December 6 is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of all children. Born to a well-off Christian family in the city of Patara, Lycia (an area in modern-day Turkey), between 261…
December 4, 771 AD: Charlemagne's younger brother and king of Austrasia, Carloman I, perishes from a sudden illness after just a little more than two years spent on the throne. At the time of his death,…
"Banquet", illumination from the manuscript "La grant hystoire Cesar", Royal 17 F II, f. 299r, 1479, British Library, London. The miniature portrays Julius Caesar and Cleopatra during a banquet. The manuscript belonged to King Edward IV of England,…
Illumination from the manuscript "Fables", ms. 0434, f. 371v, 1372, Bibliothèque municipale d'étude et de conservation, Besançon. This illumination belongs to a French manuscript created for Charles V of France. The richly-gilded panels represent four of the…
On November 27th, 43 BC the so-called "Lex Titia" legalized the Second Triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus; with this, the Triumvirate was officially given the power to make or annul laws without the…
"Almost that passage had made morning there And evening here, and there was wholly white That hemisphere, and black the other part, When Beatrice towards the left-hand side I saw turned round, and gazing at…
"Saint Cecilia playing the portative organ", illumination from a French collection of prayers, ms. 1206, f. 112r, beginning of the 16th century, Bibliothèque municipale, Valenciennes. November 22 is celebrated by the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Churches…
"Peacock and hedgehog", illumination from the manuscript "Spiegel der Weisheit", ms. Egerton 1121, f. 74r, ca. 1430, British Museum, London. The vanity of a peacock is reproved by a modest hedgehog, who rolls into…