Medieval Hanukkah – Jewish holidays
On the way to medieval Hanukkah: Arch of Titus: Roman soldiers carry off the big menorah from the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 AD, but the arch was built in the [...]
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08, 2017
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08, 2017
What is purgatory? History of Christianity
A demon torturing a sinful bishop and a king (Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1200s AD) In the early days of Christianity, people pretty much thought that at the Last Judgment you [...]
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08, 2017
What is a Christian priest? History of Religion
Priest blessing people who have the plague Very soon after the crucifixion of Jesus, by around 40 or 50 AD, the early Christians began to choose leaders from among themselves. The Christians called these [...]
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08, 2017
What is a bishop? Christianity – Religion
A bishop from medieval Iceland (in the form of a chess piece). Now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York What is a bishop? A bishop was a man who was [...]
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08, 2017
St. Benedict – Christianity – History of Religion
Egyptian caves where early monks and nuns lived Who was Benedict? In the 500s AD, Benedict was the founder of a new Christian movement toward monasticism: living as monks or nuns. What are [...]
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08, 2017
What is a battery? Electricity
A Leyden Jar - an early kind of electric battery In the early 1800s AD, about 200 years ago, scientists in Denmark and Britain figured out another way to make magnets. [...]
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08, 2017
Visit Paris with kids!
Conciergerie: the king's castle in Paris (parts of it from the 1300 AD) Kids love visiting castles and cathedrals - especially if you tell them about the monument the night before. But they're not [...]
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08, 2017
Quakers – Society of Friends – Religion
A Quaker wedding (1800s in England) In 1648 AD, some people in England felt unhappy with the way Puritan Christians were praying to God. So they started to do things their own way. [...]
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08, 2017
Restoration England – British history
Charles II of England Oliver Cromwell tried to leave his job as Lord Protector to his son Richard when he died in 1658, but Richard was so useless that two years [...]
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08, 2017
Atlatls or spear-throwers
Atlatl history: this is an ancient atlatl What is an atlatl? An atlatl, or spear-thrower, is a wooden or bone stick with a hook on one end that you can [...]
