History Trivia - Big Ben rings out for the first time

May 31,

1279 BC – Ramses II (The Great, 19th dynasty) became pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

1076 The execution of Waltheof of Northumbria ended the 'Revolt of the Earls' against William the Conqueror.

1859 Big Ben, located atop St. Stephen's tower, went into operation in London, ringing out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London for the first time.

History Trivia - Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour

May 30,

70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breached the Second Wall of Jerusalem. The Jewish wars financed the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater,  which took ten years to build.

 1536 King Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.

 1593 Leading Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a pub brawl in Deptford.

History Trivia - Byzantine Empire ends

May 29,

 363 Roman Emperor Julian defeated the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sassanid capital, but was unable to take the city.

1167 Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III was defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.

1453 The Roman Empire in the east (Byzantine Empire) came to an end as Ottoman sultan Mehmet II captured Constantinople.

Mystery Deepens Over Rare Roman Tombstone

 

Detail of the mysterious Roman inscription.

Cotswold Archaeology

Discovery News


Mystery has deepened over a Roman tombstone unearthed earlier this year in western England, as new research revealed it had no link with the skeleton laying beneath it.
The inscribed stone was discovered during the construction work of a parking lot in Cirencester.
Made from Cotswold limestone, it was found laying on its front in a grave — directly above an adult skeleton.

Pompeii Couple Reunited in Marble Inscription

 

When it was turned over, the honey colored stone revealed fine decorations and five lines of Latin inscription which read: “D.M. BODICACIA CONIUNX VIXIT ANNO S XXVII,” possibly meaning: “To the shades of the underworld, Bodicacia, spouse, lived 27 years.”
The discovery was hailed as unique since the stone was believed to be the only tombstone from Roman Britain to record the person found beneath.
In fact, while the dedication on the tombstone is to a woman, the skeleton beneath it was that of a male.
Ancient Greek Tombstones Served as Therapy
It turns out the gravestone and skeleton were also laid at different times — the inscribed stone was early Roman, dating to the 2nd century A.D., while the burial was most certainly late Roman, from the 4th century A.D..
“We believe the tombstone to have been re-used as a grave cover perhaps as long as two centuries after it was first erected,” Ed McSloy, Cotswold Archaeology’s finds expert, told Discovery News.
Martin Henig and Roger Tomlin, leading experts in Roman sculpture and inscriptions at the University of Oxford, noted that the back of the stone is very roughly worked, almost unfinished, in strong contrast to the finely sculpted front.

Unlikely to have been a free-standing tombstone, the five-foot-long inscribed stone may have rather been set into walls, possibly those of a mausoleum.

Who the grave belonged to remains a mystery.
“Reading the letters, the most plausible interpretation of the name is Bodicacia, a previously unknown Celtic name,” McSloy said.
Gladiator Chews Out Ref From Grave
Indeed the name appears to be a variant of a Celtic name with same root as Boudicca. This was the rebel queen of the Iceni, a British tribe, who unsuccessfully attempted to defeat the Romans.
Bodicacia’s tombstone was also unique. The pediment, which is the decorated, triangular portion at top of the stone, shows the Roman god Oceanus.
A divine personification of the sea in the classical world, the god was portrayed with a long mustache, stylized long hair, and crab-like pincers above the head.
‘For Allah’ Inscription Found on Viking Era Ring
The image, according to McSloy “is also hitherto unknown in funerary sculpture.”
Most likely, Bodicacia was deprived of her unique tombstone sometime in the fourth century, when her funerary stone was buried in a grave. At the same time or before this date, Oceanus was deliberately defaced.

“The most likely context for this would be early Christian iconoclasm,” McSloy said.

The tombstone will be soon put on permanent display at Cirencester’s Corinium Museum.

