/u/Brickie78's posts in /r/askhistorians
Aelfgifu ("Elf-gift") was seemingly a fairly popular name for noble Anglo-Saxon women. What was the Anglo-Saxon conception of "elves" and how did it play with church doctrine?
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What was the mood like in Germany when news of the end of the (European) War broke in 1945? Were the public generally glad it was over, happy at being "liberated", devastated by defeat? Was there tension between celebrating Allied soldiers and locals?
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Since 1513, Denmark has alternated kings called Frederick and Christian. What is the reason for this and how has no king in over 500 years broken the tradition?
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"America has been at war for 222 out of 239 years since 1776". This Facebook post I saw being shared around earlier smells like bullshit to me. Is it?
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"David" is a very common given name in the Anglosphere. "Solomon" is a stereotypically Jewish name. "Jesus" is reasonably common among Spanish speakers but virtually unknown among English speakers. What has affected the way that biblical names have been taken up in different societies?
1897 upvotes
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It seems to have been common in medieval Christendom to leave money in one's will for prayers to be said "in perpetuity" for one's soul. What was the reality of the implementation of this? How long did "perpetuity" usually last? Are there any such Medieval bequests still honoured today?
1652 upvotes
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In 1977, General Hackett and others wrote a "future history" book, The Third World War, taking place in a near future 1985. How plausible were the assumptions made in its setup?
894 upvotes
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