Was there anybody that taught about how would the future be in medieval times?

From my understanding of history, for the most part the metal known as gold has always been seen as a sign of wealth and prosperity. Is there any practical or cultural reasoning for this, considering how it is not useful for construction or food, and can only really be used for aesthetic appeal?

And if so, what explains the popularity of axes among the Norse that didn't exist elsewhere where the sword was more popular? I should also mention that I'm aware of swords being found at Viking burial sites/Ulfbert/Damascus steel/etc. - I'm more interested in the popular perception and where it came from.

Partial explanations:

Axes were much cheaper and easier to produce than swords

The Viking War Axe was fundamentally different from a woodaxe (thinner and lighter) and thus the needs of Norse farmers/laborers doesn't explain the axe's relative popularity

As a user (and a very uncommon and amateur/poor answerer), it's frustrating to open a thread with a ton of comments, but all top level replies deleted.

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I understand that in the past things were different, but nowadays the roman catholic church is far from its days of glory, still it manages to fund every church around the continent? Donations can´t suffice I mean...

Can anyone explain to me how the boer wars had effects on: Apartheid South Africa World war one (I thought it carved the way to ww1) And does anyone know if sanctions were lifted on Great Britain seeing how they got a lot of opposition on the second Boer War Reactions are welcome ! Also, does anyone have any good books on the Boer Wars that talk about the republics, Boers' side etc Thanks in advance

So I've recently been listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast (which I would highly recommend solely on it's entertainment value) and I'd like to try reading some historical non-fiction. I finished and enjoyed the Killing series of books (Killing Patton, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus) earlier this summer.

I'm trying to walk the line between narrative and a research tome, and i'd like to get some recommendations on books that are both informative and educating, but also enjoyable to read. I found the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, but I was concerned it might be too dry to enjoy as recreational reading. I was looking at purchasing the first three volumes if that matters.

I would also like a recommendation on books that explore the expansion and heyday of the Roman Empires history.

Thanks for any recommendations!

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Given the difficulty of spelling out each letter for telegraphs, I assume they were shorter than letter, but how short were they?

Also, while it may be silly, I'm curious: given that telegraphs would be harder to write out, to what extent would sending someone a telegraph be like sending someone a tweet in the modern day?

And were Native-American slaves brought to Europe?

It seems that when an outside group conquers an area they either assimilate into the population or the general population adopts the conquerors' culture and language. What factors determine what happens?

For example, the many various groups which have conquered China seem to have eventually ended up adopting Chinese culture: Xiongnu, Manchus

While in Europe the opposite seems to have happened. When the Romans conquered western Europe the populations began speaking Latin and saw themselves as Romans, and then later took on the identity of the 'barbarian' tribes who conquered the land as the Roman Empire fell apart.

What determines this? Population size? Cultural complexity? Something else?

For example, I've seen Kennedy's IQ listed as 151. How would someone come up with that number? Is it in any way reliable?