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TheCollector
What Were the Founding Principles of Monophysitism? Monophysitism is a belief that Jesus Christ had only one divine nature, rather than a nature that...
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Monophysitism is a belief that Jesus Christ had only one divine nature, rather than a nature that was both fully divine and fully human within one person. The Monophysite theology took various forms with various people over the early centuries of Christianity.   The Emergence of...
History Today Feed
How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves JamesHoare Wed, 07/16/2025 - 09:05
a month ago
TheCollector
Hygiene and Bathing in the Middle Ages The Middle Ages has a reputation for being a time when the average person lived in filth and...
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The Middle Ages has a reputation for being a time when the average person lived in filth and squalor, bathing was unheard of, and personal hygiene was a foreign concept. But is this true? There is no simple answer to this question since the Middle Ages lasted almost a thousand...
Flashbak
Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters “I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi,...
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“I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi, who shows us dragons and other monsters in his Monstrorum Historia     Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia is a huge 13-volume encyclopaedia of life on Earth. The books cover...
TheCollector
Get to Know Venerable Bede, the Father of English History Bede is remembered today chiefly as a historian. Yet he was a dynamic intellectual giant in the...
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Bede is remembered today chiefly as a historian. Yet he was a dynamic intellectual giant in the Early Middle Ages and his most famous historical work is far more than a dry recounting of events. Let us explore Bede, his History, and the influence that it has had.   Northumbria in...
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal JamesHoare Tue, 07/15/2025 - 08:09
a month ago
TheCollector
What Did the Emancipation Proclamation Do? Issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, this executive order declared freedom for...
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Issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, this executive order declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate territories. Although its immediate impact was limited by enforcement challenges, its symbolic power redefined the nation’s purpose and the very...
History Today Feed
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth North review ‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth North review JamesHoare Mon, 07/14/2025 - 08:42
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Flashbak
An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland by Bernard Sleigh, 1920 “I believe in Faeries. It is very natural and not a bit foolish; for in these days we are quickly...
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“I believe in Faeries. It is very natural and not a bit foolish; for in these days we are quickly learning how little we know of any other world than our own.” – Bernard Sleigh, An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland Bernard Sleigh   After doctors drilled a hole in his skull to alleviate...
TheCollector
How Solomon’s Wisdom Shaped a Kingdom Solomon is synonymous with the honor, prosperity, and riches of Israel. These material things were...
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Solomon is synonymous with the honor, prosperity, and riches of Israel. These material things were never his goal but were the result of his desire to serve God as a trustworthy steward of his people. Solomon’s wish was to have the insight to distinguish between good and evil and...
Flashbak
Stephen Salmieri: First Photos of Coney Island, 1967 – 1972 “I used to be a fireball of energy – if I had two or three days a week to spare where I wasn’t on an...
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“I used to be a fireball of energy – if I had two or three days a week to spare where I wasn’t on an assignment I was out with my camera in the city. I covered this city like an archeologist.” – Stephen Salmieri, Coney Island Trips, 1967 – 1972     Between 1967 … Continue reading...
TheCollector
What Is Structuralism? (Definition & Facts) Structuralists say structures can be uncovered anywhere—from human behavior to star clusters and...
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Structuralists say structures can be uncovered anywhere—from human behavior to star clusters and snowflakes to mathematics. In fact, structuralism offers a kind of mathematization of the entirety of nature, even systems that were once considered too complicated to model, such as...
Flashbak
The Fireworks King: Brock’s Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making, 1922 “My object has not been to write a text-book on firework-making, but rather to trace the art from...
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“My object has not been to write a text-book on firework-making, but rather to trace the art from earliest times, and to give a description of the development and process of manufacture… My excuse for adding another volume to the literature of the art is that I am of the eighth...
TheCollector
How the Roman Aeminium Became Coimbra, One of Portugal’s Oldest Cities Present-day Coimbra hides an extraordinary past. Here, you can find the most well-preserved...
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Present-day Coimbra hides an extraordinary past. Here, you can find the most well-preserved cryptoporticus from the Roman Empire and the richest Baroque library in Europe. At Coimbra, you will also discover remnants of the Moorish occupation.   Coimbra also played a vital role in...
A Collection of...
Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part I: Households This is the first post in a series discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor,...
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This is the first post in a series discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. Prior to the industrial revolution, peasant farmers of varying types made up the overwhelming majority of people in...
TheCollector
What Are the 5 Biggest Islands in the World? Less than 30 percent of the world’s surface is covered in land, yet this is still a massive amount...
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Less than 30 percent of the world’s surface is covered in land, yet this is still a massive amount of space that humans have sought to explore and exploit. Included in all this land are around 200,000 islands.   From the icy Arctic to the tropics, here are the five biggest...
Flashbak
1960s London Through A Russian Horizont Panoramic Camera We’ve been to East London in the 1960s with Tony Hall before, heading down the pub and to the shops....
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We’ve been to East London in the 1960s with Tony Hall before, heading down the pub and to the shops. Now we get to see the streets in panoramic pictures taken by his Horizont (Горизонт) camera. Made between 1967 and 1973 by Russia’s Krasnogorsky Mekhanichesky Zavod (KMZ), the...
