Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Early Holidays In the Middle Ages, wealthy people went on pilgrimages for religious reasons. However, pilgrimages were not holidays – or they were not meant to be! In the 14th century, Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales about a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. In England, people went on pilgrimages… Continue reading A History of Holidays

By Tim Lambert Sport In The Ancient World Egyptian Sport People have always played sports. In Ancient Egypt, people went swimming. They also enjoyed boxing, wrestling, and archery. They also played a game that involved standing on a boat and trying to knock the opposing team into the water with a stick. The Olympic Games… Continue reading A History of Sport

By Tim Lambert Until the year 1752, in England, New Year’s Day was, legally on 25 March, which was the Feast of the Annunciation when an angel told Mary the mother of Jesus that she was pregnant and would have a son. (It was also called Lady Day). However long before the legal change, most… Continue reading A History of New Year’s Day

By Tim Lambert Musical Instruments in the Ancient World The Egyptians played many instruments. They played castanets, drums, and bells. They also played stringed instruments like the harp, the lyre (a kind of vertical harp), and the lute. They also played wind instruments like flutes and trumpets. The Egyptians also played a rattle called a… Continue reading A History of Musical Instruments

By Tim Lambert The Month of May The month of May is probably named after Maia the Roman goddess who caused plants to grow. In the past Mayday was a day of rejoicing. It meant the return of warm weather and long summer evenings. In the past winters must have been much harder than they… Continue reading A Brief History of Mayday

By Tim Lambert Early Dentistry In Sumer (now Iraq) in 2000 BC people believed that tooth decay was caused by worms. This strange belief carried on in the West until Tudor Times. The Etruscans an ancient civilization that existed in Italy after 800 BC were excellent dentists. They made false teeth from human or animal… Continue reading A History of Dentistry

By Tim Lambert Early Toys Before the 20th century, children had few toys and those they did have were precious. Furthermore, children did not have much time to play. Only a minority went to school but most children were expected to help their parents by doing simple jobs around the house or in the fields.… Continue reading A History of Toys

By Tim Lambert St George is, of course, the patron saint of England. ‘Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ Those immortal words are from Shakespeare’s Henry V but who was St George and how did he become the patron saint of England? St George was a Roman soldier who lived in the 3rd… Continue reading A History of St George’s Day

By Tim Lambert MEDICINE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Medicine among Primitive Peoples The first evidence of surgery is skulls from the Stone Age. Some adults had holes cut in their skulls. At least sometimes people survived the ‘operation’ because the bone grew back. We do not know the purpose of the ‘operation’. Perhaps it was… Continue reading A History of Medicine

By Tim Lambert Life Expectancy Before the Industrial Revolution We do not know exactly what average life expectancy at birth was in the past (before the 19th century we can only give rough estimates). However, historians think it was about 35 years in the Middle Ages or the 16th Century. However, that does not mean… Continue reading A History of Life Expectancy