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This is the continuation – the first of several – of the fourth part of our series looking at the lives of pre-modern peasant farmers – a majority of all of the humans who have ever lived. Last time we discussed the survival requirements (in food and textiles) of a peasant household as well as … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVb: Working Days →
Hey folks, Fireside this week! As I noted a couple of weeks ago, things are probably going to get more than a little fireside-y over the next few weeks, simply because of the start of the semester – and a semester in which I am undertaking a set of entire new preps (that is, teaching … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 27, 2025 (On Defending History) →
This is the start of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) discussing the structures of life for pre-modern peasants, who made up the majority of all humans who have ever lived. In the last few sections, we’ve looked broadly at how mortality, marriage and childbearing patterns shape the households these folks … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More →
Hey folks, Fireside this week! The new semester is starting up next week, so things may be a little more fireside-y than usual over the next few weeks, but I do promise we will get to the end of “Life, Work, Death and the Peasant” eventually. That said, since I am teaching Latin rather than … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 15, 2025 (On Latin Pronunciation) →
This is the back half of the third part of our series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the patterns of life for the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of humans who lived in the past. Last week, we started looking at family formation through the lens of marriage, this week we’ll consider it … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing →
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In the 1970s and the 1980s, French artist Bernard Moninot drew and painted a series of greenhouses. Based on different modes of representation – axonometric projections, outside central perspective and interiors views – Moninot’s greenhouses become autonomous realms. In his aet, Geometry meets poetry. We see the contrast between the greenhouse’s highly ordered transparent … Continue reading "Poetic Geometry: Greenhouses by Bernard Moninot" The post Poetic Geometry: Greenhouses by Bernard Moninot appeared first on Flashbak.
One of the most impactful inventions throughout all of human history, gunpowder changed the course of warfare. From fire arrows in China to propelling deadly munitions in the modern era, gunpowder shaped how conflicts were fought, guiding the evolution of warfare. What is gunpowder, and how did it change the way wars were […]
