Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Ask A Historian's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
7:59 pm [reasdream]	Actresses vs. Opera Singers I have a hazy memory that in the 18th and 19th centuries actresses enjoyed as somewhat dubious reputation in polite society, mostly because some of them (it was assumed) also worked in the sex trade.  Would the aura of sexual licentiousness and not quite respectable-ness also apply to Opera singers and, say, the members of the company at the Savoy? Or did the quality of the entertainment improve their social standing? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 5th, 2012
8:40 am [neddy_s]	business records--long shot but what the heck Couldn't hurt to ask! My current research requires review of as many records as I can find for firms of the following type: based in England records available for some or all of the period between c1780 and c1830 produced a physical object (e.g. not solicitors, accountants, surveyors, doctors, etc.) sent what they produced discretely (e.g. not in bulk) to discrete customers (e.g. not to a single distributor or large customer--though I'd be happy with the records of the distributor or customer if those existed) So far I've found the following: Gillows Furniture (based in Lancaster with a showroom in London) R. Hattersley & Sons, mfr of steel flyers and spindles, metalwork for textile machinery (Bradford) several manufacturers of cutlery and silverware (Sheffield--haven't finished in their archives yet) Ledgers/cash books/account books have so far not been of any help; the most useful records so far have been outgoing letter books but incoming/outgoing letters (to and from customers and suppliers) would be ideal. Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions. (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
9:53 am [jaonsdheurason]	US Presidents I find myself curious, and am trying to find or create (unsuccessfully) a list of the driving beliefs of the US Presidents. I am having trouble distinguishing between things that they were known for, but didnt necessarilly care about; and the things that they put effort into, and perhaps never saw come to fruition. I would greatly appreciate some direction and/or assistance with this goal. (Comment on this)
Monday, April 30th, 2012
4:34 am [king_ottar]	Seating (medieval royalty) When it came to seating arrangements at high tables, on thrones, etc, on which side did the king sit visavi his queen? Left or right? I have used my google fu to no avail, and would be grateful for an answer. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
9:40 am [hyarrowen]	Catherine of Valois Greetings! I'm looking for a decent biography of Catherine, either online or published, for a story I'm writing.  She's unexpectedly difficult to research in Australia!  I've followed the links from Wikipedia, and read The Valois by Knecht and Queens Consort by Hilton.  I'm not sure how much I can rely on any of those sources.  I'm particularly interested in her early life, before her marriage to Henry V, and in a reference I found in Hilton's book to a contemporary rumour that she had an affair with Edmund Beaufort after Henry's death.  I couldn't find any further references to this affair. Any help would be much appreciated! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
1:05 pm [emperor_fool]	U.S. rurual architecture question Hello, historians. I'm looking for the name given to a back room attached to a house in the rural U.S. in early 19th century New England (though I'll be happy to hear about other times and places). The room served to house small numbers of livestock. This is not a full barn, but just an unfinished room to shelter a single cow or a couple of milk goats, maybe a few chickens. You could reach the room through a door to the house as well as open the outer door to let the animals into the yard. I'm told this was a fairly common arrangement at the time, but nobody seems to know what to call it other than "an attached cowshed." Does anyone know if there was a more specific or different term in use at the time? Thank you! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 12th, 2012
6:52 am [only1highlander]	I can't seem to find much about this on my own but... Okay Scotland and France were still in the Auld Alliance when the seven years war was lost. Darien Colony had failed for Scotland and the nation went into the UK to recover financially. Since the Scots were France's allies, after the war was lost, did the two nations have any more communication after that? I can't find anything for or against. They were a heft alliance for nearly 500 years, did merging into the UK simply dissolve that? I know the Auld alliance was never officially ended. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
1:28 pm [kjthistory]	Copper Kettle and Warming Pan I hope this question is OK - it's possibly more social history than actual history, if that makes sense. I have a copper kettle and warming pan from my late mother-in-law. She and her sisters (born early 1920s) remembered their mother Ruth (born 1887) having the items on display, always beautifully polished. It's clear from the condition that both items have been actively used, rather than originating as ornaments, and amongst the many copper kettles on eBay the closest match claims to be from 1840. So my question is - when did these items stop being used in an average working-class home? And are these the kind of items someone might have been given as a wedding present? Ruth's own mother was married in 1874 and her parents married in 1845. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
12:16 pm [skjaere]	An elusive source A few years ago, I was reading a book on the Anglo-Saxon period in England, and I came across a reference to a source described in the text as "an anonymous chronicler of London" or something to that effect. This would have been during the period of the Anglo-Saxon invasion, and the chronicler describes sneaking out of one of the gates of London by night and fleeing with his family to the west. He describes his sadness at not having had any news of London in many years, and wonders if the town even still exists. I thought I read about it in Geoffrey Hindley's "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons", but I've been all over that book, and I can't find it. Can anyone help me? Does this sound even a little bit familiar? I would love to know more about the source. It's such a sad and compelling personal glimpse of history. Current Mood: hopeful (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
8:53 am [eugenianoble]	Cromwell and his time I would love to get a exact list of the things that Cromwell's major-generals were supposed to do to prevent plotting and "promote godliness and virtue" during protectorate. Do you think you can help? (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
