marginalia

Hanging out in the margin of an illuminated manuscript

1 September, 2021 - 01:58 dhwty

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...

Drolleries were common in medieval manuscripts.

6 April, 2019 - 13:57 dhwty

Drolleries of the Middle Ages Included Comical Yet Sinister Killer Rabbits and Erotic Art

A drollerie (also spelled as drollery) is a type of marginalia found on Medieval manuscripts. Drolleries are amusing, often grotesque, figures drawn on the edges of manuscripts and may be found in...

Myths & Legends

The Green Children of Woolpit, created from Babes in the Wood illustration by Randolph Caldecott. Source: Project Gutenberg / Public Domain

The Green Children of Woolpit: Legendary Visitors from Another World

The 12th century tale of the Green Children of Woolpit, in Suffolk, is a bizarre medieval folk story which has been remembered for generations. It isn’t often we hear of children appearing at the edge of a field,

The Erlking: The Powerful Germanic Mythical Snatcher of Children

Haunted Mirrors, Bloody Mary and Superstitious Mirror Mythology

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Time Travel: From Ancient Mythology to Modern Science

Human Origins

Early man looking up at the stars (Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock)

Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System

It is obvious to any astronomer that some of the brightest objects in the night sky are the planets. It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature.

Betrayed by the Acts of Others? The Events that Led to Prometheus’s Perennial Punishment

The Faces of Ancient Hominids Brought to Life in Remarkable Detail

3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions

Top Ten Giant Discoveries in Ancient Britain

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

Ancient Technology

The mummified remains of Usermontu, Rosicrucian San Jose Museum

Medical Mystery of Usermontu: Why the Discovery of 2,600-Year-Old Knee Screw Left Experts Dumbfounded

In 1971, the Rosicrucian Museum in California acquired a sealed ancient Egyptian coffin containing the well-preserved mummy of a high status Egyptian male. More than two decades later, a team of...

The Stonehenge Calendar: A Prehistoric Approach to Time’s Passing

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

Dujiangyan: The 2,200-Year-Old Chinese Irrigation System That is Still Used Today!

Ancient Places

The front view of the gold neck ring found in Denmark that was likely a hidden treasure as opposed to a votive offering. Source: Sydvestjyske Museum

Exquisitely Made 1,700-year-old Gold Neck Ring Found in Denmark

In October 2021, Dan Christensen, an amateur metal detectorist made the exciting discovery of a remarkably fine gold neck ring weighing a whopping 446 grams (approximately 1 pound).

New Greco-Roman Tomb with 20 Mummies Found in Aswan

World’s Oldest Surviving Amphitheater Preserved at Pompeii

Remembering the Barbary Slaves: White Slaves and North African Pirates

The Judean Date Palm: Extinct Tree Resurrected from Ancient Seeds

Kings Weston Roman Villa, Where a Murder Lay Hidden for 1500 Years

Opinion

The Shepherds of Arcadia, by Nicolas Poussin, is reproduced on the Shepherd’s Monument, along with the Shugborough Inscription. Source: Public domain

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

In the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England, sits an 18th-century monument known as the Shepherd’s Monument. The monument contains a relief, depicting a copy of a Nicolas

Palatkwapi-Sedona: City of the Star People

The Icelandic Theory: Experts Challenge Establishment Dogma to Reveal History of Ivory Vikings

Winter Solstice Resurrection At Saqsayhuaman and Newgrange

Buddhism in Ancient Egypt and Meroe – Beliefs Revealed Through Ancient Script

Baltinglass Hill: Ireland’s Forgotten Gobekli Tepi?

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