*Could the Pope choose a noble from outside the Empire? Was it always a king elected or could dukes/counts be appointed as well?

I was reading the stories of King Arthur by T.H White. In it he presents the knights of Arthur (especially Lancelot and later his son) as regarding staying pure and a virgin as massively important and, in the case of Lancelot, being very traumatised when he loses it. How accurate would this be. From what I understand female virginity is usually more valued. Was the middle ages an exception? How important was being a virgin before marriage in the middle ages to a man? How was male virginity viewed in general? Is this a theme that is ever addressed in the original legends of King Arthur or other medieval stories.

I'm guessing ancient people would have come across large dinosaur bones. What would they have made of them? Did it inform their myths & legends? Was there anything written that we could point to as definitely having been a reference to dinosaur bones?

[deleted]

I'm studying the Russian Revolution & formation of the USSR. I am having trouble understanding the Russian Civil War and the White Army. Can anyone make a quick recap of it and explain what was the purpose of the White Army? Thank you.

I found it an extremely interesting piece of the story

While doing genealogy research, I came across my Great Uncle's WW1 draft card from 1917. He states that is he married and supporting a wife and mother. He wasn't. Any idea why he would do this? He was married, only 2 years later, and 4 months before his death in 1919.

So: there are many stories about British counter-intelligence during WW2, and their deceptions of the Nazi's. They indicate a intelligence agency which was on top form and good at their jobs. However, during the Cold War (even from the early Cold War), you get alot of stories of how compromised British intelligence is: The Cambridge Five are the keynote. So why is there this discrepancy? Or is my perception that there is a discrepancy wrong?

The first five year plan was officially implemented from 1928-1932, but how were the industrial aspects of it planned for? Were observers sent on trips to the United States, Britain, and other industrial powers? If so, do we know approximately how many they were, what countries they went to, and even who some of them were?

I went to Salem last weekend and learned all about the witch trials. In my mind it seems like the "Spectral evidence" the girls used to accuse people was undeniable. I feel like they were covering up their behavior by creating hysteria. I never saw this called out though. Am I misunderstanding events? Did we ever decide what really happened during the Salem witch trials?

[deleted]

My pleasure-reading recently has seen me working through Marco Polo's accounts, as well as those of Ibn Fadlan's travels through the far north (as far as Viking territory!). What else might you recommend that's similarly interesting and wide-ranging? The longer the journey the better, basically.

I know about Greek comedy making fun of the elites while said elites were present, so mostly wondering about it making fun of what you may call "the common folk", so ordinary citizens that are sitting right there.