Why Almost No Medieval Peasant Cottages Survive Today
Archeological findings have led to breakthroughs in our understand of the Roman and ancient Near Eastern worlds, but little survives from the 500s-900s. Why weren't medieval buildings made to last? ...
2 Nov 20177min
How a Nikita Khruschev Mistranslation Threatened Nuclear War
When Nikita Khruschev pounded his shoe on a podium, declaring "We will bury you!" many feared imminent nuclear war. Turns out a better translation of his original Russian completely changes the meanin...
1 Nov 20177min
British Girl, Nazi German POW—A Love Story
Were there any British women who fell in love with German POWs living in England in the mid-1940s? Despite the extreme cultural taboo, the answer is yes. Love always finds a way. TO HELP OUT THE S...
31 Okt 20179min
Assassin's Creed's Resident Historian Maxime Durand on Mixing Fact with Fiction
Like it or not, far more millennials will learn about Renaissance and medieval history through Assassin's Creed than they ever will through a history book. That can be dispiriting on the one hand —the...
30 Okt 201757min
Cruel and Unusual (Medieval) Punishment
An inquisitor thirsty for a confession had plenty of medieval tools of torture at his disposal: the iron maiden, the judas cradle, the rack, or the brazen bull. Turns out many of these devices are fab...
27 Okt 201713min
The Easter Uprising of 1916
Learn about one of the most important events in modern Irish history. On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of the Irish Republic. They, along wi...
26 Okt 20179min
Misattributed Quotes—No, Mark Twain Didn't Say That
Thomas Jefferson once said you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. With those extremely true words in mind, let's look at other quotes that are widely believed to be authentic but total...
25 Okt 20178min
How to Build a 13th-Century Castle From Scratch
In a remote forest clearing in Burgundy, France, a 13th-century castle is slowly being constructed using only the tools, techniques, and materials that would have been available to the builders of the...
24 Okt 20176min
