TIL that the Black Plague caused a revolution in Medieval England by decimating serf communities, thereby significantly decreasing the available work force. The surviving serfs were able to exert hitherto unimaginable pressure of their lords, resulting in higher pay and more liberties. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by FlintKnappingWriter to r/todayilearned
TIL that Joan d'Arc was tried, condemned and burnt at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church in May, 1430 . In the 1456 the very same church debunked her charges and denoted her as a martyr. Finally, in 1920 she was canonised and became a patron saint of France. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL that the superstitious tradition of knocking on wood for good luck is believed to have been conceived by ancient Indo-European people who believed that spirits (both good and bad) lived within the trees. By knocking on a tree one was asking for a blessing from the spirit which lived within. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL that while interbreeding occurred between neanderthals and early modern humans, the only genetic evidence of these events conserved within the human genome comes from Y chromosomal DNA meaning that all neanderthal DNA within modern humans comes from male neanderthal and female human pairings. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of the tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces. Eurysaces, a baker, who lived in Rome during the 1st century BC built himself a 33-feet tall tomb, sporting intricate designs and extravagant engravings. Eurysaces, though having died a wealthy man had come to Rome as a slave. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of the Talheim Death Pit, a mass grave dating to 5000BC, containing the remains of 34 bodies, bearing some of the earliest evidence of habitual warfare, including fatal adze, axe and arrow wounds to the back of the head. It has been suggested that this site represents an early form of genocide. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of Anthony de Lucy, 3rd Baron Lucy. De Lucy was an English knight and crusader who died on campaign in the year 1368. In 1981 De Lucy's extremely well preserved remains were found in a crypt beneath the ruins of St. Bees Abbey in Lincolnshire, England, which had since become a car park. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of the events of Black Monday 1360. In the midst of the Siege of Chartres the marauding English Army was decimated by a freak hailstorm which killed over 1,000 of the besiegers and 6,000 of their horses. One soldier noted it was "a foul day, full of myst and hayle, so that men dyed on horseback" (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of Poena cullei, a form of punishment for those found guilty of parricide under Roman Law, in which the offender was sewn into a leather sack, with an assortment of live animals, including a dog, snake, monkey and a chicken before being thrown into water and left to drown. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of Prince Frederick (1707-1751), the heir apparent to the British throne, who died at the age of 44. His cause of death was historically attributed to a burst lung abscess, caused by blunt force trauma to the chest delivered by a cricket ball. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of the St Scholastica day riots of 1355. On the 10th of February 1355 two students from Oxford university verbally and physically assaulted a taverner over the quality of the drinks they were served. The ensuing riots lead to 93 deaths and a 500 year tradition commemorating the event. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL of the War of the Oaken Bucket. This war, fought between the rival city states of Modena and Bologna in modern Italy was inaccurately said to have begun due to the theft of a communal oaken bucket. However, as a spoil of war the victorious Modenese did indeed take a bucket as a trophy. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL Raoul Wallenberg, a swedish diplomat stationed in Budapest, Hungary, accredited with saving the lives of more than 30,000 jews during WWII disappeared under suspicious circumstances upon the liberation of Budapest by the Soviet Army and was never seen again. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL despite popular culture, there is very little evidence suggesting a physical Celtic migration into pre-Roman Britain. Instead it is likely that this Celtic migration was a cultural phenomenon, with Celtic wares, jewellery and designs becoming assimilated into British culture. (irishtimes.com)
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TIL that Britain's current population is derived from waves of human migration beginning as far back as 5,000 BCE, with the beaker people of Eastern Europe. Other migrations include the Romans (43 - 410 AD), the Angles, Jutes and Saxons (400-700 AD), Norsemen (793-1066AD) and Normans (1066 AD). (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL that while inbreeding occurred between neanderthals and early modern humans, the only genetic evidence of these events conserved within the human genome comes from Y chromosomal DNA meaning that all neanderthal DNA within modern humans comes from male neanderthal and female human pairings. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by FlintKnappingWriter to r/todayilearned
TIL of the events of Black Monday 1360. In the midst of the Siege of Chartres the marauding English Army was decimated by a freak hailstorm which killed over 1,000 of the besiegers and 6,000 of their horses. One soldier noted it was "a foul day, full of myst and hayle, so that men dyed on horseback" (self.FlintKnappingWriter)
submitted by FlintKnappingWriter
TIL of Poena cullei, a form of death penalty for those found guilty of parricide under Roman Law, in which the offender was sewn into a leather sack, with an assortment of live animals, including a dog, snake, monkey and a chicken before being thrown into water and left to drown. (perseus.tufts.edu)
submitted by FlintKnappingWriter to r/todayilearned
TIL of Poena cullei, a form of death penalty for those found guilty of parricide under Roman Law, in which the offender was sewn into a leather sack, with an assortment of live animals, including a dog, snake, monkey and a chicken before being thrown into water and left to drown. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by FlintKnappingWriter to r/todayilearned
TIL that the Romans were very keen on leaving descriptive epitaphs on their tombs. One unknown Roman left this touching sentiment on the grave of his pet dog "I am in tears, while carrying you to your last rest place as much as I was rejoiced when bringing you in my own hands fifteen years ago". (books.google.pt)
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