History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.
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 […]
Julian the Apostate stands as an enigmatic figure among Roman emperors, ascending to power in 361 AD during a period when Rome was rapidly transitioning from its pagan roots to Christianity. Following Constantine’s legalization of Christianity in 313 AD and the subsequent redirection of imperial funding toward Christian institutions, pagans, who had long benefited from […]
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 […]
I was trying to find the reference point within the Divine Comedy which places the beginning of Dante’s journey as Good Friday. The Princeton Dante Project has this to say in the notes: As the text will later make clear ([Inf XXI 112-114]), we are observing the 1266th anniversary of Good Friday (which fell on […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s often beneficial to reflect on the past and consider the events we’ve experienced in recent history. With this in mind, I wanted to take a moment to revisit some of this year’s notable occurrences and highlight what I believe were some of the most significant stories—both the obvious and the less apparent. Let’s dive […]
A night of waiting and expectation for history to unfold In just a few hours, the polls open for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The feelings I have are surely shared by other people, including those on the opposite political side as myself. These feelings reflect the mounting tension that has been building up for […]
Over the holiday break I had the opportunity to visit a major museum in Pittsburgh that I had never before visited. I was with a small group of people so the amount of time I could spend in any one wing was limited, but I was still able to whet my intellectual appetite for the […]
