There is no shortage of symbolism around black cats in the modern world. They are everywhere in popular culture as sidekicks or even malevolent beings which surround witches and other agents of the occult. For example, in the first Matrix movie, when Neo has a moment of Déjà vu, an occurrence which means the sinister controllers of the […]
Why Are There Superstitions Around Black Cats? Read More »
There are about as many names for Christmas as there are ways of celebrating it. Some call it Xmas, which simply is an abbreviation of Christmas, as the ‘X,’ as it was originally used, isn’t an ‘X’ at all, but rather what is known as a chi-rho, an early Christian symbol for Christ on the cross.
The Strange History of Yule and How It Inspired Christmas Read More »
On July 15th, 1099, the city of Jerusalem fell to an army that had been besieging it for six weeks. This was a force of over 10,000 Christian crusaders from Western and Central Europe to reconquer the Holy Land from the Muslim powers who had controlled it for over 400 years. In the hours that
Peter the Hermit: The Leader of the People’s Crusade Read More »
Perhaps the most peculiar aspects of Christianity today are the divisions within it. For instance, hundreds of different branches of Protestantism originated from the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. But few would dispute that Lutheranism, Calvinism, Presbyterianism, Anabaptism, or one of the other major branches of Protestantism effectively share the same origins as Roman
How the Great Schism of 1054 Split Christianity Read More »
There are over thirty major bridges over the River Thames in London today. This is quite a small number for a city of nearly ten million people. Londoners, though, primarily get around their city on the underground rail system. Otherwise, many more bridges would be needed to facilitate weekly hundreds of thousands of more cars
Where did the London Bridge Nursery Rhyme Originate? Read More »
Medieval European history is full of notable characters, from Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer who discovered North America approximately 500 years before Christopher Columbus, to William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who conquered most of Britain in the eleventh century, to Frederick Barbarossa, the German ruler who established his authority over much of Central
Why is Charlemagne Known as the Father of Europe? Read More »
In the ninth episode of the third season of the massively successful HBO television series, Game of Thrones, there is an extended scene in which the story ark of much of the show pivots. This is based around the wedding of Edmure Tully to a daughter of Lord Walter Frey, a supposed ally of Robb Stark,
Did the Black Dinner Really Inspire the Red Wedding? Read More »
Throughout history, there is no shortage of instances where people have turned to mass slaughter to facilitate their political ends and remove rivals from the scene. Many of these are well known. For instance, in 1934, Adolf Hitler purged the leadership of the SA, including the head of the paramilitary force Ernst Rohm, once he
What Actually Happened At The St. Brice’s Day Massacre? Read More »
We do not typically associate religious piety with vengeance, though revenge is a common thread throughout the Old Testament. It certainly isn’t usually associated with saints, which makes the life and career of St Olga of Kyiv somewhat peculiar. This member of the royal house of Kievan Rus in the tenth century is honored today
St Olga of Kyiv: The Patron Saint of Vengeance Read More »
Christianity has never been a homogenous religion with clearly defined ideas and beliefs. When it emerged in the late first and second centuries AD, it was essentially a schismatic branch of Judaism. Then it adopted elements of a Hellenic polytheistic religion to become more popular throughout the Roman Empire. By the fourth century AD, it
The Strange History of Medieval Sin-Eaters Read More »