Saxon butter churn found in Staffordshire sheds light on life in Mercian Kingdom

 

Ancient Origins

Archaeologists working on the site of a rail improvement project in the UK have discovered the lid of a butter churn from the Saxon period.
The discovery of a wooden object at Norton Bridge, reported in the Staffordshire Newsletter, was made on the site of a new flyover currently being constructed by Network Rail along with 11 new bridges. The work is being carried out in order to remove a bottleneck on the busy West Coast Main Line.
The artifact was discovered among the remains of worked wooden stakes and wood chips on waterlogged peat near Meece Road, just south of Yarnfield in Staffordshire. Radiocarbon tests have dated the wooden lid to 715 to 890 AD when the area was part of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The results show that the artifact is roughly the same age as the famous Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold found anywhere in the world.

The Staffordshire Hoard, discovered in a field in Hammerwich, near Lichfield in July 2009, is perhaps the most important collection of Anglo-Saxon objects found in England. 2009, David Rowan, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. (en.wikipedia.org)

Archaeologists originally believed the lid to be far older, as evidence of prehistoric occupation has been discovered nearby. Furthermore, no pottery or other metalwork was found on the site, which could have helped to date the artifact. Dr Emma Tetlow of Headland Archaeology said she was delighted by the find as precious little evidence of the Mercian kingdom has been discovered in the UK so far. Wooden artifacts and other organic evidence from the Saxon period are very rare indeed.
“During this period this part of Staffordshire was part of the Mercian heartland and was populated by a pagan tribe called the Pencersaete” said Dr Tetlow. “Existing knowledge of this period for the north and east of the Midlands and the UK in general is very scarce, so this find is fantastic and of regional significance.”
Dr Tetlow said that the climate of the area at that time would not have been too different from that experienced by people in the UK today as the country was becoming affected by dynamic climate change at the start of what is now known as the ‘Medieval Warm Period’. This was a short climatic interval that is thought to have taken place roughly between 900 and 1300 AD, predominantly affecting the Northern Hemisphere. The Pencersaete would therefore have had to endure unsettled and stormy weather including flooding and a general increase in temperature.

• Amazing Find with a Metal Detector - The Incredible Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon Gold Hoard
• Waves of invaders came to Britain but left few genes, new study says
• Archaeologists find 'lost village' in Nottinghamshire, England

Map of England showing where Mercia was located in the 700-late 800’s. (Wikimedia Commons)

Butter churns were containers, looking much like a wooden barrel, used to convert cream into butter. They had a hole in the lid through which a pole was inserted. This was then used to agitate the cream in order to disrupt the milk fat, the membranes of which break down thereby creating lumps called butter grains. These join with each other to form larger globules and when the air is forced out of them the mixture becomes buttermilk. Constant and continued churning forces the globules together to form butter. Consumption of butter can be traced as far back as 2000 BC.

Butter churning equipment with all the features for churning, storing, and processing. At the Beskid Museum in Wisła. Photo by Piotrus, 2008. (Wikimedia Commons)

The archaeologists intend holding an information day when members of the public can view the finds and discuss them with Dr Tetlow and her colleagues. Dr Tetlow is also planning to write a paper on the discovery for the Stafford and Mid-Staffs Archaeological Society.
Mercia was one of the seven great kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, the other kingdoms being East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex. It was ruled from a capital at Tamworth and expanded rapidly during the 6^th and 7^th centuries, becoming one of the ‘big three’ kingdoms alongside Northumbria and Wessex. The first ruler of Mercia was King Icel (515-535 AD) and the last was Queen AElfwynn (918 AD) who was deposed by King Edward the Elder of Wessex when he rode into the kingdom and conquered it. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions this episode, commenting that “the daughter of Æthelred, lord of the Mercians, was deprived of all dominion over the Mercians, and carried into Wessex, three weeks before mid-winter; she was called Ælfwynn.” Mercia reached its strongest point during the rule of King Offa when the kingdom dominated much of central England.

King Offa of Mercia from the Benefactors Book of St. Alban's Abbey. C1380. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Pencersaete took their name from the Penk Valley, named after a hill near Penkridge. They are named in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 849 describing the area of Cofton Hackett in the Lickey Hills, south of the present city of Birmingham. This region formed the boundary between the Pencersaete and their neighbors, the Tomsaete.
Featured Image: Butter Churn from the Saxon Period, found at Norton Bridge.

