1601 CE and LaterLituus plays again
Submitted by Milica on Sat, 2009/07/04 - 13:24.
Before the trumpet curled into its present configuration, was the Lituus, an 8.5 foot long instrument last heard 300 years ago. Now new software has allowed the "lost" instrument to be recreated. (photos)
"World's most complete known witch bottle" found in Greenwich, England
Submitted by Milica on Thu, 2009/07/02 - 12:45.
A "witch bottle," constructed according to known recipes from 16th and 17th century England, has been found buried upside-down in Greenwich, England. The bottle contains urine, nail clippings, hair and pins, and is believed to be an anti-witchcraft device.
"A minion of the finest sorte"
Submitted by Milica on Thu, 2009/07/02 - 10:15.
Experts at the site of colonial Jamestown are trying to puzzle out the inscriptions on a slate tablet found at the bottom of the town's first well. Among drawings and other markings, the tablet is inscribed with the words "A minion of the finest sorte." (photo)
Airtight latrine preserves centuries-old broom
Submitted by Milica on Tue, 2009/06/16 - 09:36.
Archaeologists are excited about the discovery of a 300-year-old, perfectly-preserved broom in the excavated latrine of the St. Ulrich Church monastery in Paderborn, Germany. (photo)
400th anniversary of Shakespeare's sonnets
Submitted by Milica on Fri, 2009/06/05 - 14:34.
On May 20, 1609, the first collection of Shakespeare's sonnets was published in London. On his book blog Paper Cuts, New York Times reviewer William S. Niederkorn looks at the impact of some of the world's most famous poetry.
Pages from da Vinci's "Codex Atlanticus" unglued
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/06/03 - 11:10.
A group of Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of Viboldone haave been working tirelessly for months to unbind Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, a collection of writings and drawings bound into a single volume in the 17th century by sculptor Pompeo Leoni.
Inbreeding may have led to the demise of the Hapsburgs
Submitted by Milica on Thu, 2009/05/21 - 10:44.
A new study by geneticists from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain shows that inbreeding may have weakened the male line and brought about the end of the Hapsburg dynasty. The last king, Charles II of Spain, died in 1700 without male heirs.
How Galileo changed the way we view the universe
Submitted by Justin on Thu, 2009/05/07 - 06:57.
Galileo Galilei was not the first to make a telescope, nor the first to use it to observe the heavens, but his observations of the moon and stars are widely regarded as a seminal event in the history of astronomy and religion.
Huge cache of 17th century beads found in Georgia
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2009/05/03 - 16:45.
A recently discovered large collection of glass beads dating to the 17th century proves that global trade had reached the shores of North America. The 70,000 beads, which included Venetian, Dutch, French and Chinese glass beads, were found at an excavation at the Santa Catalina de Guale Mission. (photo)
New York celebrates Henry Hudson's discovery of New Amsterdam
Submitted by Milica on Tue, 2009/04/21 - 15:43.
In commemoration of the Henry Hudson's 400th discovery of the City of New Amsterdam, the Museum of the City of New York will present “Amsterdam/New Amsterdam: The Worlds of Henry Hudson,” an exhibition of 275 artifacts housed in a replica of the hull of Henry's triple-masted ship. The exhibit runs through September 2009.
Tunnel network found under Malta's capital
Submitted by Milica on Tue, 2009/04/07 - 17:12.
A series of tunnels, believed to have been constructed by the Knights of Malta, descendants of the Crusader knights, have been discovered beneath the Maltese capital of Valletta. Experts believe that the tunnels were built in the 16th or 17th centuries in defense of the city from Muslim attack.
Shakespeare Facebooked
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/03/18 - 06:15.
If William Shakespeare had had a Facebook or MySpace account, what might it have looked like? Mike McPhaden thinks he knows with Wm. Shakespeare's Five and Twenty Random Things Abovt Me. (PG-13 for language)
Display of artifacts from Shah Abbas I at British Museum
Submitted by Milica on Thu, 2009/03/12 - 19:35.
A new exhibit of Iranian art dating to the 16th and 17th centuries is now open at the British Museum in London. Shah 'Abba's The Remaking of Iran will run through June 2009.
"O Fortuna" demystified
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/03/04 - 15:35.
Over the years, many of us have marveled at the power that "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana had as a soundtrack to film battle scenes. Yet, have we ever considered the lyrics to the piece? A video on YouTube offers a "karaoke" version of the work, complete with an English translation of the Latin words.
