In case you’ve recently acquired a new dog, and are wondering what to name it, look no further than the early fifteenth-century manuscript called The Master of Game. Appended at the end is a list of suitable names for your… Read More
Animals have been powering machines for a long time, but not just horses and oxen and donkeys. Dogs have, too—as long ago as the sixteenth century. I blogged awhile back about turnspit dogs—those canines who toiled away in treadmills that… Read More
It’s hard for those of us living in modern-day towns and cities to imagine just how filthy and chaotic most streets were in the days before modern sanitation systems had been built. And added to the noise and filth and… Read More
Trousers were standard wear during the Byzantine Empire, even for women. When a European woman was presented to the Persian court wearing a skirt, they at first thought she had lost a leg.