All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

peasant

Medieval serf. Source: Demian / Adobe Stock.

How Much It Sucked to Be a Medieval Serf (Video)

Medieval serfs endured a harsh existence, occupying the lowest rung of society . Unlike peasants, they couldn't sell themselves, though they weren't technically slaves. Lords in some regions could...
Wat Tyler on June 15th, being stabbed by William Walworth, the mayor of London, with King Richard II looking on. He was later decapitated and his head displayed on London Bridge for his involvement in what became known as Wat Tyler’s Rebellion. Source: Public domain

The Flame of Freedom: Wat Tyler’s Peasant Revolt

Throughout the history of the medieval period, the voice of the peasants and the working class was always suppressed. In the difficult periods of this era, the peasant was always the oppressed party...
Medieval village with key players from the hierarchy including: the king, queen, priests, monks and soldiers.   Source: Matrioshka / Adobe stock

Feudalism and the Medieval Village Hierarchy

Life in a medieval village was surely no fairytale. Hard work, poverty, uncertainty of life and its comforts, the iron fist of the feudal lord - the disadvantages were numerous, and benefits few and...
Ceramics in Heuneburg, Germany show Iron Age Celts of all social classes drank Mediterranean wine. Source: 9parusnikov /Adobe Stock

Even Low-Class Iron Age Celts Sipped Fine Mediterranean Wine

A new study reveals Mediterranean wine was enjoyed by ‘all classes’ of Iron Age Celts 2,700 years ago. Archaeologists excavating at the prehistoric Heuneburg hillfort in southern Germany, just north...
 A portrait painting of Emperor Gao of Han (Liu Bang), from an 18th-century Qing Dynasty album of Chinese emperors' portraits. (Public Domain) Background: ‘Entry of the First Emperor of the Han Dynasty into Guanzhong’ (early 12th century) by Zhao Boju.

The Rags to Riches Story of Liu Bang: Peasant, Rebel, Chinese Emperor

Liu Bang’s life is a rags to riches story. He was born into a peasant family but rose to become the emperor of China. In fact, Liu Bang (known also as Emperor Gaozu of Han) was the generally...
End of the Enigmatic Christopher Columbus:  A Man at Last Emerges to Eradicate the Myth

End of the Enigmatic Christopher Columbus: A Man at Last Emerges to Eradicate the Myth

History is a record of the past – sculptured by omissions, interlarded with distortions, brazen lies and innocent befuddlement – forming an amalgam that's often stubbornly resistant to analysis. For...