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

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Why have certain colors become popular last names (i.e. White, Brown, Black, Green/Greene) and not others (Red, Blue, Yellow, etc...)?

173 upvotes

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In Ken Follett's World Without End, depicted the mid-14th century, he writes "priests were not supposed to shed blood, a rule they acknowledged cursorily by using blunt weapons on the battlefield". Did priests actually do this in medieval times - fight wars but using blunting weapons to avoid blood?

109 upvotes

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Which states or provinces marked the birth certificates of children born to unmarried parents with the stamp "bastard"?

9 upvotes

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When was the phrase "leader of the free world" first used to describe the United States?

5 upvotes

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What significant changes to our understanding of history have occurred in the 21st century?

4 upvotes

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How would you capture the zeitgeist of each decade of the 20th century?

3 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Why have certain colors become popular last names (i.e. White, Brown, Black, Green/Greene) and not others (Red, Blue, Yellow, etc...)?	173
In Ken Follett's World Without End, depicted the mid-14th century, he writes "priests were not supposed to shed blood, a rule they acknowledged cursorily by using blunt weapons on the battlefield". Did priests actually do this in medieval times - fight wars but using blunting weapons to avoid blood?	109
Which states or provinces marked the birth certificates of children born to unmarried parents with the stamp "bastard"?	9
When was the phrase "leader of the free world" first used to describe the United States?	5
What significant changes to our understanding of history have occurred in the 21st century?	4
How would you capture the zeitgeist of each decade of the 20th century?	3