Or if you know any different genres I'm still interested but it just seems weird to name music genres after materials so is there any reason?

Eight years ago, when I took a class on Chaucer at my university, I was struck at the conspicuous absence of the Black Death from the Canterbury Tales and the rest of his body of work, despite the fact that Chaucer (born in 1343) would have witnessed it around the age of five, which is when people usually begin developing long-term memory.

Apart from a 14th century poem called "A Disputacioun Betwyx þe Body and Wormes," I've seen few if any examples of the Black Death in English literature of the period. Have I been going about seeking this type of sources the wrong way, or was it genuinely ignored? If the latter is true, how could it be possible when the Black Death was arguably the most significant event for everyone who was lucky enough to survive it?

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I hope this is the right sub to pos this.

I am from Greece, and when I was in junior high we were given a book at school that we actually never got to use in class. It was a book of translated ancient Greek text.

I read it on my own anyway, and there was a story so crazy that I feel stupid even writing it down. It was about two clans that dwelled among the stars and were at war. One of the clans was riding hypogryphs with wings that looked like lettuce leafs (this is how the author described them).

Can anyone pinpoint me to the author and/or of the text?

I understand archers may have fired upon friendly soldiers, but in the heat of battle could a soldier have accidentally cut down one of his own?

To my knowledge, the Muslim forces inflicted a severe defeat on the Chinese at the battle of Talas in the year 751. Furthermore, 4 years later, China plunged into a state of civil war during the An Lushan rebellion. So why didn't the Muslims take advantage of this period of political turmoil to invade China?

Can anyone provide a primer for understanding the current "diplomatic row" occurring between Qatar and several Gulf states? I've got a decent handle on Middle East politics up to 1979 but little past that.

I also know the 20 year rule makes this a difficult question to address. Could someone at least suggest accessible literature on the topic, if it isn't possible to properly answer without violating said rule?

I am reading a book called "The Tigers of Bastogne" by Michael Collins. It mentions Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division a lot. I looked at the units attached to Combat Comand B but I could not find Troop E of the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. So, I thought the Troop must be attached to Combat Command A. Can anyone verify this or tell me what Combat Command Troop E was attached to ?

It seems rather a cultural thing where we have a breakfast, lunch and dinner per day, did any other culture have them differently in timing if the meals? Having maybe more or less than 3?

Hi, guys! I know this is a very specific question but I'm just wondering if the Cuban Missile Crisis had gone hot what sort of bomber aircraft would the Americans have deployed to drop nukes, and what aircraft would have been escorting those bombers?

Thanks! Also can anyone please refer me to a subreddit that may be more suited to this question?

As the title suggests. I am reading To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara, and on page 92, he says, "...One more [fighter kill] would total eight, the milestone that would qualify him [Richthofen] for the Order Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest award for it's fighting aces." It's seems odd to me that Germany, after the Franco Prussian War and certainly during WWI, would avoid using the language, culture, or customs from an enemy combatant, especially considering the measures other Allied nations went through to distance themselves from German-sounding words (St. Petersburg to Petrograd, for example).

Currently reading Homage to Catalonia, and I just finished the chapter in which Orwell describes the Spanish political situation among the Republicans. I realize that given his closeness to the situation, he isn't the most unbiased source. Are there any major discrepancies between his version of it and the facts? Thanks.

Edit: The biggest thing I would like to is whether or not the PSUC was actually attempting to suppress the revolution taking place in Spain at the time.

I've read quite a bit about the use and reconciliation of various yearly calendars (e.g. lunar, Jewish, Muslim, Chinese, Julian, Gregorian, etc.) but I feel like I've never heard anything about how and when the current default timekeeping system came to be the standard. It is so pervasive I don't even know what its name is, or if it even has a name!

The only semi-alternative that I've heard of could be described as a "natural/primitive" timekeeping system of using sunrise, sunset and high noon as reference points. But that can't be the only alternative. If I know anything about history, it's that something as precise and detailed as the hour/minute/second system does not come to dominate every developed culture on the planet without trial, error, debate, conflict and revision. So tell me, AskHistorians, what's the untold story?

I came upon a interesting tidbit in the wikipedia article about Ferdinand I, crown prince and later King of Romania.

"Ferdinand, a complete stranger in his new home, started to get close to one of Queen Elisabeth's ladies in waiting, Elena Văcărescu. Elisabeth, very close to Elena herself, encouraged the romance, although she was perfectly aware of the fact that a marriage between the two was forbidden by the Romanian constitution (according to the 1866 Constitution of Romania, the heir-presumptive to the throne was not allowed to marry a Romanian)."

I am well aware that certain Royal houses has established house laws that forbid its members to marry non-dynasts. Yet it is passing strange to me that the Romanian constitution at the time would actually forbid marriage based on the bride being Romanian (rather than on the basis of royal status, religion, etc.).

Could anyone offer enlightenment as to why? Or if the Wikipedia article misstated the facts and the opposition was simply due to it being a mésalliance?

Looking at antique inkwell sets they often come as two inkwells on a stand, just wondering if there is a particular reason it would've been common to buy a pair?

Sorry if this isn't the right sub so please redirect me if needed.

For context, I'm looking to do research for a story about a Russian character who was a soldier during World War 2 and later became a cosmonaut, so I'm mostly interested in the early years & cold war era. I've looked at the reading recs for Russia on this sub, but it seems like most of the suggestions are concerned with the later years.

I remember watching a documentary and they mentioned something about the "sea peoples" causing the dark ages of Egypt and the Mediterranean countries.

I especially mean ancient secondary/indirect sources like the Ad Urbe Condita Libri (Livy) or Parallel Lives (Plutarch), but the question also applied to primary sources.

Is it simply looking to see if other works say the same thing? Is it through archaeological evidence? Is there a third method that isn't immediately obvious?

bonus points if you explain Bollywood as well

(The historicity of Jesus as a real person aside, I am asking about the Gospels as written texts)

I remember being taught that the reference to Jesus as Shepard was an attempt to portray him humbly in comparison to other rulers: in the same vein as his manger birth and common upbringing.

However, I've recently discovered that the Code of Hammurabi refers to himself in an almost identical way: as a "salvation-bearing shepherd" of the oppressed.

Was it common for rulers to be referred to in this way? Is it intended as an expression of humility, and of their being 'down to earth' with the roots of their people? How recently have rulers still relied upon this image?