/u/Nowhere_Man_Forever's posts in /r/askhistorians
What exactly is meant when people in the past write of someone dying of a "broken heart" or "sorrow" or anything like that?
68 upvotes
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In the Book of Acts, Paul and Silas get arrested for exorcising a slave girl and removing her ability to tell fortunes because it cost her owner money. Was this really something you could get arrested for?
66 upvotes
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Who was the last court astrologer for the English Monarchy? John Dee is the last one I could find any information on but I can't find anything saying he was the last official court astrologer.
57 upvotes
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When did it become apparent that The Lord of the Rings would completely shape the fantasy genre? Was this known within Tolkien's lifetime?
43 upvotes
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The Prose Edda (Snorri's Edda) begins with a really long and odd (by today's standards) explanation that the Greek gods were actually real mortal humans and then through a series of events the Norse gods were their mortal descendants. How common were these views?
39 upvotes
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How expensive was travel in the ancient near east during the life of Jesus? Could an average person afford passage on a ship without major sacrifice?
30 upvotes
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When and why did the Roman Emperors begin wearing metal crowns, and what did these early crowns look like?
27 upvotes
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Did ancient Romans believe that the emperors literally became gods after death, or did they mean something else?
27 upvotes
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