People used to lose children so often in the not-so-distant past. My sense is that it was totally par for the course for a parent to lose at least one child, if not more. My contemporary experience of people losing children is that it is a life-shattering event, from which many parents never recover. How did parents deal with this grief in, say, 15th century Europe? Was it discussed? Idk why this is coming to mind, but Henry VII lost so many kids: what would that have been like - how would it have been considered by his peers? Would people have been like, wow Henry really has not been the same since it happened? In my history studies we never focused on the emotional element of this constant state of loss, the effect of which was that it seemed to me that historical figures were all terribly callous. I know that can't be true, and would love to hear if anyone has anything to say on the subject!

Hello Historians, I am writing a book that takes place during the Nazi Occupation of Paris. I am looking for any and all sources, books, or websites to aid my research. I am looking for laws, Nazi hubs, restaurants, events and anything and everything I can get my hands on. I want my book to be as accurate as possible. If you have any tips on where to go let me know, thanks!

For what I know it went as far as Napoleon marrying the woman Joseph was engaged with, that his in-laws hated him, and that Spain was so adverse to the idea of him being their king that they made up a rumour of him being a drunkard. I just need confirmation because at this point his life looks like a joke 😭.

Mitläufer is the German Nazi equivalent of the term "fellow traveller" for communism. A person who has not commited any war crimes but whose association with the German Nazi state is such that does not allow him to be exonerated from such crimes.

I was wondering if there is a term of even a discourse in among historians in European occupied states, on people who may have not themselves have persecuted Jews but their association with the Holocaust is direct, usually by exploitation. These are not run-of-the-mill collaborators and in some cases they can even work with the local Resistance. But they can passively or actively accept the benefits of the deportations, eg a local University exploiting the jewish cemetery in order to expand or churches asking and getting Jewish assets. Or a high state official accepting the deportations of Jews but not of Christians. Or policemen who participate on Vel 'Hiv roundup but on the other hand are part of the maquis.

One cannot call them "collaborators" because they do not necessarily collaborate with the Germans; as I said in some cases they can even work with the Resistance or be victimized themselves. They are also not passerbys. On the other hand one gets the impression that should it have concerned "real" compatriots and not Jewish compatriots, there would be no hesitation in a more heavy handed approach. Can someone offer a glimpse into the discourse on their field or country or even offer how we could describe the phenomenon because I even lack the term of it.

By the end of 1914, 4 million were dead, most of which were soldiers. Why? Wouldn’t the introduction of tanks, biplanes artillery and gas in 1915 mean that far more should have died? We’re tactics in 1914 just so shitty that far more died, and by 1915 they adapted?

Norse mythology seems to be a "big thing" in Western entertainment right now, with Thor leading the MCU and God of War: Ragnarok being a huge hit. It got me thinking about its transition into the cultural lexicon. When did that transition occur?

I want to write up a list of the Chinese Emperors. I have done similar lists for other countries and my format is usually something like:

COUNTRY NAME

Dynasty Name (YYY-YYY): (YYY-YYY) Monarch Name (YYY-YYY) Monarch Name Etc...

When researching Chinese Emperors I found that they have many different names. Personal name, courtesy name, temple name, posthumous name, and sometimes just the era + emperor.

I'm not sure which name to use. I would like to remain consistent for every emperor from 2070 BCE to 1912 or at least have a clear point where the convention changes.

I would also prefer to avoid the use of the word Emperor or their dynasty within their name to avoid redundancy, but I will happily compromise on that if that is the preferred way to refer to them.

Any help would be super appreciated.

I'm a writer, and I'm trying to accurately depict the feudal system. If a king wanted to give more land to a lord, how would he do it? Would he give land that was not owned? And if there was no unowned land, could a king take land from a lord and give it to another?

Conventionally people attribute the execution of Anne to her "failure" to produce a male heir. However, this can't have been the actual reason she fell from grace, right? I mean she was still young enough to conceive, and they had not been married all that long.

Hello all, I was hoping you could help suggest books or other reading materials on the cultural history of fashion in the United States. Particularly with a focus on the 20th century, when market forces, manufacturing changes, and cultural transformations shifted people away from formalwear to more contemporary outfits. I would hope there at least a few economic, cultural, and fashion historians who have written on the topic and I would like to learn more about this! Bonus appreciation if anyone has a geographic study they could recommend, for example I'd imagine this multifaceted topic has plenty of differences between the West Coast and Northeast. Thank you so much!

Hey guys, I have to write an essay titled " Why did Christianity become so widespread in the period c. 500-1050?". Does anyone have any suggestions for academic literature or books surrounding this topic? Thanks!

One of the things I took as granted from media, and even something that I was taught at school, was that Victorian British people were especially prudish, preferring to repress sexuality in favour of more refined pursuits. I was told that Queen Victoria recommended to "lie back and think of England", that men were so repressed that the legs of pianos and tables were covered to prevent men from becoming aroused at the indecency of the exposed legs, and that people would be shocked by any kind of indecency in consumer media. And this was what I was taught as a British person from British teachers.

I have later learned that these stories of Victorian sexual repression were mostly bullshit. Victoria herself described her sexual experience on her wedding night as one of the happiest days of her life and was known for being very sexually active and affectionate with her husband. Covers for piano legs were real, but were just to protect the easily-damaged legs of expensive furniture. Finally, there was a lot of ribald and even pornographic media circulated in England, including postcards, erotic stories, and even photographs.

Why did they gain a special reputation for prudishness that prior eras did not receive?

What did the people see themselves as? Swedish, Danish or maybe even Scanian? What language was prevalent there?

I've been trying to search for literature on the architecture on the Kingdom of Kongo, but despite how well documented the polity was, there seems to be little description of it, and the only standing structure that seems to be left is the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Congo.What I've found is that under Afonso II, the first stone structured were built, with the aid of Portugese architects and stone masons. Palaces, churches, and aristocratic homes popped up like mushrooms.

Would the architecture of this city once compared in size to Evora have been purely Portugese in style?

Would all the stone buildings be Portugese while the Bakongo of the lesser ranks have lived in traditional Kongolese house? What did these Bakongo houses look like?

Did the Kingdom of Kongo develop its own architecture over time and its own stone-working artisans?

Did a hybrid Portugese-Kongolese architectural style develop at some point?

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Edit: It was Afonso I, not II

I just started an anime called "Dororo" which takes place during this period and I was wondering if any actual ways of living/stuff that happened/stuff that could happen was in the show. Mainly, from the episode I just watched, something really horrible. SPOILER ALERT: Basically, there was 2 armies "at war" but still not fighting, like they were on wait for a while (months? years? didn't say). A poor woman was taking care of children (orphans with disabilities) and went to work in one of the camp. Then at one point, to get more money, she decided to go work in the other camp also. Well of course, the 1st camp ended up knowing and went to kill her when she arrived home (I get why for her, seen as a spy). But the show depicted the children also being killed. So I was wondering if it is something that could/had happened, because I am pretty traumatized right now and scared of what might happen to innocent kids back then.

I’ve read/watched videos of a couple ancient/medieval battles in which both sides essentially end up bumping into each other near a difficult crossing, and for obvious reasons neither wants to be the one to cross while the enemy attacks them in the water, resulting in a stalemate/standoff and the one I read about one side told their enemy they could either cross and they would pull back and allow them, or vice versa- and then after they fought the battle.

Does anyone know which battle it was? I’m tempted to say it was one of pyrus’ vs rome but can’t find anything. I’m sure this or something similar, weird ‘truces’ where the other side allows the enemy to advance or decamp in order to get a stalemate over with.