Month: December 2019

Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice in some Christian churches and other religious orders of cutting some of the hair from the scalps of clerics. In the West, the tonsure consisted of a circular patch on the crown of the head that was kept bald. Different religious orders had different tonsures: some kept the entire head shaved above the ears; others retained a broad band of hair around the head. The Catholic Church abolished the practice in 1972. What modern religious organizations still practice tonsure? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Christmas Bird Count

The Christmas Bird Count is an international event sponsored annually by the National Audubon Society, from December 14–January 5. Each group of volunteers is assigned a specific geographic area and asked to record the number and species of birds they see. Counts take place in all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands. The data gathered every year helps the Audubon Society and scientists worldwide to understand the status and distribution of bird populations in early winter. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Russkaya Pravda

The Russkaya Pravda was the legal code that grew out of common law and the feudal regulations of the medieval state known as Kievean Rus, the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Codified by Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century, it bears a resemblance to contemporary German law but is unique in its omission of capital punishment. It originally allowed the avenging of a murder, but the penalty was later limited to a hefty fine. How was guilt established in the absence of witnesses? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sir Francis Drake Begins Circumnavigation of the Globe (1577)

Drake, an English buccaneer and navigator, set out in 1577 with five ships to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. After abandoning two ships, he navigated the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Another ship was destroyed in a storm, and a fourth returned to England, but Drake continued alone up the coast of S America, crossed the Pacific, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in England in 1580. How was he rewarded? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ocher

Among the earliest pigments used by mankind, ocher has a yellow-orange to orange color and is made of varying proportions of iron oxide and clay. The world’s first known works of art, found in South Africa’s Blombos Cave and dated to 75,000 years ago, consist of ocher pieces engraved with abstract designs, and Cro-Magnon artists living about 10,000 to 40,000 years ago used ocher in their cave paintings. The 2nd-century BCE Egyptian Ebers Papyrus lists what non-artistic use for ocher? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Spyridon Day

St. Spyridon is the patron saint of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kephalonia, located off the western coast of Greece. He supposedly attended the Nicene Council (325) and defended the Apostolic faith against the Arians. After his death, his relics were brought from Cyprus to Constantinople and then to Corfu in 1456. Every year a sacred relic of the saint, dressed in costly vestments, is carried through the streets on his feast day. Colorful folk festivities complete the day-long celebration. This day is celebrated on December 14 in the Roman Catholic Church. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Ormulum

Written in about 1180 by an Augustinian canon of Lincolnshire named Ormin, the Ormulum is a collection of homilies on the Gospels consisting of almost 19,000 lines of Middle English verse. Because Ormin uses his own system of spelling to indicate the proper pronunciation of his words, the Ormulum is invaluable to philologists studying Middle English phonology and tracing the development of English through the Norman conquests. Who is Walter, mentioned in the work’s dedication? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary