In light of the times we are a-livin’ in right now, I thought it might be interesting to do a series this week on the history of conspiracy theories. The first photo you see here is one that just won’t go away, no matter how much evidence gets stacked against it time and time again. […]
The Rumored Protocols of Zion Read More »
Here’s a very old conspiracy theory for you: the spurious accusations against the Knights Templars. As you can see from this late-15th century depiction, the charges were successful and many of the leaders were burned as a result.So if you don’t know, the Knights Templar was a religious order started to help protect Christians seeking
The Knights Templar Read More »
In our final conspiracy theory for the week, I feature early Christian cannibals!Not really. But partaking in cannibalism and sexual orgies were rumors that Ancient Romans persistently leveled at Christians. The Christians in this second-century Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome were not, in fact, devouring human flesh, but rather the bread in the ritual “agape
Christian Cannibals Conspiracy Theory Read More »
This week, I am looking at hair in Medieval history, and I am starting with the dudes. It turns out that the barbarians of the Early Middle Ages cared a great deal about styling their locks. Careful attention to cut and style announced a “je ne sais quoi” about masculenity and power.For instance, featured in
Early Middle Ages and Barbarian Men’s Hairstyles Read More »
Hairstyles give a lot of information to others — sometimes even more than clothing, because they are both changeable but also part of the body. For Medieval men, having long hair meant high social status in many cultures. The English before the Norman Conquest of 1066 are a case in point — as you can
Medieval Men’s Hair and Their Social Status Read More »
Women’s hair troubled Medieval men. In art and literature, they loved to show women with long unbound tresses, even though in real life, married women usually bound their hair up or wore veils to cover it when they were in public (unless they were mourning, as I wrote about in yesterday’s post).Two types of women
The Trouble of Medieval Women’s Hair Read More »
In my final post featuring this week’s theme of hair in Medieval Europe, I’d like to conclude with . . . . magical hair! You are looking here at the Talisman of Charlemagne, which totally sounds like something out of Dungeons and Dragons, but is an actual object from 9th-century Germany. Medieval people thought that
The Virgin Mary’s Hair from the Talisman of Charlemagne Read More »
What sort of woman flies around at night, perhaps leading a pack of hunters or accommodated by an assortment of animals, and works magic in the homes of certain women? Although a witch might fit the bill, this description applied to a belief in a variety of magical females across Europe in the Late Middle
The Bendanti of Medieval Europe Read More »
You are looking at a rare Medieval illustration of the anatomy of a uterus. It is highly schematic/abstract, obviously, but the important bits for Medieval people were all there. At the top, you see a fetus (the Latin words used were “embryo,” “conceptus,” and “fetus”), and straight below it is the entrance marked “hec eat
Medieval Uterus Anatomy Read More »
The study of the history of birth control in the Medieval Isalmic world breaks a lot of stereotypes.According to the Islamic tradition recorded in the _Hadith_ (sacred Islamic scriptures accounting the sayings or deeds of the prophet Muhammad), sexual pleasure was something that married women (as well as men) had a right to. Although the
Birth Control, Sex, and Abortion in the Medieval Islamic World Read More »
On our third crossover post in “fashion statements that made history” with myself and Katie McGowan, I am featuring Joan of Arc and her male attire for battle.Jeanne d’Arc, aka “the Maid of Orleans,” was highly conscientious about the way gender played into her self-perception as the military leader chosen by God to lead the
Joan of Arc – “The Maid of Orleans” Read More »
This is St. George Jackson Mivart, and he ruffled the feathers of proponents of every side of the evolution debates of the 19th century. The second slide is a fossil of a ancient species called Archaeopteryx, and its ruffled feathers were at the center of evolutionary debates of the 19th century.Mivart was raised Anglican but
St. George Jackson Mivart and the Archaeopteryx Read More »
Many cultures have produced mythologies of the frightening undead. But in the modern American imagination, our ideas about Vampires can largely be traced to the early 1700’s. In Eastern Europe, tales of the deceased who somehow caused the deaths of their living neighbors began to arise.The first documented episode came out of the Serbian village
Undead Mythologies of Vampires from Eastern Europe Read More »
What was it about Eastern Europe in the 1700s that brought about so many stories of Vampires? Some scholars note that Western European countries like Britain might have enjoyed these legends because they could make people feel civilized — those “eastern places” were rural, Catholic, superstitious, and backward in the minds of nationalist Brits.However, there
The Blood Disorder Porphyria and Vampirism Read More »
I don’t know why the central character in this Ancient Greek image is smiling: she is getting stabbed. Maybe because the artist was taking sides with the playwright Aeschylus, who thought Clytemestra deserved to die? Athens in the 5th c BCE was a civilization whose male citizens prided themselves on having a democracy with a
The Ancient Greek Story of Clytemestra Read More »
This is a satirical comic from the magazine _Life_ from 1888. In it, the moral crusader Anthony Comstock is shown accosting an artist painting a woman bathing. “Don’t you suppose I can imagine what is under the water?”, proclaims Comstock.It is a fitting caption for the man who gave his name to the indecency law
The Comstock Act of 1872 Read More »
“There never was a greater crime against humanity,” wrote the famed Byzantine scholar Sir Steven Runciman, “than the Fourth Crusade.” And although unfortunately untold numbers of atrocities could easily compete for this claim, certainly the sack of the glorious city of Constantinople marks a horrifyingly violent chapter in the history of Christianity.The city had been
The Horrific Tale of the Fourth Crusade Read More »
In the early 20th century, science was trendy. Unfortunately, so was bigotry, and the eugenics movement took advantage of the scientific-sounding language of genetics to promote the idea that certain types of people (pretty much white, native-born, able-bodied, and Protestant) needed to propagate for the greater good of humanity. Enter the “Fitter Family Contests” held
“Fitter Family Contests” of the Early 20th-Century Read More »
Medieval violent bunnies onstage for this post, which makes me laugh no matter what.We do not expect these furry (mostly) vegetarian creatures to be shown inciting bloodshed, or picking on poor unarmored monks (slide two), or mauling naked men when they are sleeping (slide three), or viciously destroying King Arthur’s entourage (the Rabbit of Caerbannog,
Medieval Violent Bunnies and Knighthood Read More »
I am going to do a magic trick for you — take a look at the two photos here: one is a 15th century painting of a Locust, and the other is Ernie Chambers, the longest-serving state senator of Nebraska (46 years and counting). And my hocus pocus will be to show how these two
The Similarities of a Locust and Senator Ernie Chambers Read More »
