So I understand most of Mozart's Italian-language operas were originally performed in German-speaking places like Vienna and Prague. Would the audiences of these premieres have understood the goings on in the libretto? Indeed, would Mozart himself have been fluent in Italian, or relied on his librettist for translations? On a related note, how common was fluency in several languages among Western European upper-middle class and nobility at the time?

I was listening to the radio, and someone said poppies were used as a symbol for loss and death before World War One. With a link to Waterloo, and the symbolism of the sleep that opiates can induce.

Does anyone know how long the poppy has been linked t death and warfare. Ths is significant as it is a central symbol in Britain's 100 ear anniversary of the start of WWI

Why did it take until 1939 for a British Monarch to visit the U.S. Why didn't a monarch visit during the World War I time period when the U.S. backed Britain?

Hello, everyone, I'm currently reading a book, "The Spanish Inquisition" by Cecil Roth, and he mentions the Inquisition becoming such an institution that they had their own manuals for local Inquisitors to generally abide by. It was a throwaway sentence, with no reference to it afterwards, but I've seen references to such books in popular culture before.

Do we actually have record of any specific books like these? Do any of them still exist today in English?

Wikipedia states, without a source, that this was not because of perceived effeminacy. If not for a feminine appearance of demeanor, why was Malcolm IV given such a moniker?

I have seen him referenced as "Malcolm Virgo". Was he then named "maiden" for his virginity, as he never married? Was "maiden" a gender-neutral term in 12th century Scots?

And if not, how much of the Americas did the Aztecs know about, did they ever engage in exploration?

In the middle ages, would leggings or tights most often be a one piece garment or just long socks? By the sixteenth century, did most men in England and France wear trousers?

Did they assist at all or were they just to boost the US' morale?

I often joke that Spain as a country peaked with the publication of Don Quixote. But looking at its history, it is remarkable to see how a country that was as powerful as Spain in the 1500s managed to declined so greatly over the years. What happened to Spain to cause such a decline, and why was it unable to regain its former glory? I know it had economic troubles, but how did these destroy the spanish empire?

not talking about just being soldiers in general, I mean how many presidents do we know personally killed a person? the first one I can think of is Andrew Jackson and his many duels.

Why not a base 8, or a base 12?

In particular I was looking pictures of the Pantheon on Google Earth (360 Cities really) and was wonder at the amazing condition the structure was in. Wikipedia mentions that the porch was meant to be taller so as to hide part of the dome. Again according to wiki it was built in only 3 years.

All this made me wonder how the design process worked. Where architecture structures made? Scale models. What kind of measurements were recorded before hand?

tl;dr See title.