History Trivia - Acre falls, ending the Crusades

May 28,

585 BC A solar eclipse occurred, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes was battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This was one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.

1291 Acre, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to the Moslems, ending the Crusades.

1588 The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It would take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).

 

Staffordshire hoard: experts piece together rare warrior's helmet

 

A reconstructed helmet band, depicting a frieze of warriors, which was found as part of the Staffordshire hoard. Photograph: Birmingham museums trust/PA

 

Anglo-Saxon headgear reconstructed from more than 1,500 pieces as £400,000 grant is announced to fund further work on the treasure

The Guardian

More than 1,500 scraps of silver gilt foil from the Staffordshire hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure, including strips stamped with designs of warriors and beasts and other fragments the size of a fingernail, are being pieced together by archaeologists and conservators into a warrior’s helmet of international importance – as it is one of only five ever found.
With years of conservation and research remaining, Historic England will announce a £400,000 grant on Tuesday to fund the continuing study of the largest hoard of Anglo Saxon precious metal work ever found. It was discovered by a metal detector in 2010 in Staffordshire farmland before another 90 pieces were recovered from the same field three years later.

Staffordshire hoard site yields further 90 fragments

Gold and garnet cross and eagle-shaped mount among latest items unearthed by archaeologists in Hammerwich field          

           

Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent councils, joint owners of the hoard, are trying to raise an additional £120,000 towards the project, which will include an online catalogue of the complete hoard by 2017.
“Until we started fitting the pieces together we weren’t even quite sure that we had a helmet, but we are now certain that we have most of it,” said Pieta Greaves, coordinator of the conservation team at the Birmingham museum. “We are missing some pieces including the iron frame, but we should end up with an academically respectable guestimate of what it could have looked like. I think some form of reconstruction will prove feasible.”
The helmet would have dazzled when new, set with bands of precious metal and golden intricately decorated pieces covering the ears.
“We’re missing bits that we see on the Sutton Hoo helmet, like the eyebrow and face protectors, but we have the ear pieces, most of the cap and the crest. What we have is the valuable bits, the stripped out silver and gold – it may be that somebody else got a bag full of base metal to melt down,” Greaves said.
The hoard is unique in that it consists entirely of male ornament and decorative weapon fittings – “warrior bling” as one archaeologist put it – and a few Christian pieces that may have been wrenched off bibles or reliquaries. Among more than 4,000 pieces nothing has been identified that was made for a woman.

 

A detail of the front of the reconstructed sword pommel. Photograph: Birmingham Museums Trust/PA

The meticulous cleaning and study of even the tiniest pieces has also identified a unique sword pommel, which was among more than 70 examples in the hoard, that combines Irish and British styles, and materials including gold, silver, garnet, glass and deliberately blackened silver niello work.

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Chris Fern, the project archaeologist, said the skill of the workmanship was thrilling and the pommel a truly exciting object. “It combines multiple different styles of ornament, much in the same way as the earliest seventh-century illuminated manuscripts do, like the Book of Durrow. It suggests the coming together of Anglo-Saxon and British or Irish high cultures.”
Greaves said the pommel was the only piece to combine so many materials: “It’s as if the craftsman was showing off, saying look at me, look at what I can really do.”
The gallery for the hoard opened in October by Birmingham city museum has had more than 110,000 visitors. Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Since its discovery in 2009, the Staffordshire hoard and the stories behind it have captured the public imagination.”

History Trivia - Procopius executed

May 27,

366 Procopius, Roman usurper against Valens, and member of the Constantinian dynasty was executed.

 1153 Malcolm IV became King of Scotland.

1564 John Calvin, one of the dominant figures of the Protestant Reformation, died in Geneva.

Did Lady Godiva ride naked in Coventry?