TheCollector
Medieval Battles Marked by Stunning Underdog Victories Medieval battles were brutal, blood-soaked grind. Clever tactics and strong leadership often...
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Medieval battles were brutal, blood-soaked grind. Clever tactics and strong leadership often mattered, yet true upsets happened only when the weaker side found an edge. Whether better weapons, better tactics, knowledge of the terrain, or an unbreakable esprit de corps. The...
Flashbak
Jürgen Schadeberg: Happy Hour Flashbak: What makes a good photograph? Jürgen Schadeberg: Content, composition and training.     In...
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Flashbak: What makes a good photograph? Jürgen Schadeberg: Content, composition and training.     In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Jürgen Schadeberg (18 March 1931 – 29 August 2020) was often in pubs and bars in Glasgow, London, Cambridge, Berlin, Hamburg, Johannesburg, New York,...
TheCollector
Which Is the “Better” Sword? Katana vs Longsword Among martial arts enthusiasts and certain internet circles, a fierce debate rages: between the...
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Among martial arts enthusiasts and certain internet circles, a fierce debate rages: between the knightly longsword and the Japanese katana, which is the better sword? Both two-handed swords were used by a warrior-noble class as their sidearm, both depicted at various times as the...
Trying to Understand...
The Long And The Short Of It. Or, in defence of nuance.
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TheCollector
What Is the Venice Biennale? History, Highlights, and Global Art Impact Every other year, Venice transforms its winding network of canals into a citywide art gallery. The...
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Every other year, Venice transforms its winding network of canals into a citywide art gallery. The Venice Biennale is often referred to as “the Olympics of the art world.” It is an international art festival that includes a curated main show, dozens of national pavilions, and...
History Today Feed
‘Saudi Arabia: A Modern History’ by David Commins review ‘Saudi Arabia: A Modern History’ by David Commins review JamesHoare Wed, 07/09/2025 - 08:54
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TheCollector
The Unknown Artworks of Kahlil Gibran Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is one of the most widely read and translated writers of the 20th century....
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Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is one of the most widely read and translated writers of the 20th century. His visual art work was an inextricable part of his life and literary career, but is often overlooked. Described as mystical and ethereal, Gibran’s artworks give form to the...
Flashbak
Saul Steinberg Draws A Line Into Your Brain “When I make a good image, it enters into your brain like a word you didn’t know and stays there in...
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“When I make a good image, it enters into your brain like a word you didn’t know and stays there in such a way that you can’t remember how you thought about this topic beforehand.” – Saul Steinberg   Many of us first encountered Saul Steinberg (American, born Romania, 1914–99)...
History Today Feed
The Battle for Britain’s First Book of the Month Club The Battle for Britain’s First Book of the Month Club JamesHoare Tue, 07/08/2025 - 08:23
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TheCollector
The Battle of Lugdunum Was the Largest Battle in Roman History On New Year’s Eve 192 CE, the Roman Empire’s Golden Age, almost a century of political tranquility,...
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On New Year’s Eve 192 CE, the Roman Empire’s Golden Age, almost a century of political tranquility, came to an abrupt and violent end. A protracted period of civil war followed as various men sought to fill the void left by the imperial dynasty that died with Commodus. This...
Classical Wisdom
Technological ‘Miracles’ Of Ancient Greece Which Marvel Matters Most?
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TheCollector
What Was the Temple in Ancient Judaism? (Purpose & Significance) The Temple in Jerusalem was the structure that replaced the Tabernacle the Israelites traveled...
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The Temple in Jerusalem was the structure that replaced the Tabernacle the Israelites traveled around with throughout their sojourn in the desert. For 40 years, and even after that, from when the Israelites conquered the promised land until their third king was crowned, the tent...
History Today Feed
‘Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England’ by Hillary Taylor review ‘Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England’ by Hillary Taylor review JamesHoare Mon,...
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TheCollector
7 Famous Cubist Artists Who Achieved Greatness Cubism was one of the most radical art movements of the 20th century. Emerging in Paris, Cubism was...
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Cubism was one of the most radical art movements of the 20th century. Emerging in Paris, Cubism was both influential and polarizing, leaving no one indifferent. Discover the principles and evolution of the movement through the works of seven famous Cubist artists who shaped the...
Flashbak
At The Beach In Los Angeles, 1975 – 1988 “I think that part of what these pictures are about is the difference between our preconceptions of...
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“I think that part of what these pictures are about is the difference between our preconceptions of a place and what, when we get there, that place turns out to be.” – Tod Papageorge, at the beach      Looking at Tod Papageorge’s photographs of Los Angeles beachgoers in the 1970s...
TheCollector
Satyrs Sparked the Wildest Parties in Greek Mythology Satyrs (also known as Silens) are considered some of Greek mythology’s most iconic and recognizable...
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Satyrs (also known as Silens) are considered some of Greek mythology’s most iconic and recognizable creatures. These exclusively male nature spirits are primarily human with snubbed noses, ears, tails, and sometimes the lower bodies of a horse or goat. They are associated with...