America's oldest free library may close
Submitted by Milica on Fri, 2009/02/20 - 08:04.
Out of our time period, but a sad commentary on the financial crisis in the United States: Delaware County's Darby Free Library (Pennsylvania) is one of eleven libraries destined to close their doors due to lack of funding. The library "is believed to be the oldest continuously operating public library in America."
Benedictine nuns victims of Black Death
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/02/18 - 17:59.
The remains of several Benedictine nuns from the Sainte-Croix Abbey near Poitiers, France have shown evidence that the sisters died of the plague, probably while caring for other victims of the disease. Their deaths have been dated to the early 17th century.
St. Francis prayer of modern origin
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/02/11 - 14:34.
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith,” is a prayer long attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. But a recent article dates the prayer to the beginning of the 20th century.
"Murder" at the re-enactment
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2009/02/08 - 12:17.
A fall 2008 Civil War re-enactment in Virginia went terribly wrong when a Yankee cavalryman from New York was shot and wounded by a .44-caliber ball from an 1860 Army Colt pistol.
Italian astronomers to re-create Galileo's telescope
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2009/02/04 - 15:33.
For the 400th anniversary of Galileo's creation of his telescope, a group of Italian scientists will recreate "the kind of telescope and conditions that led to Galileo’s world-changing observations."
The etymology of the hangover
Submitted by Milica on Mon, 2009/01/19 - 09:06.
On the blog Proof for the New York Times, Iain Gately ponders the history of hangovers and the euphemisms used to deal with them.
Researchers use church records to reconstruct weather patterns
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2009/01/18 - 17:20.
A team of Spanish researchers are using records of agricultural rites kept by the Cathedral of Toledo to reconstruct a pattern of droughts that plagued the country between 1506 and 1900.
American reforestation may have led to "Little Ice Age"
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2009/01/04 - 13:23.
A new study by Stanford University researchers suggests that the reforestation of areas in the Americas following the collapse of pre-Columbian population centers may have triggered the Little Ice Age which occurred from 1500 to 1750.
Following the path of our Scotch-Irish ancestors
Submitted by jt4novels on Thu, 2009/01/01 - 12:27.
"Growing up in North Carolina, I always knew we had a huge group of Scotch-Irish settlers in the Piedmont of the Carolinas, but I didn't understand their ancestry. Were they from Scotland or Ireland?" Jennifer Hudson Taylor looks for an answer on her blog.
Jennifer Writing Blog
Submitted by jt4novels on Sat, 2008/12/06 - 23:35.
Jennifer writes medieval to contemporary Christian fiction set in Europe and the Carolinas. Much of her work is inspired by her own family history dating as far back as 1630 when many of her ancestors migrated to America.
Grave of d’Artagnan found?
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2008/11/30 - 18:08.
Musketeer expert Odile Bordaz believes she has discovered the final resting place of Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan, made famous in Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Three Musketeers, who died during the Siege of Maastricht in the Netherlands in 1673.
Scottish medical history display debuts in Edinburgh
Submitted by margaretc on Thu, 2008/11/27 - 12:29.
A new exhibit at the library of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh features 400 years or more of medical artifacts and books, some being publicly exhibited for the first time.
Pirate hoard found in London
Submitted by Milica on Fri, 2008/10/24 - 10:57.
Arghhh! There be pirates in London. Or at least there once were according to experts excavating the Narrow Street area of Ratcliff, near Limehouse. The site included the homes of 17th century sailors and pirates.
Dressing well... or else
Submitted by Milica on Wed, 2008/10/15 - 06:37.
Toshikage reports that there is much of interest in the way of Elizabethan garb and late period study on the website Elizabethan Mafia: Dressing Well and Calling In Favors Since 1558. The site is the brainchild of M. Alison Kannon.
Norwegian shipwrecks "sensational" find
Submitted by Milica on Sun, 2008/09/14 - 16:28.
"The largest collection of antique shipwrecks ever found in Norway" has been unearthed at the site of a new highway near Oslo, Norway. At least nine well-preserved wooden ships dating to the early 17th century were uncovered near Bjoervika.
Jewelry finds help illustrate history of Jamestown
Submitted by Milica on Thu, 2008/09/11 - 14:42.
The recent discoveries of a small pendant depicting a Virginia native American, and several other pieces of jewelry, will help historians understand more fully the history and life in the Jamestown colony.
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