Today we are going to continue analyzing the true story of another of the characters in the Vikings series. , without a doubt one of the most attractive in all aspects. If a few days ago we dedicated an article to Ivar the Boneless , the most famous and cruel son of Ragnar Lodbrok , today it is the
It often seems that the chivalric orders were reduced to one, the much hackneyed and adulterated one of the Temple, but the truth is that there were many more and one of the pioneers was that of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. Created centuries before the Crusades and initially dedicated to assisting t
In the year 1695, a Jesuit researching the history of Hungary in the Vatican archives came across a series of valuable documents on the subject. They recounted the journeys made by a monk named Julianus to that confusing area where eastern Europe merges with western Asia during the Middle Ages, rep
Willem van Ruysbroeck was a Franciscan monk, better known in Spain as Guillermo de Rubruquis, sent by the King of France as ambassador to the Great Khan. A few days ago we narrated the travels of Julianus, a Dominican who in the Middle Ages traveled through Eastern Europe in search of Magna Hungary
One of the most unique characters from the hit TV series Vikings is Floki, played by the Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgård (son of the famous Stellan Skarsgård, who has become very popular with films like Mamma mia or The Avengers ). Floki, a faithful friend of Ragnar Lodbrok for whom he builds the sp
Prolonged sieges of cities almost always gave rise to extreme situations of famine and epidemics that ended up decimating the population -sometimes also the besiegers- and generating extreme behavior motivated by necessity. One of the most execrable behaviors, due to its status as an ancestral tabo
“Love conquers all; let us give in to love.” This beautiful phrase belongs to one of the most popular literary works of the fifteenth century, a true best seller of that time of change that was the transition from the Late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. I mean Story of duobus amantibus or A story o
In the fall of 1992 the French Court of Cassation, the highest court for judicial appeals, cleared a defendant of all guilt. Until then, all normal. The extraordinary thing was that he had been advised by a jury made up of jurists, historians and psychologists, and that the graceful man had been han
In the spring of the year 772 Charlemagne led a large army of Franks against the Saxons. He first took the fortress of Eresburg and then went into Saxon territory, destroying everything and obtaining a great booty of gold and silver. But before leaving the place he had the Irminsul destroyed. . T
«We know nothing better than our dedication [to science], which is superior to the rest of other kinds of trades, and that men recognize that science is the highest of human things, because the most Noble recognizes that true science is something superior and worthy, whatever its usefulness or profi
The expression spend a night in Toledo is often used. (or used to, since it has fallen into disuse) to illustrate someone who has had a bad time, unable to sleep, for whatever reason. The origin of the curious statement is not clear and it is generally attributed to the heat that is usually in the
Sometimes a specific historical event makes its name endure by applying it generically to other similar ones. This is what happened, for example, with the Spanish guerrillas in the War of Independence, a word that today universally designates this type of combat, and what also happens in France, wh
The Lingua Ignota is considered the first artificial language in history, created by Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century, although its purpose is unknown. But throughout history there have been attempts to create languages for different reasons, whether aesthetic, artistic, functional or sim
The world of religious institutions is more complex than it seems at first glance. For a layman, everything is reduced to regular clergy (those governed by a monastic rule) and secular clergy (independent priests and deacons), but then each one is subdivided into various types of institutions. Of th
Historically, marriages for love they were given almost exclusively in songs and literature; a wedding was something too serious to be celebrated for something so ethereal and this was especially true for the royal families, the nobles and the wealthy because of alliances and such, but it also occur
During the Middle Ages, the possession of relics meant for churches, cathedrals and monasteries, the influx of numerous pilgrims and, therefore, income. It was not uncommon for bishops, abbots and other religious authorities to strive to get as many of them as possible, especially when the need for
If you have seen the movie Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott will surely remember the scene in which Saladin tries to storm the Crack of the Moabites. The Crusader Castle, also known as the Kerak , was together with the Crac de los Caballeros, one of the largest Christian fortresses in the Holy Lan
As with many other European countries, Italy was not a unified state until the mid-19th century. Until then it was a mosaic of kingdoms and republics that, as we go back in time, was made up of more and more loose tiles, something especially serious not because of the separation itself but because
In the north of France, near Amiens, is the underground city of Naours, built in the 10th century, rediscovered in 1887, and used by the Nazis in World War II. That area of France has suffered numerous vicissitudes, wars and conflicts since the Middle Ages. Often the inhabitants of the village of
Robert E. Howard narrated that his best-known character, Conan the barbarian, began as a bandit and after fighting a thousand battles and living no fewer adventures, he became king on his own merits. But that model of experience, climbing the social hierarchy by struggling through mud and blood unt
The Esquiline is a district in the historic center of Rome whose etymology comes from the ancient castra priora equitum singularium , that is, the headquarters of the Equites Singulares Augusti (imperial guard on horseback), which was located on the neighboring Celio hill. In ancient times it was
The battle for Hill 3234 is one of many small but high-intensity conflicts that took place in Afghanistan between Soviet forces and the Mujahideen insurgents. This war, the Soviet Vietnam, according to many, was not decided by one or more major line battles, but by the totality of small conflicts, s
The submarine weapon did not get the recognition it deserved in Britain. And this made perfect sense, considering that the Royal Navy, then the most powerful in the world, had, in 1914, over 60 battleships, old and new. The Royal Navys reliance on its battleship line of battle automatically made sub
In the years after World War I, a democratic regime that became known as the Weimar Republic was installed in the defeated Germany. Actually this name was given a posteriori , because the National Constituent Assembly was held in the city of the same name, although the official denomination was sti