No surprise, much more documentation survives regarding naming ceremonies for the wealthy versus regular people in Ancient and Medieval societies. This is certainly the case with Japanese history. Isn’t it fantastic, though, that amidst the paucity of evidence — I mean, we know *so* little about Japanese childbirth and naming practices — we at least
Japan’s “Scroll of the Hungry Ghosts” Read More »
It is easy to dramatize the callousness of Ancient Roman fathers who controlled whether their infants were to be killed through exposure. As the tenderness of the gaze from adult to child carved on this marble statue shows, Roman fathers certainly could have loving affection for their children.The purification rituals surrounding Ancient Roman births were
Ancient Roman “Lustratio” Birthing Ceremonies Read More »
This week’s posts focus on the genesis of languages. Although languages develop over time, and are almost always (*thanks,* Esperanta) spoken before being written down, sometimes it is possible to identify singular moments in linguistic history when enormous change happens.Take the case of Korean, for instance. Historians are still in debate about whether it emerged
Genesis of the Korean Language Read More »
We are inseparable from our environment, and we change with our surroundings whether we are aware of it or not. You are looking at a photo of some of the skulls of the approximately 800,000 Tutsis killed by their Hutu neighbors in the 1994 genocide. It is easy to pretend that the inner workings of
The Propaganda of the Rwandan Genocide Read More »
This barber’s pole may look like a quaint form of advertisement, reminiscent of a candy cane. However, it’s got a pretty sick story behind it.You probably know that medicine in the Middle Ages was not informed by the scientific method, and that hygiene, anatomy, and physiology weren’t understood. A good reason for cutting open a
The Barber Pole and Medieval Times Read More »
Whenever a new leader assumes power, the transition sparks anxiety typical of human nature’s concern about the liminal, of boundaries and unpredictablity. One of the ways people have dealt with this unease is through the observance of rituals. Repeated ceremonies bring continuity, and are laden with symbolism that gives meaning to the authority of the
Byzantine Rituals During Transitions of Power Read More »
Queen Elizabeth I of England (d. 1603) ruled her country for decades through an era of extreme religious strife and against the will of many who thought, as the Protestant leader John Knox, that “It is more than a monstre in nature that a Woman shall reigne and have Empire above a Man . .
Queen Elizabeth I and Her “Queen’s Touch” Read More »
In these pandemic times, attention has justly been drawn to the critical role that hospitals and their staff have played in preventing social collapse by providing relief to millions of sufferers — those that manage to return to health, and those whose last days’ solace has been granted by weary health-care workers. We can thank
The Importance of Byzantine Xenon Hospitals Read More »
The Byzantine Empire had a good run, from the move of the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople in 330 CE to the takeover of the illustrious city in 1453. The individual emperors, however, frequently were not as lucky in their reigns. Here you see an 11th-century manuscript showing the murder of Emperor Romanos III
Mutilations of Byzantine Emperors Read More »
Today begins the Chinese New Year for 2021, when many rituals and celebrations welcome in the future in hopes that it will bring happiness, health, and prosperity. One of the traditions is shown in the image here: the drinking of a sort of wine called “Tusu.” Of course, it was specially important for the Emperor
Chinese New Year and Drinking “Tusu” Read More »
Whenever I think about Byzantine eunuchs (*as one does*), there’s just always so much to say. So here is a picture of the famed general Narses (d. 537), known as “the Hammer of the Goths” which was not a stage name but a moniker for this eunuch’s effectiveness at crushing the enemies of the Byzantine
Eunuch Narses, “The Hammer of the Goths” Read More »
These pottery remains might not look like much to the untrained eye, but they are in fact recently discovered elements from what may be the world’s oldest beer factory.Located in the ancient Egyptian burial ground of Abydos, the collection of enormous units of pottery basins that heated the mixture of water and grains to make
Ancient Egypt’s Oldest Beer Factories Read More »
This February 27, 2021, the discovery of the first Ancient Roman ceremonial chariot found in Italy was announced. Even though ruins from the city of Pompeii were found way back in 1748 (after the volcanic eruption had buried it in 79 CE), archaeologists are still unearthing amazing treasures around the area. This chariot survived with
Finding the First Ancient Roman Ceremonial Chariot Read More »
Beauty standards across time vary enormously, as does the degree to which they emphasize qualities that never appear in nature. For instance, in recent decades in American culture, having perfectly straight and dazzling white teeth have signified health and high social status. In much of Japan’s history, it was the exact opposite.Here you see an
Beauty Standards in Ancient Japanese History Read More »
For part of its history, the Byzantine Empire carried out an unusual tradition for selecting the women who would marry the emperors. These were the imperial “bride-shows,” in which the young emperor’s parents would have a variety of noblewomen who showed great beauty and moral character compete for the hand of the leader of the
Ancient Byzantine Marriage Read More »
April Fools’ day is a centuries-old custom, but its current popularity stems back to 18th-century Britain, when it became popular to prank people. Often the jokes centered around sending someone off to do a fake errand or putting a teasing sign on someone’s behind (thus a synonym was “Tailie [tail] Day”).The image here showcases a
April Fools’ Day in Early Britain Read More »
Some moments in history seem dramatically more pivotal than others. Take the episode in 1971 in a town meeting in Durham, North Carolina, for example. A “charrette”, or series of community gatherings, had been organized around the issue of the deeply segregated schools. The goal was to find common ground amidst severe racial tensions. The
The Racial Collaboration of Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis Read More »
You are looking at the most expensive Easter egg ever made: the famed “Winter” Fabergé egg created by Alma Pihl, the only woman designer of the iconic Russian jeweled eggs.Alma (slide two) was brought into the Fabergé workshop because her father had been its leading jeweler. Since 1885, the company of Peter Carl Fabergé had
Alma Pihl’s “Winter” Faberge Egg Design Read More »
The column pictured here is a Sati Stone from the 18th century, now housed in the British Museum. To us, it is a hideous and grim memorial, but it was envisioned to be a sacred monument and tribute commemorating a woman who had performed Sati (also Suttee) — self-immolation upon her deceased husband’s funeral pyre.The
18th Century Sati Stone Read More »
The Ancient Romans were definitely not prudish about sex, but their ideas about when the act was healthy and when it wasn’t are certainly foreign to moderns. The first-century encyclopedist Pliny the Elder wrote that “sexual intercourse is good for lower back pain, for weakness of the eyes, for derangement, and for depression”. On the
Ancient Romans Fondness of Sex Read More »
