(Kind of niche and sorry I can't post pictures of the battalion logo thing since it is still in cinemas)

I've been watching the Philip Daileader middle ages lectures on Great Courses (not a plug, just trying to give context of where I'm coming from), and he talks a couple of times in lectures on the high and late middle ages about people, especially regular clergy, who will fast on what they believe to be a pious diet, that is to say nothing but plain bread and water. Most only do this for short periods of time, though he claimed some did it for years for things like penance, but then he talked about a woman, I believe it was Catherine of Siena, who was said to have fasted like that for her entire adult life.

While Catherine of Siena's life is rather short, according to Wikipedia she died at about 33 years of age, she is said to have fasted since she was sixteen. I'm assuming that her fasting is suspected to have contributed to her early death, but from what I've read of vitamin deficiencies, things like scurvy and beriberi, they're nasty and very noticeable, even for medieval times. Madness, teeth falling out, all manner of overt symptoms. How can someone go for over a decade on bread and water without falling ill to that?

But this is Ask Historians, not Ask Medieval Dieticians. So now we get to the true crux of the matter for me. Is it likely that Catherine of Siena's legendary fasting, living on nothing but bread and water for something like 17 years, was real? Or is it believed to be exaggerated in writings about her? For those that did have piety fasts trying to live on only bread and water, either for penance or other reasons, did they tend to fall ill from it from the diseases we now know as vitamin deficiencies? If not, is there an explanation for this, such as something in the bread and water, or is it likely that they snuck other foods into their diet and just lied about it? Or do we not know because we don't have good sources for things like that?

With Norse raids on Christian monasteries in the late 8th through early 11th centuries being so common, were defense forces of any kind appointed to guard them? Monasteries in Ireland Scotland and England are usually depicted as helpless sitting duck targets, but is this accurate?

I apologize if this question is a bit silly

There are a few instances in the bible were it says things like "And Jesus said: Talita kum, which means 'stand up little one' "

Today we know that every time Jesus is quoted directly like this his words were in Aramaic, which indicates that was probably his native language

But... did Medieval christians know this?

If an educated person were to read the Bible back then they would probably assume those words were in Hebrew, they had probably never even heard of Aramaic

Many christian scholars of that time showed interest in hebrew at some point but as far as I know no one ever showed the slightest interest in Aramaic, which is crazy since this was Jesus' native language... But it would make sense if they didn't know it was his native language

So, did they knew?, and if they knew, why didn't care about Aramaic?

The crux of my question is whether people generally believed that only their own gods existed, or if they accepted the discovery of new gods when encountering foreign tribes.

Ancient history has many recorded incidents of foreign gods, temples and other symbols of religion being disrespected, desecrated or destroyed entirely during conflict. Were people afraid of repercussions from gods they had newly encountered but nevertheless disrespected?

What was the intent behind these kinds of actions?

• To deliberately disrespect those gods, because they believed them to be real but 'allied with' their enemies?

• To simply offend the people or eradicate their religion, with no belief in their gods?

Did people believe that their own gods would protect them against foreign gods that might be angry?

Was it a question of subject matter, organization, affiliation, or other factors? Was the establishment of a Western-style university a major or minor adjustment for China as a whole? And why establish new institutions rather than reform existing ones?

I've noticed similar dynamics at play in other Asian countries (e.g. Thailand and Japan), where education had a strong tradition and legacy but the "first university" dates to no earlier than the late 19th century, so info from Asian countries outside China would also be appreciated.

I've been lately reading the history of Mexico City. I just realized the city was much bigger back then. Much more bigger than any city in both North and South America. However one of my teachers says that the city was the second largest in the world, having Pekin of the Ming Dynasty as first place.

Is it true? How big was the population compared to other cities? Was Tenochtitlan as big as the spanish claimed?

In the show Vikings, we are essentially shown time and time again, Viking forces which are most of the time lesser in number and not near as heavily armored as the Saxons achieve decisive victories over them the majority of the time. Was it just that the Viking commanders were superior or did the Viking mentality of 'Victory or Death' give them the edge?

I recently read Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology”, where he has attempted to take works like the Poetic Edda and “translate” the stories into a modern phrasing and structuring - while attempting to stay true to the original work - so that current readers may more directly read these stories.

It was a fun read (though obviously not fully comprehensive, which I would have preferred) but so far it’s the only one of it’s type that I have come across. I highly doubt that I would have read the Poetic Edda in a raw translation and, if I had, I doubt that my understanding of the stories would have been as thorough.

I am fascinated by the belief systems of civilizations and would like to read some books that attempt to present these systems in a more approachable manner (even if not a “leisurely read”), but given the complexity and often interweaving and evolving views of deities and their relationships to one another and the people, finding a source that presents more than a quick cursory summary but also has been written in a way it won’t overwhelm has been very difficult and is a balancing act I haven’t seen an author really pull off yet.

I am particularly interested in the belief systems pertaining to the Mesoamerican civilizations or more ancient/older Asian civilizations (an exploration on early Hinduism would be fascinating!), but any and all recommendations are welcome!

Could historians specializing in mythologies/beliefs recommend some works and detail why these works in particular are great areas to begin learning?

Thanks!

Apologies if a similar question has been asked before.

I'm interested in whether there was interchangeability between the coinage of the Roman successor states before the reunification by Aurelian. I imagine in border provinces such as Bithynia and Narbonensis there might have been some exchange of currencies in the private sector given their proximity. This brings to question if there were any restrictions on using currency bearing the image of rival powers within these states.

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Come share the cool stuff you love about the past!

We do not allow posts based on personal or relatives' anecdotes. Brief and short answers are allowed but MUST be properly sourced to respectable literature. All other rules also apply—no bigotry, current events, and so forth.

For this round, let’s look at: Emotions! Tell us how Emotions were expressed - or repressed - in the area you study? Share stories of love, fear, sadness, and ways people thought and dealt with them!

Is it traceable to a certain part of the world? Or is it not as seemingly pervasive a cultural norm as it might appear?