I’ve been researching the fourteenth century. It’s tough going. As Barbara Tuchman describes it in her book A Distant Mirror, the fourteenth century was a “violent, bewildered, tormented, suffering and disintegrating age.” Besides wars, corruption, Church schisms, economic unrest, indifferent… Read More
Buttons were invented around 1200, but they were just for decoration. They didn’t actually button anything together. Before 1330 if you wanted a snug-fitting bodice and sleeves, you had to be sewn into your clothing every day by your servant.… Read More
I was sorting through my closet and came upon a pair of shoes I bought a few years ago. The toes are so pointy I have never worn them. They are just too uncomfortable. I suppose it could have been… Read More
Carapichea Ipecacuanha, a flowering plant native to Brazil, was first introduced to Europe in the mid 17th century. Its roots were used as a medicine—known to many as syrup of ipecac--to make a patient vomit in the case of accidental poisoning.