Flashbak
Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks’ Fabulous Dance Sketches Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks (1905-1963) inherited his parents love for collecting theatre...
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Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks (1905-1963) inherited his parents love for collecting theatre memorabilia. His family had close ties to the leading ballet companies and he was appointed Artistic Director for Anna Pavlova’s world tours in the early 1930s. Paget-Fredericks went on to...
TheCollector
What Are the Main Female Archetypes In Myth and Culture? In Jungian psychology, female archetypes are primordial patterns of femininity in the collective...
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In Jungian psychology, female archetypes are primordial patterns of femininity in the collective unconscious. We can consider them the blueprints that determine the different manifestations of female figures featured in myth and culture. Every female archetype is characterized by...
Global Inequality...
Pensioners for war Many years ago when I lived in Belgrade, just before the beginning of the “Yugoslav Wars of...
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Many years ago when I lived in Belgrade, just before the beginning of the “Yugoslav Wars of Succession”, I noticed an interesting phenomenon.
Dreams of Space -...
My Weekly Reader February 4, 1962 Happy 4th of July! Here is your My Weekly Reader for "Happy 4th of February, 1962."
2 months ago
Global Inequality...
Nomonhan, 1939 A four-month long war between Great Powers of which you have never heard
2 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: The American Civil-Military Relationship As is traditional here, I am taking advantage of the Fourth of July this week to write something...
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As is traditional here, I am taking advantage of the Fourth of July this week to write something about the United States, this time a brief discussion of the nature of civil-military relations in the United States. Civil-military relations (typically shortened to ‘civ-mil’ or...
TheCollector
What Do the Two Beasts of Revelation Symbolize? Early Christian scholars debated the inclusion of the Book of Revelation for centuries before it...
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Early Christian scholars debated the inclusion of the Book of Revelation for centuries before it became part of the Biblical canon. Some Christian scholars feared that its vivid imagery might lead to dubious interpretations, and many churches avoided studying it. Other scholars...
Flashbak
The Decline of Western Civilisation III, 1998 “I didn’t get TACO BELL tattooed on my knuckles for nothing!” – The Decline of Western Civilisation...
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“I didn’t get TACO BELL tattooed on my knuckles for nothing!” – The Decline of Western Civilisation III, 1998     Directed by Penelope Spheeris in 1998, The Decline of Western Civilization III chronicles the punk lifestyle of teenagers  living in squats or on the streets in Los...
TheCollector
How Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ Defined Renaissance Genius At first glance, it seems like a simple sketch: a nude male figure within a circle and a square. But...
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At first glance, it seems like a simple sketch: a nude male figure within a circle and a square. But Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is anything but ordinary. Those familiar lines form a fascinating blueprint of Renaissance ideals, revealing layers of artistic and scientific...
Flashbak
Wisconsin Death Trip, 1973 – Small Town America In The Grip of Madness For more than 60 years, Charles Van Schaick (1852-1946) worked as a photographer in the town of...
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For more than 60 years, Charles Van Schaick (1852-1946) worked as a photographer in the town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Opened in 1879, he took around 8,000 of glass plate negatives, of which approximately 5,700 are studio portraits. The Charles Van Schaick collection, now...
TheCollector
How Henry VII Took the English Throne & Founded the Tudors Henry VII often slips through the cracks of history, being sandwiched between the controversial...
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Henry VII often slips through the cracks of history, being sandwiched between the controversial Richard III, a Renaissance Machiavellian prince, and Henry VIII, an impossibly charismatic and epoch-shaping monarch. But without Henry VII, there would be no Henry VIII. It was Henry...
Trying to Understand...
An Apology And A Few Suggestions. More next week.
2 months ago
Flashbak
On My Stoop In Brooklyn Over Four Decades: Anthony’s Story We’re hanging out on the stoop of Anthony Catalano’s home in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York City....
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We’re hanging out on the stoop of Anthony Catalano’s home in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York City. These pictures are of the “two main stoops on my block throughout the five decades on my life in Broro Park, Brooklyn NYC,” says Anthony. We’ve featured Anthony’s superb pictures of...
TheCollector
Where Was the Battle of Camlann? King Arthur’s Legendary Final Battle According to the Arthurian legends, King Arthur was mortally wounded at the infamous Battle of...
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According to the Arthurian legends, King Arthur was mortally wounded at the infamous Battle of Camlann. This was the culmination of a civil war between Arthur and his nephew, Mordred. The historicity of this legendary account is seriously questioned by modern scholars....
Patterns in Humanity
The rise of life expectancy Illustrated and explained
2 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the “Gospel of Luke” All About? Luke, a physician, played a significant role in the early church but was not an eyewitness to the...
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Luke, a physician, played a significant role in the early church but was not an eyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus. He nevertheless compiled his account of the gospel after careful research to produce a reliable, orderly account of what Jesus had said and done during...
Classical Wisdom
Ancient Statism Classical Wisdom Litterae: Government
2 months ago