Lady Godiva sculpture by J Thomas, 1861. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

History Extra

In legend, Lady Godiva was willing to ride naked through the streets of Coventry to persuade her husband to lower taxes – but did it actually happen?
This article was first published in the May 2015 issue of History Revealed

The naked truth of the matter is that: no, she didn’t. Lady Godifu (or Godgyfu) was a real woman and she was married to one of the wealthiest men in Anglo-Saxon England, Earl Leofric of Mercia.
Less famously, the pair were generous patrons of monasteries, and Godifu (which should actually be pronounced Gud-geef-uh), in particular donated much gold and silver to make crucifixes.
Despite both dying roughly around the time of 1066, the story of her naked ride through Coventry was first recorded by the chronicler Roger of Wendover in the 1200s, so isn’t considered reliable by historians.
Indeed, Wendover only says Leofric offered to lower taxes on the poor if his wife mounted her horse in the nude, but he doesn’t make clear if she went through with it.
Nevertheless, the tale became well-known, and in the 1600s, the extra element of Peeping Tom – who leered at her body while the townspeople respectfully shut their eyes – was added for an extra bit of juicy drama.
Answered by one of our Q&A experts, Greg Jenner. For more fascinating questions by Greg, and the rest of our panel, pick up a copy of History Revealed! Available in print and for digital devices.

Dark Side of Medieval Convent Life Revealed

 

The skeleton of a sinner woman buried in face down. Her lower legs had been truncated by a later burial of an infant.

Discovery News
by Rossella Lorenzi

British archaeologists excavating a church site in Oxford have brought to light the darker side of medieval convent life, revealing skeletons of nuns who died in disgrace after being accused of immoral behavior.
Discovered ahead of the construction of a new hotel, the burial ground stretches around what used to be Littlemore Priory, a nunnery founded in 1110 and dissolved in 1525.

Archaeologists led by Paul Murray, of John Moore Heritage Services, found 92 skeletons of women, men and children.

3,000 Skeletons Recovered at London Train Station Site
“Burials within the church are likely to represent wealthy or eminent individuals, nuns and prioresses,” Murray said in a statement.
“Those buried outside most likely represent the laity and a general desire to be buried as close to the religious heart of the church as possible,” he added.
Females made up the majority of the burials, at 35, with males accounting for 28; it was impossible to determine the gender of the remaining 29.
Among the burials, the archaeologists unearthed a female aged 45 or more who was likely one of the 20 women who held the position of prioress throughout the history of the priory.
She was interred at the exact center of the crossing in a well constructed stone coffin, with a head niche.
Some skeletons showed signs of debilitating ailments, such as two children who suffered from developmental dysplasia of the hip.
Photos: Skeletons of Scholars Found in Cambridge

“This would have a resulted in reduced length of the leg and therefore a severe limp and perhaps needing the use of a crutch,” Murray said.

A single burial possibly had leprosy, while another skeleton showed signs of a blunt force trauma to the skull, likely the cause of death.
Other unusual burials included a stillborn baby in a well-made casket, and a woman buried in a face down position.
“This was perhaps a penitential act to atone for her sins,” Murray said.
The woman may have been one of the sinner nuns Cardinal Wolsey accused of immoral behavior when he closed down the nunnery.
Indeed, the last prioress, Katherine Wells (1507 and 1518) was deposed of the position as punishment for a number of misdeeds, such as giving birth to an illegitimate child fathered by a priest from Kent, and stealing things belonging to the monastery — pots, pens and candlesticks, etc. — to provide a dowry for her daughter.
According to accounts taken after bishop Atwater’s visitation in 1517 an 1518, another nun had an illegitimate child by a married man of Oxford.
Medieval ‘Witch Girl’ Likely Just Suffered From Scurvy

Life at the nunnery could be severe, records show, with the prioress often putting the nuns into the stocks and beating them “with fists and feet.”

