Aristocracy · Monarchies · Observations · People
In royal history I like the heroes of the supporting roles. Gaston d'Orléans (1608-1660), for example, who was called the only brother of the king, Louis XIII. In fact Marie de' Medici had another son, Nicolas, or the prince without a name, who lived for four
Archaeology · Archive · Geography · Observations · Society
For the last week and a half I have been writing every day, sorting through old notes, editing and so forth. When I say old notes, I mean, for example, the field journals of the 1920s and 1930s from the Mongolian expedition and curious jottings on the Russian explorers of
Faith · Books · Observations · People
Interestingly, Salkinson was born in that same Shklov which gave the world so many famous Jews. By the age of 29 he was already living in England, had converted to Christianity and had even become a missionary. He is known for his translations of Milton's "Paradise Lost&
NB! · Observations · Science · Humour
A week of leave, taken to finish my first work since the dissertation, has come to an end. I never did finish: there are 4 chapters written, and 8 in draft. Is that not a tragedy! Do get distracted along with me: https://clck.ru/AWjYs
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Observations · People
At Woodstock, Elizabeth scratched with a diamond on a window pane: "much suspected by me, nothing proved can be, quoth Elizabeth the prisoner". I have not seen it myself, but this is what the autograph of Elizabeth I looks like
Books · Observations · Humour
It has become clear. It was a misapprehension. Azor is the name of the monster in André Grétry's comic opera "Zémire et Azor", which predates our own tale of "Beauty and the Beast". I might have known so simple a thing. Azor is an
NB! · Books · Observations · Humour
Wanted to share a French comic with Azor the dog. How this name, taken from Fet's palindrome, came to spread all over the world is a mystery to me, but it really is known in many countries
NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Rome
A fine Roman tumbler. I would not say no to a whole service of them
NB! · Moscow · Observations · Society · Humour
Wikipedia reports that a Moscow law of 1997 (in force until 2002) prohibited the distribution and display of images of fasces as Nazi symbolism. But on the coat of arms of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation, the fasces look rather well
NB! · Books · Observations · Society
What do a seventeenth-century illustration from a book on executions and the emblem of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service have in common? The depiction of fasces: since antiquity, bundles of rods with an axe or hatchet have been a symbol of authority, including the power to execute and
Observations · Science · Education · Humour
You cannot simply glance into a microscope and cry "Eureka!" Most people will see nothing there but a colourless smudge. Recall how you gazed in vain at onion vacuoles in the school laboratory, slyly reporting that of course you had seen everything
NB! · Observations · Science