Tag: history

Five schillings’ worth of wood

A witch-hunt is a search for people labelled “witches” or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria. The classical period of witchhunts in Europe and North America falls into the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War, resulting in an… Continue reading Five schillings’ worth of wood

The vicar and the vagabond

The mirror of these trusting, brown eyes Is like a reflection of gold from deep inside; From the bosom’s depths it seems to rise Where such gold on holy grief thrives. In the darkness of thine eyes I bury myself, It is thou who invites me, Unknowing Child— Thou wouldst have me ignite the fires… Continue reading The vicar and the vagabond

History: Wash, rinse, repeat?

I picked up a copy of this week’s (17 July 2015) Newsweek at the local Kiosk in the St. Gallen Hauptbahnhof. Two articles caught my attention: “A 58-year-old Austrian man has been given a 10-month suspended sentence after appearing in a documentary that revealed his basement to be full of Nazi memorablia. He was found… Continue reading History: Wash, rinse, repeat?

The dark side of the red light

It is called the world’s oldest profession and it can be found everywhere in the world. It tends to be an industry of women serving male clients, but of course variations on this theme also exist – males servicing males, males servicing females, females catering to females. When one looks at sex in history, we… Continue reading The dark side of the red light

Probus Scafusia: Timeless river, timely man

There is an old saying (so old that no one knows for sure who coined it) that “in business the three most important factors are: location, location, location”. Making the best of where one is remains a constant challenge, but as any resident of a metropolis like London, New York or Tokyo would attest where… Continue reading Probus Scafusia: Timeless river, timely man

Oops! Did we do that?

At least seven people were killed on Monday when a warplane mistakenly dropped a bomb on a residential area in Baghdad. The Iraqi plane dropped the bomb on Ne’iriyah district in southeastern Baghdad, destroying six houses and damaging several nearby buildings and civilian cars. (Deccan Herald, 6 July 2015) The more things change, the more… Continue reading Oops! Did we do that?

Memento mori

Maybe because today is Sunday, a religious day of rest in this wee Christian hamlet of Landschlacht, that my thoughts turn to the question of Death and some discoveries I made on this subject during my explorations of Schaffhausen of late. Death is viewed different ways by different people. Some view it with great fear… Continue reading Memento mori