reign* why the downvote :(

In the tv-series The Borgias, Giovanni Sforza and Lucrezia Borgia's marriage is declared invalid due to impotence of Giovanni Sforza. He has to demonstrate that he is not impotent before the cardinals and refuses and declares then that tej marriage was not consummated and that he is impotent. Is there any truth to this procedure? If not in the case of Giovanni Sforza than in another case were a man has to proof that he is potent in public or the marriage is declared invalid?

Just watching Walking Britain's Roman Roads and the programme on Silchester and Cirencester has a potter using the potter's wheel that the Roman's introduced. He then said that after the Roman's left, potters stopped using it. There was also mention of Roman buildings being used as quarries for new local building, rather than the buildings themselves being used. Anyone know why the locals stopped using Roman tech? Especially the useful, simple potter's wheel?

I just started watching a TV show that takes place in the 20s that features multiple couples living together out of wedlock, one with a child, all out in the open. How common was this IRL? Was it frowned upon, or were there differences between classes?

FWIW the characters in the show are white, wealthy, and powerful.

I am aware that vikings as a name came later I am just not sure what to call the era or even which nordic countries were involved. However, I've been watching Vikings and The Last Kingdom shows which feature what we would call vikings raiding old England. In the shows they're always raiding for silver or gold, in Vikings they also take some slaves.

Did they really prioritize gold/silver that much? It just seems like it would destabilize their economy returning home every year with more currency. It also just seems more prudent for the era to focus on food, tools, and steel than to focus on metals used for currency.

I'm writing a book, and my MC's family originates from Iran, who flee the country in 1907 due to the political tension caused by the revolts and anglo-russian convention, but, I need them to end up in Greece, preferably before 1926, and I don't know how to write it realistically--would they make a stop in Turkey? Or travel the other way round? Would there even be an opportunity for them to sail there directly from Iran?

I've investigated what I can and every time I find a way for that to have been possible or probable, but it's always something that would make their next immigration difficult and or I plain can't find any records of immigration from Iran to Greece from those years.

I'm so confused and while it's only a backstory, it's something that I feel I need to have sorted out for the rest of the story to make sense.

Any help is much much MUCH appreciated!

The Haganah and Warsaw Uprising clearly demonstrated the Jewish will to fight. Were there any accounts of successful defenses against Cossack attacks in Eastern Europe?

Hi all, I’ve always been fascinated with French history, including Marie Antoinette. I remember seeing somewhere that the quote “let them eat cake” didn’t actually happen as a way to make her look worse. Just now, I saw another claim that she had a house built in the gardens behind Versailles with fake villagers so she could pretend to be a peasant whenever she wanted.

Did either of those things happen, and can anyone say if she is truly as bad as everyone says she is?

I'm curious, before russia took outer manchuria from china and took chinas access to the sea of japan. how much of the russian far east did china explore and settle?.

Hello, when I was in college, I took a course on the history of American popular music (UC Santa Cruz in the late 90s for anyone interested). I remember enjoying the class a lot, however I've forgotten a bit of what I've learned so I was hoping to get a few suggestions on history books about the history and evolution of popular music (as opposed to classical or modern classical music). Thank you very much.

Hey guys! I’m a huge fan of “history metal” groups like Sabaton and, to somewhat of a lesser extent, Amon Amarth counts. I was listening to the titular song the other day and was curious as to how much of the actual event (the Battle of Stamford Bridge) the song is based on.

Specifically, the bridge (pun intended) goes:

“On the bridge, we met his axe

While he stood, none could pass

His axe cut deep through flesh and bone

He held the bridge, all on his own

Forty men died by his steel

And the only way we could make him kneel

Was to send more men out on the stream

And sting that bastard from beneath

From beneath”

Is there any way to know the body count for that battle for one man, however famous he is? I don’t know much about Viking age weaponry, aside from what I’ve seen in various media, but how realistic is it for one man to cut down 40 men as he covered the retreat for his forces? I believe the Berserker in question was Harald Hardrada, but I could be wrong.

I know that in history, there are other cases of exceptionally determined warriors blocking a bridge to let those on the other side escape, but how often would that work? How long could someone hold out against overwhelming numbers?

Referring to the sport of race walking.

After the glorious revolution in England in the 17th century where the center of power shifted from the king to the parliament - why didnt the lords during the 18th century form a new type of feodal society? Since they hade the majority in the parliament, why did capitalism come about where farmers got payed instead of just being a serf?

So I’ve been looking for an answer for this for awhile but haven’t anything. I’m curious to why did we label specific nations as Empires like the Roman Empire or even the very first recorded Empire of Akkadia? Did the word empire come from them? I’m curious to genuinely know the answer to this.

I was reading that in retaliation for the Norwegian attempts to curb their behavior in Bergen, the Hanseatic League stopped all grain shipments to the kingdom. Even going so far as to send out pirates/ privateers to prevent other merchants from selling grain to the starving people.

So I wanted to learn a bit more about the history of the vikings era.. the way they lived.. their conquests.. all that is related to this subject, and that is a bit more than just a page in wikipedia. Also, the british kingdom, origins of the old English.. I find these the top of my interests, and would like to expand my knowledge on them. Which books would you all think i should pick?

We're all familiar with Sun Tzu's infamous military treatise, the Art of War, but do we know what his actual military record is? Did he lead China to conquer anything or to defend his territory? Or was his treatise his only known venture into war?

This question comes from a discussion on Elagabalus elsewhere on Reddit. This question is not specifically about Elagabalus' gender, this is just an example.

The question at one point hinged on them wanting bottom surgery when they were 16. There was uncertainty as to whether this fact had been used to slur other leaders in the classical world, so there was some debate as to what asking for bottom surgery said about one's gender.

I got the impression the answer to this hinged more or less on who one was.

Some cisgendered commentators said if Elagabalus talked about such it was simply to "gross out" the Senators. To a cis person, that would be the explanation they can most easily empathize with.

Trans people pointed out that from our POV, that age is when bottom dysphoria tends to ramp up so of course the most logical explanation is they were trans.

So my question is, how much of historical judgement's about someone's identity in history relies more or less only on the identity of the historian?