Can anyone point me to secular sources on the net about how different books were selected for the bible? I can only find thousands of religious sources online.

I got thinking about this when I started to read "The Knight of the Burning Pestle." I don't recall hearing of many knights during Elizabeth's time or even in much of the Tudor reign, historically, but the ones I read about in that era seem to be made a mockery of (Knight of the Burning Pestle, Don Quixote, etc). Thinking about it (from my fairly superficial literary historical knowledge), they went from thane-like warriors to Arthurian/Chaucerian knights that seem to blend both battle and romance (how accurate that knight is, I'm not sure), and then they seem to more or less disappear except to be used as a medium of humor as we move into the renaissance from the literature I read. But they do still exist today--just as people of esteem not necessarily having anything to do with war or even the crown/court. I was mostly wondering when and why the transition(s) took place. The orders listed on the link are interesting--but they don't acknowledge the knights/any order before the 18-19th century.

A similar thread occurred a few months ago, but the answers nearly all focused on the different orders of knighthood, and none of those orders were before the 18th century. I'm looking for earlier development.

During WWII, the US produced 1.5 million M1 Thompsons. I'm sure that most were issued to officers, NCOs, and special forces (e.g. rangers), but what about the rest of them? Who decided who got what, when were those decisions made, and on what basis? If you were trained as a BAR-man, were you more-or-less guaranteed to be issued a BAR in the field?

Hello, I've recently taken an interest in renaissance Italy (and the renaissance period in general) and would like some recommendations on books or documentaries to look for to learn more. I'm especially interested in the politics, plots and characters that dominated the different cities.

Asked this before, got no answer

EDIT - Wow, this went way better than the first time. Great posts. Keep 'em coming! I'm particularly interested in why the Mecelle failed to secularize law in the Muslim world.

Particularly among slave owners?

Klein Deutsch was German states uniting with Prussia, and Gross Deutsch was the same but involving Austria. Why were German speaking Swiss Kantons such as Zurich and Schywz not involved in the Gorss Deutsch nationalist sentiments?

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was executed on May 19 1536 on the charges of adultery, incest, and treason (as far as I am aware). How likely is it that she committed any of those acts and what is the evidence for them? If it is unlikely what is the most likely reason she and her supposed partners were executed? Was the King personally motivated to get rid of her?

I've heard sources where he was said to have voices speaking to him and somewhat insane, is there any truth to this?