When in 1518, the bishop visited the nunnery again, the prioress complained that one of the nuns “played and romped” with boys in the cloister and refused to be corrected.
The story goes that when the nun was put in the stocks she was rescued by three other nuns who broke down the door, burnt the stocks and broke a window to escape to friends where they remained for two or three weeks.
Wells appears to have regained her position later in 1518 as no other prioresses are recorded after this date. It is likely she remained at the priory for a further seven years until its dissolution in 1525.
According to Murray, the bishop reports are certainly tainted to at least some degree and were used to justify Cardinal Wolsey’s desire to dissolve the nunnery and use its revenues to fund Cardinal’s College, now Christ Church, traditionally considered one of Oxford’s most aristocratic colleges.
“The complaints made about the nuns when they ‘played and romped’ with boys in the cloister and their refusal to be corrected, perhaps reveals something about the nuns caring nature and an element of free spirit,” he added.

Photos: Mummy Stash Found in Italian Church

Evidence for the caring, nursing element of the priory is also provided by the remains of the children with debilitating illnesses and the leprosy sufferer.
“They were not just nuns, but business women, educators, care givers and mothers. They coped as best they could with the trials of daily life, although one could imagine they found time to enjoy it too,” Murray said.
Turned into a farmhouse after the nunnery’s dissolution, the priory might be incorporated into the new hotel as a restaurant.
Researchers at Reading University are now undertaking isotope analysis to learn more about the origin and diet of the people buried in the church.
The skeletal remains will eventually be reburied on consecrated ground.

History Trivia - Germanicus returns to Rome

May 26,

17 Germanicus returned to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrated a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other German tribes west of the Elbe.

451 Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire took place. The Empire defeated the Armenians militarily but guaranteed them freedom to openly practice Christianity.

604 St Augustine died.  The Benedictine monk became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.

Frozen in Time: Casts of Pompeii Reveal Last Moments of Volcano Victims

Ancient Origins

The plaster casts of 86 agonized victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD will go on exhibit May 26, 2015, in National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy.
People of Pompeii, a Roman city, were in their death throes when a cloud of gas from the volcano enveloped them, killing them. The gas was 300 degrees centigrade (572 degrees F). Clearly, from the expressions of their faces and their bodily contortions they were caught by surprise when the ash cloud finally consumed them.
An article on ANSA.com states:

Teeth protrude from lips stretched from pain. Smoldering, encrusted skin, protruding skulls and bones, exposed jaws were all caught in the moment of death, when a glowing, 300C cloud seared surfaces of the bodies in a single stroke, leaving their insides soft, and burying them under ash and stones. Among them is the family of the House of the Golden Bracelet: a woman with a baby on her lap. Near her is a man and another child, perhaps two years old.

Harrowing image shows a child sitting on his mother when the ash cloud hit. Credit: Splash News

The actual bodies, which were ossified by the heat, will not go on display but rather the plaster casts that show the exact position the bodies were found in.
Massimo Osanna, the superintendent of archaeology in Pompeii and nearby towns said: "Until now they had never been surveyed, out of a sense of ethics with which these human remains were always treated. No statues of plaster or bronze, but real people who should be treated with respect.”

Some of the victims of volcanic gas cloud were clearly in agony (Bigstock photo)

Archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli found the bodies in 1863 and came up with a way to detect and extract the bodies intact from their resting places in Pompeii. Scientists also found animals, including a dog and a pig, but they won't be on display in the museum. The animals were restored for purposes of archaeology and science, Osanna said.
A team of scientists, including archaeologists, engineers, an anthropologist, restoration experts and radiologists, is undertaking the Great Pompeii Project to do anthropological and genetic profiling of the unfortunate victims of the eruption. The scientists hope to get a better understanding of their way of life and identify them more fully. They will publish their findings and be featured in a documentary by a restoration company from Salerno.
Pompeii was a flouring Roman city from the 6^th century BC until it became frozen in time, preserved by the layers of ash that spewed out from the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the 1^st century AD. Although Pompeii was initially rediscovered at the end of the 16^th  century, it was only properly excavated in the 18^th century. Excavators were startled by the sexually explicit frescoes they were unearthing, quite shocking to the sensibilities of medieval citizens of Rome, so they quickly covered them over.

