More than two years after his remains were identified and 530 years after his death, King Richard III of England will be laid to rest (again) on March 26. Historical Significance of Richard III’s Burial This is quite likely the last burial of an English king, as modern monarchs areContinue Reading
While many people have not read Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, most people have probably seen at least one movie based off of it. They probably immediately associate swordfighting with it although, as musketeers, there really should be some guns included. They probably also think of Cardinal Richelieu as aContinue Reading
Yesterday, Scotland voted 55/45 to remain within the United Kingdom rather than separating off into an independent state that hasn’t existed since 1707. Friction on the matter has existed pretty much forever. The Scottish see themselves as having a different culture than the English, although as someone living in theContinue Reading
We have no idea who painted this beyond it was someone in the Netherlands around 1586. Queen Elizabeth I of England was a longtime supporter of the Dutch. They were connected religiously, with both countries being Protestant, and also economically: the Dutch had the most lucrative trading markets in northernContinue Reading
This post spiraled off from my last post, as frequently happens. You know you’re looking at a pharaoh in ancient Egyptian artwork by looking at his hat. There’s several different hats, but all of them are only worn by pharaohs. Moreover, there’s a square beard also only worn by pharaohs. Continue Reading
Yesterday in history, Edward VI of England died at the age of 16 in 1553 after a rule of 6 years. Child kings rarely leave much of a mark on history, but Edward happened to rule at a pivotal time in English history. Still, most of his impacts were moreContinue Reading
The term War of the Roses wasn’t used until the 18th century and not popularized until the 19th, while the war itself was fought in the 15th. Like many wars, it had no official name at the time of conflict, but it could be described as a series of civilContinue Reading
If I asked random people on the street to name a pharaoh, most would say King Tut. (More than a few would probably also look at me oddly.) They wouldn’t even call him a pharaoh (much less by his full name, Tutankhamen), because we’re so used to the phrase “KingContinue Reading