The abbey of Saint Gall ( Sankt Gallen in German) was founded in the year 613 in the town that today bears his name in Switzerland by an Irish monk, Gallus of Hibernia. It would be one of the main Benedictine monasteries in Europe for many centuries. It flourished under the patronage of Pepin the […]
Middle Ages
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Gutisko Razda, the language spoken by the Visigoths
Visigoths were a branch of the Goths, who in turn belonged to the East Germanic tribes that between 600 and 300 BC migrated from Scandinavia to the region between the Oder and Vistula rivers. Some researchers believe that the Visigoths are the same people as the Thervingi, as the sixth century AD historian Jordanes says […]
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The Missal of Silos, the oldest European book made of paper
Egyptians wrote on papyrus, a material made from the plant of the same name (Cyperus papyrus) that grows on the banks of the Nile, before the 30th century BC. Later, during the Greco-Roman antiquity, the use of parchment became popular, made from sheep or goat skins tanned and polished to allow the fixing of the […]
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Christine de Pizan, the first professional female writer in the Late Middle Ages and a forerunner of feminism
The honor of being a pioneer, of paving the way to something, is usually much disputed. Today we are going to see a female case, that of the considered first female professional writer in the western world, an honour that tradition bestows on the Venetian Christine de Pizan. Her legacy would have a considerable influence […]
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Valknut, the Nordic symbol whose original meaning and name are unknown
Although today it is sadly famous for its appropriation and use by some supremacist groups, the truth is that Nordic Valknut seems to be more related to religion and funeral rites than to politics or other types of issues. It is a symbol that appears on inscriptions and rune stones, rings, furniture, ships and other […]
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When Peter I of Portugal ordered the exhumation of his deceased wife to crown her queen
One of the most attractive places in Portugal is the Monastery of Alcobaça. Its interest is multiple: religious, artistic-monumental, cultural and, of course, historical, which is why it is part of the World Heritage by UNESCO since 1989 and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of that country. Apart from its Gothic beauty – […]
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The sword embedded in the rock of the precipice of Rocamadour for 9 centuries
Durandal (or Durandarte) was the famous sword of Roland, the Frankish knight who died at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass on 15 August 788 by attack of the Basques. The accounts of that battle and the subsequent fate of the sword are plagued with mythical stories with little or no historical or archaeological basis. For […]
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The true history of Rollo, the Viking from whom all current European monarchs descend
One of the most interesting chapters of the Vikings television series is the one where we witness the twist given to the story thanks to the character of Rollo, who here is shown as brother of King Ragnar Lothbrok. In reality the character, like many others in the series, is inspired by a real person. […]
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Brattahlíð, Erik the Red’s farm in Greenland
When vikings arrived in Greenland in 985 they found a land almost completely covered by snow and ice. Except for a few clearings of vegetation, mainly at the southern end, where they built their settlements. One of these was the Qinngua Valley, where the only remaining Greenlandic natural forest stands, while all the other forests […]
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The curious case of Maltese, the only Semitic language in the European Union
The special location of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and halfway between Africa and Europe, gave the country (which are actually three islands: Gozo, Comino and Malta itself) unique cultural characteristics within the European environment. There are megalithic temples built in the fourth millennium BC by a culture that disappeared a millennium […]