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Was it possible for a scribe (for example, a monk in a monastery) to be illiterate? I recently had a discussion with my friends on that possibility. I could understand that someone copying a text in a different language might not know how to read it, but only to be able to copy symbols... is it possible for a medieval scribe to be totally illiterate, if maybe a good calligrapher? If yes, was this common?
Hallo, thank you for this subreddit !
Have a question about research, and finding out information.
At the moment, have been reading about and interested in a few topics in history but have been running into some roadblocks. I am particularly interested in german writers at the turn between the 1700s and 1800s and have found lots to think about, but have been having trouble finding info in some cases.
In particular am interested in Henriette Vogel, have found a lot of documents from people at that era saying she was a accomplished intellectual, writer, musician, but have only found a few little pieces of her work or about her. Would like to read more. Can read both german and english pretty well. Are there any sources anyone would recommend? Especially ones that are free or not behind paywall? Also any sources on that era or Heinrich von Kleist in general would be much appreciated.
Did the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 affect any of the young boys the Qing Dynasty sent as part of the Chinese Educational Mission ? How were they able to get into universities like Yale and Harvard despite the overwhelming anti-Chinese sentiment? Did the general public somehow draw a distinction between these students and the "coolies"?
How did the Grandmasters of Monastic States actually govern? Did they sit on thrones in a Great Hall and hold court as kings?
Did they have private meetings in their offices?
Was it a combo where the GrandMaster and his Officers sit at a High Table in the Great Hall?
Did it differ between the Teutonic Hochmeister or the Hospitaller Princes & Grandmasters?
Why did so many men in old photographs and portraits pose with their hand in their jacket? I've seen in it portraits of Napoleon and even in a photograph of John Wilkes Booth, so I'm curious why this became popular.
In the early 19th century what were 'Lascar knives'? They seem to have been a specific product. I saw for instance an ad for 'Pocket and Lascar knives'.
Does anyone know the easiest way to find works that were originally in another language translated to English? I've been looking for this one (Täter. Wie aus ganz normalen Menschen Massenmörder werden) after seeing a really interesting response to a question, and my German isn't good enough to read it yet.
when did the loyalists find out that the participants of the Boston Tea Party weren't really Native Americans? Or was it obvious that they were disguised during the time?
I happened to be reading up on Marie Antoinette one day, and happened to see articles debunking her bad sides, like the famous "let them eat cake" phrase.
I believe I happened to see a part of an article suggesting that she is actually doing good deeds to a certain degree, but I forgot how I stumbled upon that article and I can't seem to find any evidence to back that up.
Is there any evidence or suggestions, if any, that could prove Marie Antoinette to actually be caring for her people?
How did cartographers keep up to date with knowledge of new geography? How did they learn what the world looked like?
Part of the reason for this ask is a map I was looking at from the 18th century that featured California as an island, and that seemed really late for that in a map.
When was Egypt at its greatest extent in size?
I have a few, if anyone happens to know any of these they would be very appreciated!
-Did agriculture start in Eurasia and move to the America's over the Bering Land Bridge, or was agriculture brought about independently?
-When was the catapult invented/used, when was it replaced by the trebuchet? Is the ancient term "catapult" even the same as the modern one?
Roman Questions
-The second punic war marked a point where Mos Maiorum (had to look up that spelling, whew boy) began to break down. Did the action of Scipio Africanii do anything to effect this? (Sorry if I worded this bad)
-Were there ever any Roman Consuls who were women?
-I heard of Marc Antony's Egyptian Triumph. Were there ever there controversial triumphs? Maybe no crowd showing up, or someone holding a triumph alone, or doing it without the senates backing?
-How different physiologically were people and horses of the Roman Empire? I heard the average height of a roman soldier was 5'0-5'4, and would like to know more about the size of the soldiers and horses as well.
-What happened to Sparta after it was conquered by Rome? What happened to the helot population and the warrior class?
Thank you
Edit: Order & Spacing Edit 2: Another question
How did Christianity outcompete other religions to become the official religion of Rome?
Did Hitler expect to take France so easily?
Did the treasure looted from South America change Europe’s economy in any significant way?
What were Jews Buying Grounds in the US of the 18th-19th centuries? This is a detail from the Randel Farms Maps of Manhattan, NYC c.1820.. googling 'jews buying grounds' gives me like 3 hits, 2 of which are probably this one in NYC - for all I know this was the only one.
edit, people who know the village, I think this near or where the jefferson market is, on 6th and greenwich
I have a question about methodology. Is it ok to rely on a secondary source's interpretation of a primary source without seeing the primary source yourself? I'm doing a research paper and there are some newspaper articles that are repeatedly mentioned, but the articles are not anywhere to be found online. I have similar interpretations in the articles and books, and there are quotes here and there, but no way for me to verify for myself.
