Trojan War from Biblioteca Ambrosiana: The Secret of the ‘Bleeding Iliad’
The Ambrosian Iliad. This mysterious, illuminated manuscript circa 500 AD is an object of interest to many scholars, but also to art history lovers. Held today in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy, the Ambrosian Iliad is a real treasure, not only for historians and art historians, but also for every true art lover who appreciates the rare and the beautiful.
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Sparking a Third Anglo-American War: The Canadian Rebellion and Caroline Affair, 1837-1838
In 1837 former Toronto mayor William Lyon Mackenzie organized an insurrection among the farmers of Ontario in an attempt to wrest political control over Canada from colonial authorities. The rebellion received substantial sympathy and support from Americans living in the border region – particularly around the city of Buffalo – which used a local American ship the SS Caroline to ferry weapons and supplies over the Niagara River.
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Did Gothic Romanticism Criticize the Early 19th Century World?
Although escapism was in fashion, there was one interesting subgenre of Romanticism where the development was a source of inspiration for the story usually set in the past. That subgenre is Dark or Gothic romanticism.
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The Defeat that Made William Conqueror: Harald Hardrada’s Fall at Stamford Bridge, 1066 (Part II)
After Harald Hardrada’s many years in exile working for the Byzantine emperor as chief of the Varangian Guard he returned to Norway a wealthy man seeking the throne his half-brother Olaf died in battle attempting to seize in 1030. Rather than fight his uncle, his nephew King Magnus the Good of Norway and Denmark offered Harald co-kingship of Norway, which was agreed upon in 1046. In return, Harald gifted Magnus much of the wealth he had accumulated in the east.
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The Viking King Harald Hardrada: Eastern Exile and Mercenary Life, 1030-1042 (Part I)
Harald Sigurdsson (1015-1066), also known as Harald Hardrada (“hard”) was one of the most fabled kings in Norwegian history. Harald and his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson – who later became Saint Olaf – fought together in 1030 while trying to reclaim the throne from the Danish king Cnut the Great – who made an alliance with the jarls of Lade in the Trondheim region.
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