askhistorians

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Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe seems filled to the brim with classical references in both writing and imagery, including to Greek and Roman deities. How did predominantly Christian Europe reconcile these pagan ideas with their own times and beliefs?	50
In the Hornblower adaptation 'The Frogs and the Lobsters', the naval officer Hornblower is largely antagonistic towards the aristocratic army officers and is jokingly accused of Republican sympathies. Did the Navy's relative egalitarianism lead to any real affection for republicanism?	50
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 195 - Women of 1000 AD with /u/Kelpie-Cat	49
Many former British colonies, especially in Oceania, South Asia, and the Carribbean, are quite keen – to say the least – on cricket, and consistently perform very well at the international level. Why is this not also the case for Canada?	49
It is often alleged that teeth extracted from casualties at Waterloo supplied dentures across Europe for several years. Is there any truth to this allegation? Moreover, why do similar stories not appear to have circulated about other, larger battles like Wagram and Leipzig?	48
The Edo-period division of Japanese society into samurai, peasants, artisans and merchants (in that order) seems to be identical to the Chinese Neo-Confucian model, but with samurai replacing gentry. Was this purely a contrivance, or was the Japanese system supposed to be Neo-Confucian?	48
Jefferson Davis is supposed to have claimed that the people of the North were descended from the 'human scum' that supported Oliver Cromwell. But did supporters of the Federal cause ever opine favourably upon the 'Good Old Cause' of the Parliamentarians?	47
How far were elephants actually effective in ancient battles as opposed to just an expensive gimmick with a tendency to backfire?	47
In 1807, Napoleon appointed Frederick Augustus I, King of Saxony, as Grand Duke of Warsaw. Why a German and not a Polish noble given the support Polish émigrés had provided Napoleon? How did the Poles feel about this?	46
In Japan in 1936, the expansionist Kōdōha was purged by the supposedly moderate Tōseiha, yet it would be under Tōseiha leadership that Japan fought in WW2. How 'moderate' was the Tōseiha actually? Although it was dragged into the war in China by junior officers, why didn't it drag itself out?	45

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