Showing posts with label Emperor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emperor. Show all posts

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Saint Helena, Empress of Rome

Flavia Iulia Helena is one of the few early saints that really existed. She must have been an energetic lady, and this into high age. She shared the Roman Emperors' penchant for building representative stone piles and went on a spending spree on churches. According to legend, she was the first archaeologists and an avid collector of assorted bric-a-brac.


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Queen Edith of the Eastern Franks

When German archaeologists found Queen Edith’s remains in 2008, they were baffled and confounded. The remains had been found in a grave in Magdeburg's cathedral. Nobody had expected the find. True, documents mention her grave in the cathedral, and the grave had been a prominent one marked with her name. Then why the confusion?


Friday, April 19, 2013

Bulla Aurea: The Golden Bull

The Golden Bull of Rimini was a document issued by Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the Teutonic Knights. It ceded land to them which didn't belong to Frederick's Empire in the first place in return for the conquest of the same land and the conversion of its pagan population to Christianity.


Monday, October 8, 2012

How to Dress Your Concubine For Dinner

Shi Hu Jilong called himself Emperor of China; a charming affectation that expressed his ambition of once ruling all of China. To further this ambition, he not only depopulated whole cities, he also gave lavish parties. To impress his guests, he put up a lavish display and served only the best at his table. Tale of his banquets survived; his ambition died with him.