11:53 am [ext_657792]	Babylon I think this is the right place for this, but if it isn't, please forgive me! I'm new to LiveJournal. I'm trying to find out what happened to the city of Babylon after the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia in the 7th century AD. More specifically, I want to know if there were still any inhabitants there or in the nearby areas in 900AD. Thanks in advance! (Comment on this)
Monday, June 6th, 2011
6:18 am [neddy_s]	I'll ask here too, just in case.... Is anyone out there familiar with the history of automata in the 18th century? I'm interested in the composition of the audiences for automata performance, particularly in England--mostly men or women? Did children attend? Was it an elite phenomenon or did it have broader appeal? (13 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 7th, 2011
12:39 am [skjaere]	The Bible and History I'm looking for well-written, good (i.e., fact-based and non-religious without being anti-religious) Biblical histories in two different categories: 1) An analysis of events mentioned in the Bible as compared to what is known from other historical/archaeological sources. 2) A history of how the Bible came to be the book it is today, and what is known about the history of the individual books. Hopefully some of you fine folks here will be able to suggest some decent reading material! I'm an historian, but my specialty is the Mediaeval period, so I'm out of my depth with anything earlier. Thanks. Current Mood: hopeful (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 15th, 2011
11:50 pm [skjaere]	Name Origins I have a brand new baby niece named Charlotte, and I hit on the idea of making a "Book of Charlottes" for her which includes famous people and places bearing her name, as well as fictional characters, etc.... One of the things I want to include in the book is the history of the name itself. All the name sites I've looked at give the origin of the name as c. 17th century France, but I've also seen mention of a Charlotte Mailly in 12th century Scotland. Unfortunately the sites I've seen repeat the same information over and over again without listing any sources, so I'm here pleading for help. Can anyone recommend good resources for historical name origins? I'm a stickler for good history, and I want my niece to grow up with accurate info about her name. Thanks! Current Mood: busy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
3:25 pm [pattersonphoto]	how many died? What percentage of the overall population died because of small-pox in the “New World?” What percentage of the overall population died because of the black plague in Europe? I am asking these questions as part of my ongoing experiment to see how ready I can get for the apocalypse in only 1 year. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
2:56 pm [hyarrowen]	Fifteenth-century Burgundy A couple of small questions, for a fanfic I'm writing. 1) What would the correct style and form of address be for a single, 17-year old daughter of John the Fearless?  (It's a slight AU.) 2) Would the language spoken in Dijon have been easily understandable by someone who spoke the French of Paris? Books: John the Fearless Richard Vaughan Phoenix Frustrated Christopher Cope The Golden Age of Burgundy Joseph Calmette Encyclopaedia of Languages of Europe Search terms: style “form of address” “duke of burgundy” “langues d'oil” Any help is very much appreciated! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
9:05 pm [aliettedb]	Texcoco ruler in Aztec coronation war? Me again, still writing Aztec historical fantasy... We're now in the aftermath of Tizoc's (disastrous) coronation war, and I was wondering: is there any record of Nezahualpilli (the ruler of Texcoco) taking part in it? I can find a little information on coronation wars, and a little information on Nezahualpilli, but not enough to know if he'd have been taking part (my best guess is no, as I would imagine this is a purely Aztec war, which aims to demonstrate their superiority and not that of the Triple Alliance as a whole, but I'd still prefer to be sure). Done so far: checked Nigel Davies' The Aztecs, Manuel Aguilar-Moreno's Handbook to life in the Aztec World, and Ross Hassig's Aztec Warfare. Also leafed through The Essential Codex Mendoza, Michael E. Smith The Aztecs. Anyone have any ideas? Sources are a little scarce where I am... Thanks in advance! (Comment on this)
Monday, October 25th, 2010
12:20 am [olansamuelle]	Tiny question: city crier in Rome  Hi, I was trying to find out if messengers who acted as what we could call heralds and city criers had their own name during Roman times but found no reference. Did they not have a name further than "messenger"? Thank you kindly. x-posted. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 6th, 2010
1:59 pm [hyarrowen]	Melee fighting in tournaments I'm trying to find first-hand accounts of what it was like to fight in such an event. I'm looking particularly for early fifteenth century, but I've got to the stage where anything will do! Details of protocol would be quite useful, but what I'm after are tactics, and what it felt like to be in the lists in the midst of the fight. Sources checked: Barber and Barker, "Tournaments" Crouch "Tournament" King Rene's Tournament Book Anything on William Marshall - far too early, but I'm getting desperate. Plus general googling around on the subject of melees. I also watched "A Knight's Tale" which, though it's pretty good on jousting and the general set-up of tournaments, doesn't go into the melee (but whoo, James Purefoy as the Black Prince!) Any help would be gratefully received. (21 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
10:06 pm [ideealisme]	Question: Black Nurses in WWI Hi all I was wondering would it be possible or plausible to have a character who is visibly a black woman serve as a nurse under the Voluntary Aid Detachment system as a nurse near the Western Front in World War I? I'm googling away but not finding anything conclusive yet. I know Mary Seacole famously provided nursing aid for the injured in the Crimean War half a century before, but she had to raise funds herself as prevalent racism precluded her from serving with any official body. I am thinking British Army (the US did not have any black nurses serving overseas and they didn't serve until the Armistice was signed, AFAIK) and I imagine she would have come there by way of Jamaica. If there wasn't one I could always create one and stick a stonking big disclaimer at the beginning of the piece :) (yes I know that's Bad and Wrong but what the hell.) Thanks in advance for any help. Crossposted to writing_cocs  (19 Comments |Comment on this)