Broad topic I know. Does anyone know any good books that are reasonably accessible to understand the middle ages. Someone close has recently developed a passion for the period. She is already passionate about historical art and architecture and it has spilled over into a general interest in the period.

From what i‘ve read it looks like it. Democracy, women were finally able to vote, freedom of speech. Since i‘ll probably have to write an exam about this question, just wanted to make sure, since i couldn‘t find anything saying different: was it really as free as it sounds ?

We read „la lengua de las mariposas“ and to me it seemed atheism was already unwelcome before the civil war ?

Edit: to be clear, i mean the one in spain

I've been asked on several occasions where kosher rules in Judaism come from. Everyone knows the rules (i.e.: don't eat mean with dairy, no shellfish, etc.) Every time, I couldn't give a good answer.

With that said, what are the origins of kosher rules? Do they come from an old semitic tradition from before Judaism, or did they arise out of a more practical need for dietary restrictions?

Thanks, u/davegeeee

I have a great deal of experience in Late Antiquity but this question has always confounded me. The “Germanization” of the Late Roman army is hotly debated, but when reading about the disasters of Honorius’ reign I always come back to the central issue — where was the supposedly vast army of the Notitia Dignitatum? Even as late as Valentinian I’s reign and indeed the Battle of the Frigidus River in the 390s, the western military establishment seems robust and numerous.

So why didn’t Honorius’ regime just recruit and train Italians to bolster their forces? Why were they so utterly reliant on foreign manpower? What had changed to make recruiting Italian soldiery unfeasible?

The regimes of the 4th century seem to have utilized native recruits, if to a lesser degree than in the Principate. What was stopping the failing West from following this successful path?

Researching on the extent to which the USA was ‘exceptional’

Mistake in question: Hawaii was a territory before the Spanish War my bad

Brigham Young's actions during the Utah war essentially amounted to treason, and it appears that he could have been severely punished for involvement in the conflict. Considering the extent of Young's involvement, why exactly did James Buchanan pardon him? Was Brigham Young influential enough for Buchanan to fear punishing him, or was there some other reason?

I’ve heard for example that the Gospel or Peter was almost considered canon. I have also heard that some books are considered by modern scholars to be forgeries.

Religion aside, are any of the canonical texts on shakier historical ground than some non-canonical texts?

Googling only tells me there was a 12billion $ assistance from the united states to european countries, but is that 12 billion using today’s value of the dollar, or 1948’s dollar value (which would mean in current times this would be around 128billion according to converters)

sorry if this isn’t the right sub for this, nothing else came to mind

What would New Year's Eve have looked like in the US around the 1850s? Parties? Countdowns? Or was that a later tradition? Found another post discussing the traditions of that time in Scotland, but I am wondering about the US.

Any books about topics older than ~1000 years. How do we know whether they've been fact checked, and how do people even find those facts? Is it all predictions based on the evidence founded by archaeologists?

Just wondering if we know what someone like Abraham Lincoln or William Sherman sounded like. I don't care as much about some random civil war vet who lived until WWII so they recorded the rebel yell or w/e. Just descriptions by people who listened to them speak (or an audio recording if any exist)

I know the bubonic plague is thought to be originally from somewhere in asia, carried by the trade and travel the Mongol empires set up. This means, presumably, it affected China, which was a society with extensive writings and contact with the Mongols. Do we have contemporary accounts of plague around the time of the black death in Europe, if not, why?