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 »
You are looking at the tomb of one Don Sancho Said de Carillo, dating from 1300. But you are also looking at a custom that lasted from Antiquity well through the Middle Ages but has thankfully been abandoned — the practice of women mourners ripping out their hair.It was long the domain of women to
Medieval Women Mourning Practices – Ripping Out Their Hair 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 »
In the entire history of the world, I challenge anyone to come up with a better name for a group of poisoners: may I introduce you to the Angel Makers of Nagrev.In the years immediately following the First World War, the small village of Nagrev in Hungary experienced an unusually large number of people –
The Angel Makers of Nagrev, Hungary Read More »
In our final post in this week’s series on poisonings in history, I am featuring Alan Turing’s death by cyanide. Turing was, of course, the famous father of theoretical computer science, paving the way for Artificial Intelligence in his development of the “Turing machine,” a mathematical model of computation that enabled much of what we
Alan Turing’s Death by Cyanide Read More »
Wanna hear about the most famous witch in all of Scottish history? Who wouldn’t, right? This would be one Isobel Gowdie, who gave four testimonials in 1662 confessing her involvement in harmful magical practices and consorting with the devil.Gowdie’s trial is better documented than any other witchcraft confession. Although she was probably treated poorly during
Isobel Gowdie – Scotland’s First Witch Read More »
This 16th-century woodcut shows some witches happily gathering ’round a pair of devils. Crimes commonly thought to have been committed by witches included murder of children, cannibalism, and carnal acts with Satan (#Q-Anonfortheages). Many trial records go into minute detail about subjects we would consider crazy, like the accused witches’ sexual intercourse with demons, marks
Medieval Witches and Their Crimes With Devils 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 »
This week’s posts feature women who became famous for something they didn’t do. And we begin with the case of Mrs. O’Leary and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.On a windy day on October eighth of that year, after a lengthy dry season, a barn belonging to the Irish immigrants Mr and Mrs O’Leary caught
Mrs. O’Leary and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Read More »
This week we are looking at Medieval birth control. This terrifying object, known as a “chastity belt,” was once thought to have been developed by men during the Middle Ages to lock up their wives or daughters’ genitalia, thereby controlling not just women’s reproduction, but their sexuality. The good news — they were probably mostly
The Fake Creation of Chastity Belts 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 »
In the second cross-over post for the week, I bring you an analysis of President Nixon’s gray suit that helped him lose the 1960 election to JFK. Katie McGowan wrote up this fashion decision that influenced history:America’s first Presidential debate in 1960 was unprecedented in many ways, but perhaps most importantly for giving live faces
Richard Nixon and His Grey Suit Read More »
In this third crossover history post on “fashion statements that made history” with Katie McGowan, I feature one of the most famous beards in history, worn by the Pharoh Hatshepsut, which means “foremost of women.” Yep, you read that right: Hatshepsut dressed in drag.Hatshepsut (c. 1503-1482 BCE) had been wedded to the powerful ruler Thutmose
Queen Hatshepsut and Drag Read More »
Meet Julia Barlow Platt (1857-1935), who in her 70s was elected as the first female mayor of Pacific Grove, California. She spent her late years galvanizing efforts to create a nature preserve on Monterey Bay, which is still one of the most lovely areas on California’s northern coast. Behind these achievements, however, is a story
Julia Barlow Platt, Embryotic Cells, and California Politics Read More »
This is Marie-Claire King (born 1946), and just reading about her accomplishments makes me tired. Besides earning her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, she has six other honorary doctorates in science from the most prestigious universities in the world. From her work in discovering the genetic foundations of breast cancer, schizophrenia, and hearing loss, to her
Marie-Claire King and Genetic Studies 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 »
