1,000 Years of Fun at The Fair

Emperors, Kings, and other rulers had the prerogative of granting the right to hold markets and fairs. Markets were regular affairs held on a specific day of the week every week; fairs were intended to be much larger and would be held over several days or even weeks once a year. Both were intended to strengthen local business and provide additional tax income.

Stirling Castle With Music in The Ceiling

Stirling Castle once was a Royal residence of the kings of Scotland. Being situated near the border to England, the castle was of strategic importance for centuries before it became the seat of kings. When the Scots started to convert it into a Royal residence, the builders included a curious code into the ceiling of the king’s bedchamber. The code was cracked to reveal the music hidden within.

Stirling Castle ceiling

William and Kate: Title History

Prince William got a bevy of titles as a gift from Queen Elizabeth II for his marriage to Catherine (or Kate) Middleton. Real titles come with quite a baggage of history, some quite recent, some more ancient. So William was saddled with the Duchy of Cambridge in England, the Earldom of Strathearn in Scotland, and the Barony of Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.

The Elect Circle of Elected Monarchs on Europe’s Thrones

When we look at the monarchies in Europe, working and deposed ones, we get the false impression of perpetuity as ‘it always had been that way’. In fact, the vast majority of dynasties started out as elected monarchs.