The concept of commissioning artwork during the Renaissance in Italy was the norm. Read below for what it was like for a commission during that time (my emphasis in bold): Renaissance art was made to order. There were no art galleries, because the concept of art made without commission, without function, and without a designated […]
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of Little Bighorn took place on this date in 1876. In the Wikipedia article that describes the battle, possible reasons for Custer’s defeat are given (condensed from the original, earlier edition of entry): Unfortunately (for Custer and his troops), this aggressive action was deeply flawed as a military tactic. First, Custer did not […]
The Healing Arts of the Dark Ages
An interesting article discusses how healing and caring for the sick wasn’t as “dark” during the Dark Ages as people may think. From the article: People living in Europe during early Medieval times (400-1200 A.D.) actually had a progressive view of illness because disease was so common and out in the open, according to the […]
What was the greatest military advancement of all time?
I ask the question in the title not necessarily in regard to the most destructive military advancement, but rather the most striking. That is, what has been the achievement that has separated one army or nation from its predecessor, relatively speaking? Was it the first use of bronze or iron? The use of large projectiles […]
Hitler and the Destruction of the Church
While looking for information related to a forum user’s question, I came across some interesting information related to Adolf Hitler’s plans for the Catholic Church: As a first step Hitler wanted to force German Catholics to abolish priestly celibacy and accept a nationalisation of all church property, as had happened in France in 1905. After […]
The Romans in Britain and the Boudica Problem
The Romans eventually expanded into Britain, bringing with them their culture and their armies. Because of the hostile tribes there, such as the Celts, the Romans had to expend energy and resources to defend this faraway outpost. Such was the case when the Icenic queen, Boudica (also spelled Boadicea), rose to prominence and led an army […]
Midsummer Night: June 25th
June 25 is the date of Midsummer Night. According to Wikipedia, the celebration of this date in Great Britain goes back to the 1200s and continued through the ages (with some exceptions) in various forms. The date is also significant in Great Britain because it is one of four “quarter days” traditionally marked in the […]
The Injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
In my opinion, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 violated the precepts of justice in at least three ways. In a nutshell, the Act gave legal force to southern slave owners to retrieve their slaves who escaped to the North. The Act was important to southerners because it was seen as a kind of quid […]
How to reduce a massively-bloated WordPress database
I recently got in trouble with my hosting company for being a resource hog. I get hit by a lot of spammers at WCF to begin with, but I didn’t realize that the size of my database made it such that it became taxing on the server. I had noticed things were sluggish on this […]
