/u/The_Manchurian's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Does having a Norman surname mean you're directly, patrilinearly descended from Normans, or did English and Irish peasants take on their overlord's surnames?

660 upvotes

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I'm a male peasant in 13th century England, and another villager catches me and my male friend having "relations". How likely is it we'll be executed for sodomy (or anything else)?

590 upvotes

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In 1537 the Pope banned the enslavement of Native Americans and any unknown-yet people. Did this Papal Bull actually have any effect, and if not, why not?

572 upvotes

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Why did British people in the 19th and early 20th centuries see cross-dressing as a source of comedy, while Americans saw it as a dangerous attack on gender roles? And how did comedic cross-dressing affect attitudes to transvestites?

403 upvotes

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For about 200 years, new Ottoman Sultans killed all their brothers, and often their nephews. What did the Imams think? Did any Sultans find the idea traumatic? And did this never cause the issue of running out of heirs?

394 upvotes

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Peter, John, James, Nathaniel, Andrew, Thomas, Matthew, Mark, Elizabeth, Mary are all Jewish names. Yet they don't seem popular amongst Jews today. Why not?

392 upvotes

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Did medieval people celebrate their birthdays? Did they know them?

389 upvotes

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What was spying like in mid-medieval Europe? (Say, 1000-1300)

380 upvotes

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In the USSR, how politically problematic was being religious? How much did it depend on position and time? Was there a difference between the treatment of Christians and Muslims?

352 upvotes

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Most Traveller communities in Europe are ethnic Roma. But in Britain, while there are Roma, many are Irish. What can you tell me about the history of Travellers in Britan?

338 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Does having a Norman surname mean you're directly, patrilinearly descended from Normans, or did English and Irish peasants take on their overlord's surnames?	660
I'm a male peasant in 13th century England, and another villager catches me and my male friend having "relations". How likely is it we'll be executed for sodomy (or anything else)?	590
In 1537 the Pope banned the enslavement of Native Americans and any unknown-yet people. Did this Papal Bull actually have any effect, and if not, why not?	572
Why did British people in the 19th and early 20th centuries see cross-dressing as a source of comedy, while Americans saw it as a dangerous attack on gender roles? And how did comedic cross-dressing affect attitudes to transvestites?	403
For about 200 years, new Ottoman Sultans killed all their brothers, and often their nephews. What did the Imams think? Did any Sultans find the idea traumatic? And did this never cause the issue of running out of heirs?	394
Peter, John, James, Nathaniel, Andrew, Thomas, Matthew, Mark, Elizabeth, Mary are all Jewish names. Yet they don't seem popular amongst Jews today. Why not?	392
Did medieval people celebrate their birthdays? Did they know them?	389
What was spying like in mid-medieval Europe? (Say, 1000-1300)	380
In the USSR, how politically problematic was being religious? How much did it depend on position and time? Was there a difference between the treatment of Christians and Muslims?	352
Most Traveller communities in Europe are ethnic Roma. But in Britain, while there are Roma, many are Irish. What can you tell me about the history of Travellers in Britan?	338