One particularly fascinating historical figure I ran across in my research into the 11th century was Gerbert d’Aurillac, possibly one of the most learned men of his time. For most of his life Gerbert was a scholar, scientist, mathematician, poet, … Read More →

I’m willing to bet that you’ve never spent an afternoon curled up with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Right? This is not surprising because the ASC is not an easy read. For starters, it’s not just one chronicle, but several, written in … Read More →

In the early middle ages any journey by ship across a vast expanse of water would have been dangerous. The Narrow Sea, that we know today as the English Channel, was no exception. In the year 1009 a fleet of … Read More →

This happens about once each millennium: somebody decides to tinker with the calendar. A couple of millennia ago, the Roman calendar was 355 days long, divided into 12 months. But to make the days of the year match the seasons, … Read More →

It is nearly Twelfth Night (January 6, thank you, King Alfred) when we will have to put all thoughts of Christmas behind us for another year. Before we do that, though, let us consider what Christmas might have been like … Read More →

One of my favorite Christmas cd’s is Winter’s Dance by the Celtic folk group Golden Bough. It is the background music for all the cooking and baking I do between December 18 and January 1. One of the songs on … Read More →