Sep 23, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts, Quora, Writing
I came across an interesting question on Quora the other day: What was the approximate travel time between London and Rome in the 13th century? As Frank Melling, author of “A Sixpence in the Settee,” points out, this is not a simple question to answer, as...
Sep 15, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts, Quora
Everyone’s heard of swords and spears. But how about the Goedendag, the Ahlspiess, or the Hussite flail? If you write historical fiction, you may appreciate this opportunity to spice up your weapons, courtesy of Quora. The Goedendag Essentially, the Goedendag...
Sep 7, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
I have a confession: besides writing, I love cooking and I love food. Perhaps that explains why the parts I enjoy most in fantasy or historical fiction books concern the little things – things like food and drink. What kind of dinner do the protagonists enjoy,...
Sep 3, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
Largely thanks to Tolkien, the fantasy genre consists basically of how we imagine the Medieval times. Readers of this blog will know of my many articles on the Middle Ages and my keen interest in historical accuracy. In the interest of improving our (fantasy) writing,...
Aug 27, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
Today, Greece is celebrating St. Fanourios’ Day. Because of a wordplay on the Saint’s name, whose name roughly translates into “Finder,” people pray to him when they need help with finding something. Now, when I say “finding,” this...
Aug 19, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
This is a guest post by David Collins. David is a marketing specialist and essay writer from Manchester, UK. He loves to share his ideas and knowledge about marketing, writing, and blogging with his followers through his blog. Currently, he is working as a marketer at...
Jul 31, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
A $2.7 billion NASA rover, Perseverance, blasted off into clear skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral yesterday (Thursday, July 30th) atop an Atlas V rocket, as The Washington Post and The Curious report. The launch marks the start of a nearly seven-month journey to...
Jul 27, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
Someone asked this on Quora and Oscar Tay gave a fascinating answer. The oldest recorded word In English is Gægogæ mægæ medu. The Undley Bracteate In 1982, a farmer in Undley Common, Suffolk, England, was walking across his field when he came across a fantastic bit of...
Jul 25, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts, Quora
If you watch any fantasy movies or any fiction taking place in the Middle Ages, you will probably think that travelers camped outside in the open with nobody around for miles. As Joanna Arman explains in Quora, this is not the case. So, if you’re a fantasy or...
Jul 21, 2020 | Fun Historical Facts
Medieval monasteries had a serious problem. Instead of 100% focusing on their spiritual and earthly duties, many monks loved besting each other at chess. The Medieval version of “video games cause violence” was, “playing chess leads to blasphemy.” Things got so bad...
