Insulting a Viking is comparable to taunting a teenage boy, but with greater consequences. The greatest insult was to suggest that a man was sansorðinn — “used in the position of a female (blauðr) by another man.” The consequence of this could be fullrettirsorð “full penalty,” in which the insulted man could kill Continue Reading
Vive la Révolution: Victims of The Guillotine
During the Reign of Terror (1793-1794) in the French Revolution it is estimated that up to 40,000 people were executed by Guillotine. Notable victims were: François III Maximilien de la Woestyne, 3rd Marquess of Becelaere Arnaud II de La Porte (23 August 1792) Second political victim of the guillotine Jacques Continue Reading
Roman Remedies – Gladiator Blood
The Roman’s believed that drinking Gladiator’s blood cured many ailments, including infertility and epilepsy. Pliny the Elder notes in his Natural History (Book XXVIII, II) The blood too of gladiators is drunk by epileptics as though it were a draught of life, though we shudder with horror when in the Continue Reading