Welcome to Litsy!

The Teutonic Knights- best of intentions, horrible execution #europe #history #normandavies #teutonicknights #europeanhistory

Definitely an argument we‘d find in Europe #europe #normandavies #europeanhistory #history #constantine #easternromanempire #byzantineempire #catholicchurch #councilof nicea #diehard #christmas

At the turn of the 19th century, Iceland was a very poor country under Danish rule. Thurídur Einarsdòttir worked as a fishing deckhand from her teens, eventually became captain of her own crew (not her own boat), and managed a small leasehold farm. She had ups and downs, cared for various family members, and fought injustices against herself and others.

All that said, I didn‘t love this. Fascinating story, but maybe not a fascinating book.

“…Pall claimed vaccinations were just a superstition. The only thing you needed to do when you got sick, he claimed, was to curse and suck it up. He apparently tried this on his death bed. It didn‘t work.”

Nice to know there are those among us stuck in a mentality already outdated in 1830s Iceland.

#wordoftheday

“While Olimpia is somewhat known in Rome, Viterbo, and other places associated with her, the stories about her are bleared with time and spiced with sex. In Viterbo it is said that Olimpia was a beautiful woman who stuck her head out of the window, tantalizing men with her lovely hair and inviting them to come up to her room…. ⬇️

Rome was very advanced for its time in the 1650s to deal with the plague. Although they weren‘t aware fleas were the manner of spreading the disease, they took all sorts of steps like those mentioned here, which as a practical matter reduced the amount of flees spreading plague. This is a fascinating chapter.

Second #wordoftheday

“Plague had hit Rome. The Roman authorities immediately sequestered large buildings located away from the bulk of the population in which to immure plague victims, keeping them separated from those who remained healthy.”

#wordoftheday

“Several cardinals asked the pope when he would bring his family to Rome and which positions they would fill. Alexander replied that Fabio Chigi had had relatives, but Alexander VII had no family other than the church…. The cardinals were shocked at this reply and warned him that if he didn‘t show affection for his family, he would look pusillanimous, selfish, and cheap…. ⬇️

“…a pair of the fabled ‘demon pants‘…or ‘corpse pants.‘ For these, you made an agreement with someone who was about to die. Once they did, you dug up their body, skinned it from the waist down while making sure not to cut any holes in the skin, and made a pair of pants. These you wore like tights until they grew onto your own skin. You also had to steal some money from the poorest of poor widows and put that money in the pants…👇🏻

#wordoftheday

“The bride‘s grandmother was absolutely delighted, the groom‘s mother less so. Anna Colonna, who had avoided for nearly a decade marrying a blue-blooded child of hers to a parvenu Pamphili, looked on the marriage as a degradation and a necessary evil. Having Olimpia in her family would be a daily martyrdom for the haughty princess. ⬇️