Christine de Pizan or Pisan (Cristina da Pizzano) c.1364 - 1430 is an Italian-born French court writer during the reign of King Charles...

In the medieval world, urine is a surprisingly versatile body fluid with a wide range of applications beyond the obvious disposal...

The Guelphs and Ghibellines are feuding factions during the Italian Renaissance. Warfare and bloodshed between the two throw regions of...

Alexandria is on the Mediterranean coast at the Egyptian settlement Rhacotis, later the Egyptian quarter of the city. Due to its vast...

Roger Bacon (c. 1219 - 1292) is a Franciscan friar and fiery figure in medieval and later science and philosophy. He's known for his...

Catherine de' Medici is the Queen of France 1547 - 1563 AD. She's been characterized as a "sinister Queen" with notable interest in the...

The Great Library of Alexandria on the balmy shores of the Mediterranean and the Nile delta is a center of intellectual activity by c....

Noisy spirits of Germanic mythology are any who scream, moan, wail, knock or rumble. They include Klagefrau the wailing woman;...

Yahweh is the God of the Israelites in ancient Levant. In the Book of Exodus he reveals his Hebrew name, YHWH, to Moses. The origins of...

Youngest of four sons, Hattusilis (Hattusili) doesn't expect to take the throne. In fact he's not expected to live. Weak and sickly as a...

Ullikummi of ancient near Eastern mythology is a towering creature of stone. It's born of the union of Underworld creator god Kumarbi ...

Sekhmet is Goddess of War and medicine. Sites of worship include Memphis, Egypt, with husband Ptah and son Nefertum in a divine...

Disaster strikes as the first plague of tularemia or rabbit fever breaks out in the ancient Hittite Empire in the 14th century BCE....

Underworld goddess Lelwani of the Bronze Age Hittites (c. 1600-1180 BCE) originates as a male god, called 'lord' and 'king'. He's a god...

The Hittites are first noted in tablets of trade found at the karum of Kanesh ( Kültepe ) in Anatolia, modern day Turkey. The Hittite...

The concept of the evil eye exists since the beginning of humanity on earth. The curse is cast with a malevolent look or glare. The evil...

In the Bronze Age, the Trzciniec culture (2400 - 1300 BCE) occupies areas of Central-East Europe in Poland and parts of Lithuania....

In the 1st century BCE Julius Caesar writes about the tribes of Germania. He's struck by the apparent sparsity of the Germanic pantheon,...

Under Alaric in 410 AD, the Visigoths invade Italy and attack Rome, the nerve center of the civilized world. Before that, with Visigoths...

Brunhilde is the Queen of Isenland in German mythology. Her tale is written in the Middle Ages and centers on her tragic deception by...