Tag Archives: History

Orchil

orchil. Article #42 Vol 8, pg 985. What’s more exciting than a purple dye that you somehow extract from a boring brown lichen? Britannica tells us that “orchil” can refer to the dye extracted from the lichen, or to the lichen … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Great Mogul Diamond

Great Mogul Diamond. Article #41 Vol 5, pg 446. The Great Mogul Diamond was the largest diamond ever discovered in India.  Discovered in 1650, it was estimated at  780 carats as a rough stone and then very badly cut by a … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Moche

Moche. Article #37. Vol 8, pg 212. The Moche was a civilization that existed between the 1st and 8th century AD, along the north coast of Peru. The Moche culture existed as a series of independently ruled towns and cities in … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samuel Kirkland

Kirkland, Samuel. Article #34. Vol 6, pg 890. Samuel Kirkland (1741-1808), was an American minister and missionary to the Iroquois before and during the American Revolutionary War.  He was a friend to the Oneida and Tuscarora nations and, working for General … Continue reading

Posted in People | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

James II (Great Britain)

James II (Great Britain). Article #22. Vol 6, pg 482. The Stuarts came to power in England when James I took the throne in 1603. He and son Charles I were big on the idea that the king had all the power, … Continue reading

Posted in People | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Letter of Barnabas

Barnabas, Letter of. Article #21. Vol 1, pg 903. The Letter of Barnabas is an early church document, written in Greek.  Despite its name, scholars believe that it was written by some early church writer in the 1st or 2nd century, … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hwicce

Hwicce. Article #15. Vol 6, pg 183. The Hwicce were the inhabitants of one of the sub-kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England, from around 580 AD to 780 AD.  I guess being just a sub-kingdom explains why Britannica only gives them about an … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Delphi

Delphi. Article #8. Vol 3, pg 979. If you’ve ever seen or read any Greek plays, you know that before doing pretty much anything, the ancient Greeks would first consult the oracle at Delphi to see how things were going to … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Félibrige

Félibrige. Article #6. Vol. 4, pg 719. It’s no secret that the French are known for wanting to keep the French language pure and avoiding being railroaded by English, the modern lingua franca.  While I do think that the French … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment