askhistorians

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Why are the European/christian iterpretations of dragons always that they're "evil" in some way, while the Chinese (and other Asian cultures?) perceive them as benevolent, honorable creatures?	4
Suicide was, in many periods and cultures (and sometimes still is) illegal. In most historical cases this was punishable by death. So, what was the thought process behind this seemingly nonsensical law that isn't that rare throughout history?	4
How intelligent was the general populace in the dark and middle ages? Could a magician who is a sociopath, knows card tricks and the date(s) of solar eclipses become some god-king because people were so easy to BS, or would the people easily see through your deception?	4
How did scientists and philosophers get by before the (late) renaissance? Were they just rich people (but fewer in numbers)1 like in the renaissance, or were they just paid to seemingly do nothing the majority of the time?	4
How did castles or cities with moats get sieged? Did the attacking force just starve the city out, or would they try to fill up a section of moat with stuff they could stand on then climb the walls (or walk in if a catapult blasted a hole in the wall)?	3
How well trained were war and hunting dogs in the Roman Empire and/or medieval Europe compared to today & how did they train them assuming their knowledge & tools for dog training was much less than we have today?	3
In stories about medieval times, we hear that a peasant would never be able to earn enough to get a gold piece. How accurate was this? And what could/should a lowly peasant buy with their income of coppers (and silvers?)	3
What did Columbus do after "discovering" America? Did he die a rich man?	3
Were soldiers substantially older in Roman legions compared to the average WW1&2 soldiere? Is it fair to assume that, due to differences in age that the relative "quality" of a Roman legion was a lot better?	3
Today, Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world due to various reasons not belonging on this sub, but what was the leading cause of death in the middle ages, and why?	3

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