Category Archives: medieval

An illustration by Botticelli of Dante and Virgil traveling through Hell.

How an Italian City Honored the Author who Criticized it “Was there ever so vain a people as the Sienese? Even the French can’t match such vanity.” Dante Inferno, 29.…

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Recreating Brazil Wood Ink from Period Recipes “They spawn as it were in March and Aprill; the Geese are formed in May and June, and come to fulnesse of feathers…

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In Nordic countries there are numerous tales of these creatures crafted by witches and tasked with stealing milk from the homes of ordinary townsfolk – what could be more “otherly”?

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Dog Headed Men appearing to worship an idol

The Cynocephalus Spoon “They inhabit the mountains as far as the river Indus. Their complexion is swarthy. They are extremely just, like the rest of the Indians with whom they…

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