Questions tagged [europe]
It is the second smallest continent, forming the Western extension of Eurasia.
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Was it uncommon to see an Englishman with a cane or walking stick during WW1? Specifically, in Europe
Was it uncommon, during the WW1 era to see a man, with a cane or walking stick in Europe?
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Was it common in Europe in the modern era that proper names were translated?
My question is partially motivated by this question. I know that up until early 20th century in Hungarian many (or even most) foreign names were translated. For example this poster from 1864 mentions &...
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How colonialism have been done right (benevolently)? [closed]
The British Empire (& Europeans, Arabs etc.) colonised many countries but the colonial experience, advertised as a "westernizing the backward people for their own good" masked the ...
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How literate were common people in Medieval Europe?
I stumbled upon a youtube video some time ago about literacy in Medieval Europe. The guy argues that probably at least one person per household was able to read - contrary to common belief. His ...
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Why were French maids apparently so common outside France?
Wikipedia article doesn't help at all. It's surprisingly thin and essentially doesn't explain anything. It's only vaguely implied that this was a thing outside of France.
Why exactly did so many ...
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How did Medieval European river passenger transport develop?
I read some sources that transport by boat over European rivers developed already in the early medieval period, ie after having developed ships with low draft as well as the invention of a ...
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Where can I find Information about small businesses in Europe who formed 'co-op' currency & traded among each other between WW1/2?
Several years ago I read an essay on a small/independent website about companies in Europe which got together during the hyper-inflationary 1920s & 30s and negotiated amongst each other for ...
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Who are the "Two Parties" of the Protestants in the Treaty of Westphalia?
The seventh section of this linked selection of the Treaty of Westphalia includes this:
But because certain religious controversies prevailing among the above-mentioned Protestants have not yet been …...
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Why were Muslims in Western Thrace and Christians in Constantinople excluded from the population exchange?
In the 1923 compulsory population exchange between Greece and Turkey, most Muslims living in Greece were forcibly moved to Turkey, and most Christians living in Turkey were forcibly moved to Greece.
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What's a good general history book on Italy, 1400-1600? [closed]
I'm an artist with an interest in artists of the Italian Renaissance. After reading several biographies it's clear that in order to really understand their lives I need to know more about their world....
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How aware was Europe nobility of the danger of consanguinity?
If my understanding of history is correct, it was common for much of European history for nobles and royalty to need to keep the blood 'pure' by marrying only people of similar standing. This ...
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In what countries were plague doctor masks were most common?
Based on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor_costume:
The clothing worn by plague doctors was intended to protect them from airborne diseases during outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague in Europe.
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What is this lapel pin logo?
I got this lapel pin in the mid-1980s from a retired communist partisan in Hungary. He had more pins, mostly of communist/socialist organisations, trade fairs, and combines.[1]
cold-war era Eastern ...
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How common was cannibalism in Christian Europe until the 17th century?
When hearing about cannibalism, a Robinson-Crusoean narrative usually comes to my mind, where primitive tribes would engage in limited warfare and probably ritualistically consume their prisoners. ...
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How common were marital duels in medieval Europe?
On social media, I came across a post claiming that in medieval Germany spouses could settle a divorce outside of court, civic or religious, through trial by combat! Naturally, I was shocked (the ...
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Why do Eastern European countries have the greatest female-to-male ratio?
I'm taking a Data Analysis class where we go over some data samples. Today we went over the world population data from 1950 to 2015.
We noticed that the proportion of females to males was the highest ...
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Have Germans expelled from Eastern Europe been re-enfranchised?
After World War II, large numbers of ethnic-Germans who had lived in Eastern Europe were expelled - by the local (post-Nazi-occupation) government, by the USSR and even with some Western power ...
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Were hag stones ever engraved?
I found a hag stone the other day and am planning on stringing it as an amulet. My research indicates such amulets were in use over much of Europe, particularly Western Europe, as well as Egypt and ...
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Were there any crops and livestock common to both the Old and New Worlds prior to the Columbian exchange?
The Columbian exchange (this is the correct spelling) transferred a diverse set of crops and livestock animals between the Old and New Worlds. However, I have begun to wonder if there were any crops ...
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To what extent did the Jewish tradition of debate influence the development of Classical Liberalism in Europe?
Judaism has a long tradition of valuing debate. My sense is that it is somewhat singular in this regard. Certainly there is debate within Islam or Christianity, but if I understand correctly, Judaism ...
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Can anyone help me identify this Coat of Arms?
Can anyone help me identify this coat of arms?
As far as I can identify, there are 2 Lion Rampant regardant.
A Pelican in her nest, a crown, a shield with stars.
It is on a small galleried tray that I ...
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Is the depiction of the Stirling Castle Knight historically accurate?
For some reason BBC depicted him with a shaved head. I was wondering if it is historically accurate for a 700 year old English nobleman to have a shaved head?
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Are there any accounts of everyday life during the Black Death?
How did everyday life looked like for people living during the Plague?
I'm mostly interested in trying to understand things from the point of view of a regular person living in Europe. For example, I ...
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How did medieval peasants decide where to build their houses?
When a person moved out of their parents' house, they needed a house. How was it decided where this house would be located? For example, did they just pick the next available spot on a path? Were ...
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Can you help identify this European military uniform?
This picture was found in the possessions of a great-aunt who immigrated from Volhynia, Russia to Canada around 1908. My family is ethnically German, and many of the Volhynian Germans originally came ...
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How did the European public school system originate?
Are there any good sources for learning about the history of education in Europe?
I am particularly interested in learning about the origins of the public schooling system, as it seems they should ...