Raunchy frescoes uncovered in Pompeii. Source: BigStockPhoto

When excavations resumed nearly two centuries later, archaeologists found the city almost entirely intact – loaves of bread still sat in the oven, bodies of men, women, children, and pets were found frozen in their last moments, the expressions of fear still etched on their faces, and the remains of meals remained discarded on the pavement. The astounding discovery meant that researchers could piece together exactly what life was like for the ancient Romans of Pompeii – the food they ate, the jobs they performed and the houses they lived in

.

The city of Pompeii (Bigstock photo)

Photos of researchers working with the bodies and making plaster casts may be viewed at The Daily Mail.
Featured image: Some of the victims of Pompeii were sitting, some lying when the superhot gas cloud enveloped them. (Bigstock photo)
By Mark Miller

Memorial Day 2015: A Day to Remember the sacrifices of our Armed Forces

Wikipedia
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the war. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

History Trivia - The Venerable Bede dies

May 25,

585 BC Thales of Greece made the first known prediction of a solar eclipse.

 735 The Venerable Bede died.

946 Edmund the Older, king of Wessex/England (939-46), died.

History Trivia - Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt

May 24,

1218 The Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt.

1337 The Hundred Years War between England and France began when France confiscated Gascony from Edward III.

1487 The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.

History Trivia - Joan of Arc captured

May 23,

 1275 King Edward I of England ordered the cessation of persecution of French Jews.

1430 Joan of Arc was captured at Compiegne and sold to the British.

1533 The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

History Trivia - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia

May 22,

334 BC The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.

337 Constantine the Great, the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity died.

1455 Wars of the Roses: at the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeated and captured King Henry VI of England.

 

Gilgamesh! Sebastian Lockwood interviewed by Doug Holder on Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer, SCATV.

Sebastian Lockwood discusses his works with Doug Holder.

 

The Briton and the Dane fans:

 

The Briton and the Dane is narrated by Sebastian Lockwood.  Have a listen on Soundcloud:

 

 

Author Brenda Perlin is featured in the 2014 Flash Fiction Anthology

The Indies Unlimited 2014 Flash Fiction Anthology features a year's worth of winning entries from the IndiesUnlimited.com weekly flash fiction challenge. It contains 50 stories by 34 different authors from around the world, with full color pictures by award-winning photographer K. S. Brooks and thought-provoking prompts by five-star author Stephen Hise. From a magic marmot to a zombie trick-or-treater, there are a myriad of genres and stories to appeal to every taste.

Best viewed on a color reader.

Authors with stories in the anthology include: Annette Rochelle Aben, Ralph L. Angelo, Jr., R.L. Austin, Laurie Boris, Melissa Bowersock, Christian A. Brown, Lynne Cantwell, A.V. Carden, Victoria A. Carr, Joan Childs, DW Davis, Leland Dirks, Jennifer Don, Ed Drury, Kathryn El-Assal, Sylvia Heike, Jamie R. Hershberger, Yvonne Hertzberger, Chris James, Howard Johnson, Vickie Johnstone, A. L. Kaplan, K.L. Kelso, L.A. Lewandowski, Angela Luo, S.A. Molteni, Kevin D. Montgomery, Arlene R. O'Neil, Sasha A. Palmer, Brenda Perlin, Sara Stark, Kathy Steinemann, Dick C. Waters, and Mandy White.

Amazon US

History Trivia - English Lady Jane Grey marries Guildford Dudley.

May 21,

on this day The Agonalia was held. It was held on January 9th, March 17th, May 21st, and December 11th.  On each day a ram was sacrificed, probably as an offering to Janus.

1420 Charles VI ceded France to Henry V of England in the Treaty of Troyes, after Henry's victory at Agincourt.

1553 English Lady Jane Grey married Guildford Dudley.