Whitmarsh notes in passing, is apikoros. The word…

‘If ever there was a Renaissance Man, John Dee was it’: from ‘The Order of the Inspirati’, 1659

John Dee thought he could talk to angels using medieval computer technology

Christopher Howse 16 January 2016 9:00 am

John Dee liked to talk to spirits but he was no loony witch, says Christopher Howse

Take up and read Augustine’s Confessions

Christopher Howse 2 January 2016 9:00 am

I usually throw away dust jackets but Robin Lane Fox chose his for a reason. He originally encountered Augustine of…

Which happy breed?

Christmas Quiz

Christopher Howse 12 December 2015 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse. Illustrated by Castro

The answers

Christopher Howse 12 December 2015 9:00 am

On the record 1. Jean-Claude Juncker 2. David Cameron 3. Sir Tim Hunt 4. Jeremy Corbyn 5. President Vladimir Putin…

Photograph by Charles Sturge

Remembering P.J. Kavanagh

Christopher Howse 19 September 2015 8:00 am

OBITUARY

St George as depicted in The Golden Legend

St George: patron saint of England, patronised by all

Christopher Howse 25 April 2015 9:00 am

What did St George do? Killed a dragon, as everyone knows. And yet, as Samantha Riches points out, no mention…

The two billionth view

Christmas Quiz

Christopher Howse 13 December 2014 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse.

Illustrated by Castro

Even Cilla’s biographer admits that critics were justified in knocking the ‘prurience ‘of Blind Date

Five of the best celebrity biographies of 2014

Christopher Howse 6 December 2014 9:00 am

Cilla Black has become a strange creature during her 50 years in showbiz. When her husband Bobby was in hospital…

The jilted bride

Charles Saatchi’s new book of photos makes me feel sick

Christopher Howse 13 September 2014 9:00 am

Charles Saatchi, the gallery owner, has created his own Chamber of Horrors in this thick, square book, ‘inspired by striking…

‘Flying Rock’

Floating bodies, seeing hands, rippling skies - is Jerry Uelsmann’s photomontage a tragic dead-end?

Christopher Howse 30 August 2014 9:00 am

An untitled photograph by Jerry Uelsmann from 1991 shows a rock like Magritte’s floating in the sky between an Ansel…

What! Has John Sutherland really not read Don Quixote from cover to cover?

Judge a critic by the quality of his mistakes

Christopher Howse 10 May 2014 9:00 am

What the title promises is not found inside. It is a tease. John Sutherland says he has ‘been paid one…

The right way to see Madrid

Christopher Howse 29 March 2014 9:00 am

I got Madrid utterly wrong for quite a long time. It’s a lovely city to walk in, and I thought…

The Spectator's Christmas Quiz

Christopher Howse 14 December 2013 9:00 am

Set by Christopher Howse

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