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Why did Britain, not the Netherlands, create the greatest overseas empire?
The usual answer is that control of the sea trade was wrestled by Britain in a sequence of fierce Anglo-Dutch wars 1652-84. However, one can easily make the case that the Dutch won in this conflict. ...
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Has a reenactment of the firing of a carcass projectile ever been filmed?
From a Scientific American blog, on a "carcass" round:
an explosive mortar shell (developed by the French) wrapped with
incendiary material, this round was fully engulfed in flame after
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Why did Western democracies sign the Munich Agreement?
Why did Western democracies sign the Munich Agreement with Nazi
Germany when they knew the nature of Nazi regime? What did they want to obtain by signing this agreement?
In 1938/1939, two pacts/...
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Can you help identify this European military uniform and medals?
My husband and I moved into a house that was built in 1900 in Wisconsin. We found some old pictures down in the basement, and I'm curious if I can figure out who the couple is? I thought I could ...
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Did religious names catch on before or after the use of last names?
Last names are interesting. Once upon a time, people had only first names, until growing populations and ostentatious royals started a trend of including a second name, most commonly either patronymic ...
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Can you identify this European uniform or awards?
This is my great great grandfather. I am having trouble identifying the uniform. It should be from around 1860-1890 ish. It would be from a German speaking country. The story that was passed down was ...
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Where can I find a historic recipe for red cherry-onion jam?
A while back, I had duck with red cherry-onion jam at a medieval restaurant. Allegedly, it was a historic recipe, originally prepared in 1445 for the wedding of one of René d’Anjou’s daughters.
As for ...
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Did the Roman government attempt to hide the collapse of the empire? [closed]
Did the late Roman government lie about the borders of their empire? Has this ever been argued by Roman historians?
This question is different from this one.
Michael Kulikowski refers to the Notitia ...
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What factors accounted for the pattern of caranvanserai across Eurasia? [closed]
This is a question we had in an AP World History test last week:
I was able to answer (c) correctly (improvements in sea navigation and technology caused more and more people to transition from land-...
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What did the Gauls look like during the 1st century BC? [closed]
Right around the time of the Roman conquest of Gaul, contemporaneous accounts describe the Gauls as having looked like beasts or savages, with thick knotted cloaks and unkempt long hair and beards. ...
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Was frequent bathing for personal hygiene in medieval Europe common or not?
The usual narrative: No bathing
There is a frequently debunked claim that medieval Europeans did not bathe. Occasionally, the claim is connected to pandemics of the era and extended to the idea that ...
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What is the name for the very first Polish state likely established around 966 by Mieszko I through baptism of Poland?
In the year of likely around 966, Mieszko I united all of the tribes occupying a part of today's western Poland through Christianization of it, therefore making Poland an official sovereign state (at ...
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Did 12th century French nobles really sleep in the great hall of the castle? [closed]
I've been on so many sites and each one seems to tell a different story. Some say that nobles had their own bedrooms (evidenced by the fact that castles had bedrooms) but I have also seen people say ...
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What criteria are used to determine the popularity of Medieval European rulers?
It is relatively common to see certain monarchs described as "popular" while others are "unpopular". It confounds me as to what specific evidence has been used to determine this, ...
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How did the layout of a Medieval European village typically change as it grew into a town?
Some of the research I've done so far
WordlbuidingSE: How did the layout of a village change over time?
This question was too broad, it's now more specific:
It is not about settlements that were ...
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What uniform are these gentlemen wearing?
What uniform are these four guys wearing, and what medal is the central guy wearing? Possibilities are likely something Austro-hungarian or Romanian, possibly around 1900. Bonus question: what are ...
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Were the 1400s-1600s really not part of the "Middle Ages"? [closed]
I read something confusing on Wikipedia and an answer on Stack Exchange today:
No terrestrial globes from Antiquity or the Middle Ages have survived.
Then two paragraphs later:
The earliest extant ...
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What language(s) were spoken in 11th century Romania?
Curious to know what languages would've been spoken and used in correspondences during this time, specifically in Transylvania.
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What were the contemporary European reactions of de Vlamingh's sightings of black swans?
Willem de Vlamingh is reportedly the first European to have seen black swans near modern-day Perth, Western Australia in 1697. The 'black swan' had existed in Europe as a metaphor for about fifteen ...
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What determined who would be on the front lines of a large infantry engagement? [duplicate]
In Ancient and Middle Aged European Armies, what decided whether a soldier was at the front lines or just in the normal center-back? Was it a status symbol or honor to be in the front lines?
Please ...
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Has the 'indefensible-castles-for-nobles-to-discuss-but-peasants-to-gape-at' theory been proposed for Continental Western Europe?
I did try and make the title shorter but I didn't really know how to describe this as "the Liddiard and Morris theory" wouldn't make sense to many people. If someone can word it neater then ...
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Was there a European country that held a referendum about adopting English in universities?
I vaguely remember that there was a European country (not the UK or Ireland) that held a referendum about adopting English as the primary language of instruction in universities. The referendum failed....
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Is there any evidence of pre-European contact spread of Eurasian-origin diseases in Australia, e.g., from Kilwan traders? [closed]
I know that Indonesians had been in touch with Aboriginals, and that the Cholas made it to Australia as well. Even coins from the East African Kilwa Sultanate have been found in Australia!
If there ...
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Were eastern weapons ever seen in medieval Europe and western weapons ever seen in medieval Asia? [closed]
Like could some trader in medieval France be selling a katana or urumi amongst his wares that he obtained in his travels? Could a merchant in Japan have a zweihander or flamberge in his collection?
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