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The Book of Deer contains notes in the margin which are the first written examples of Scottish Gaelic and hinted at the location of the monastery where they were written. Source: The Book of Deer Project

Lost Monastery Tied to Oldest Scottish Text “Book of Deer” Unearthed

A monastery, where the earliest surviving Scots Gaelic text was once noted within the margins of a significant Scottish manuscript called the Book of Deer , disappeared from the pages of history...
The Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Material Medica) is a 16th-century collection of medical knowledge. Source: Public domain

The Ben Cao Gang Mu – The Bible of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Ben Cao Gang Mu , or Compendium Materia Medica , is an encyclopedic compendium written by the 16th-century Chinese doctor Li Shizhen. This compilation is said to be the most complete and...
American fantasy author Byron Preiss published “The Secret” in 1982 containing a set of treasure hunt clues leading to 12 buried treasure boxes, so far 3 have been found!		Source: junce11 / Adobe Stock

Byron Preiss’ Treasure Hunt In the Cult Classic “The Secret” Lives On!

In 1982, inspired by the emerging “armchair treasure hunt” niche spearheaded by Kit William’s 1979 “Masquerade,” American fantasy author Byron Preiss published a book entitled “The Secret” containing...
Hanging out in the margin of an illuminated manuscript

Beautiful, Decorative, and Sometimes Crude: Illuminated Manuscripts and Marginalia

Illuminated manuscripts are manuscripts that are covered with painted ornaments presented under several forms. These documents are perhaps most commonly associated with the European Middle Ages...
Infrared Reveals a Wife Swap in a Prominent Medieval Religious Book

Infrared Reveals a Wife Swap in a Prominent Medieval Religious Book

Some good old-fashioned swinging? Medieval photoshopping? Not quite, but scientists have discovered something about Francis I of Brittany that he would surely have preferred to have kept secret...
Study Unveils Just How Scribes Compiled the Famous Domesday Book

Study Unveils Just How Scribes Compiled the Famous Domesday Book

New research has cast light on how and why the iconic Domesday Book was created. The study shows that the work of the medieval scribes was so efficient and sophisticated that they accomplished what a...
Maya Elite List Deciphered At The Temple Of Jaguars

Maya Elite List Deciphered At The Temple Of Jaguars

Researchers in Mexico have deciphered an ancient text revealing the succession of names of the Cocom dynasty royal Maya blood lineage and published a breakthrough book on the subject. The new book...
Was Rama Based on a Real Historical Figure?

Was Rama Based on a Real Historical Figure?

Rama, one of the principle figures of the Hindu text the Ramayana is revered throughout India and the world. Many historians doubt that Rama was an actual person, however, many Hindus believe he was...
Oldest Japanese Manuscript on Confucius Teachings Confirmed

Oldest Japanese Manuscript on Confucius Teachings Confirmed

Experts believe that they have found the oldest work on Confucian teachings in Japan. The find dates back almost 1500 years when the Japanese nation was only just emerging. This collection of...
The Domesday Book, volume 2

The Domesday Book: Don’t Worry, It’s Not the End of The World

Have you ever wondered how many people lived in England in the late 11th century? Well, William the Conqueror did, but mostly so that he could know how much land and money those people had. To figure...
Harry Potter books have been banned by a Catholic school library. Source: vlakhov Valeriy / Adobe Stock.

Catholic Teachers Banned ‘Evil’ Harry Potter Books

Harry Potter books were removed from a private Catholic school in Nashville in 2019 because they include actual “ curses and spells ”, according to staff at the school. In a report in the US daily,...
Was King Solomon really the author of the Key of Solomon?

Grimoires by a Biblical King? The Magical Treatise of Solomon and the Key of Solomon

The ‘Magical Treatise of Solomon’ and the ‘ Key of Solomon’ are two grimoires (magic handbooks) commonly said to have been written by the biblical King Solomon . The latter grimoire has been...
Angel and a page from the book of Raziel

Practical Magic: The Secret Teachings of the Book of Raziel the Angel

Within the varied teachings of the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah there is a minor tradition known as Practical Kabbalah (Kabbalah Ma’asit). This branch concerns itself with the use of...
St Cuthbert Gospel. Credit: The British Library

St Cuthbert Gospel: Talismanic Medieval Holy Book Used to Ward off Evil Forces Publicly Revealed

It’s probably safe for me to assume that because you’re reading this article, you are most probably something of a book worm and possibly even a history buff. If so, you need to get to the British...
Top 10 oldest everyday items

Ten of the Oldest Everyday Items Ever Found

Every day you get up, get dressed, eat, and probably head out to work, school, or some other activity outside your home. If you work, you may have to interact with customers, who are not always...
The Viking gaming board which has been found in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The Search for a Lost Scottish Monastery Reveals a Rare Viking Gaming Board

While you search intently for something, you may chance upon another rare discovery, one which deserves just as much attention. This is what has happened to an archaeologist and her team looking for...
One of the poisonous books. SDU, Author provided

Deadly Poison Discovered on Medieval Book Covers Could Have Killed

Some may remember the deadly book of Aristotle that plays a vital part in the plot of Umberto Eco’s 1980 novel The Name of the Rose . Poisoned by a mad Benedictine monk, the book wreaks havoc in a...
Deriv. Image of Native American woman, believed to be Juana Maria, of the Nicoleño tribe

Juana Maria, the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island

Island of the Blue Dolphins is a book written by the American author Scott O’Dell about a girl stranded on an island in the Pacific. This popular children’s novel is based on a real story of a woman...
Photo showing the pages of the 25th oracle

Ancient Coptic text revealed to be divination tool for predicting the future

An ancient Christian oracle book of mysterious origins has been recently translated and found to contain a collection of encouragements, warnings, and cryptic divinations. The 1,500-year-old tome,...
Aristotle’s Masterpiece Completed in Two Parts.

Ancient X-Rated Book of Perversion Goes Up For Sale. Any Bidders?

A perverted "sex manual" featuring shocking magical and mythical X-rated content will be sold at a UK auction next month. The first edition of this sordid book entitled Aristotle's Masterpiece...
The library of the Abbey of St. Gall.

The Abbey Library of St. Gall: One of the Oldest Working Libraries in the World

Founded during the 8th century, the Abbey of St. Gall has served both the Church and scholars over the years. Its library has a particular draw because it is one of the oldest and most important...
 Book of Kells, Folio 32v, Christ Enthroned. Scanned from Treasures of Irish Art, 1500 BC to 1500 AD, From the Collections of the National Museum of Ireland.

Priceless Medieval Sacred Text Reveals Its True Origins

Arguably the world’s most famous medieval manuscript, the wonderfully illustrated Book of Kells , was “created in 2 parts over 50 years,” Dr Bernard Meehan of Trinity College, Dublin, told reporters...
A fragment of paper discovered on Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge, compared with the book it was determined to be from. Credit: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

Paper Fragment on Shipwreck Reveals Blackbeard’s Crew Enjoyed Reading Pirate Stories

Conservators from North Carolina have discovered paper fragments hidden inside a cannon chamber that was drawn up from the wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of the notorious 18th century...
A fitting, probably from a book. The style is typical of Celtic and Irish areas and dates from the 800s. Silver with traces of gilding. Image Credit: Åge Hojem, NTNU University Museum

Archaeologists in Search of Beer End Up Discovering Valuable Viking Trove

A team of archaeologists searching to find beer and other brewing materials, ended up discovering something way more valuable; a trove of amazing Viking artifacts, including an out of place Celtic...

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