Wattle and Daub-Elizabethan Style

While not common, wattle and daub houses did not have to be whitewashed.

Wattle and daub were a fairly inexpensive way to build homes from the early Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

The walls between the large timbers of a structure were made of wattle (sticks woven in a loose pattern) and daub (a mixture of mud, straw and animal manure that was packed onto the wattle) then covered in plaster.

The upper story of the house to the right is a traditional style while those to the left have more wood detailing for decorative rather than structural reasons.

The Elizabethan Era was the high design point for wattle and daub buildings as by the end of her reign brick became the favored building material in England.

The sagging is a common aspect of many two or more-story wattle and daub structures.

 

All these houses are in Ludlow, UK whose castle (to the left of the photo) was a major structure on the border with Wales and retained its importance until the late 17th century.

Renaissance Royal Kitchen

The Garderobe-the castles way of meeting an every day need

For residents of a castle, when nature called, the garderobe was the place to go...the curved structure is the exit hole of the garderobe and the small arrow loop above doubled as source of fresh air for the users. 

Even centuries after its last use the stain and erosion caused by countless numbers of humans reliving themselves multiple times a day for more than five hundred years is clearly evident.

The advantage of relieving oneself behind the protective walls of a castle were obvious.  The problem that arose was where the waste ended up, piled up on the side of the exterior wall (as in the case of the above garderobe where the exit was angled to direct the waste further away from the wall), or in the moat.  In the former case the human waste was most often collected by peasants to use as fertilize in the local crop lands.  Some lords even charged their peasants for the use of the waste. In the latter case, having your waste entering the water table was a danger the residents of a castle were probably unaware. Besides, at that time period drinking ale/beer was safer, gave need calories and was probably more enjoyable.

The Great War-Begins in the West

August 2, 1914, Luxembourg and the opening moves of the soon to be called the Great War begins as Imperial German cavalry crosses the border. The German Schlieffen plan is about to run head on into the French Plan XVII. To the Germans this was "Der Tag" where they would gain their true place as the leaders of Europe. To the French this was the day of "Revanche" where their loss in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War would be avenged. The great Battle of the Frontiers will start in days and determine if this will be a short or long war.

Figures painted by Rick Wall.

Song Dynasty-Two Lands-One Golden Age

In 960 CE the dysfunctional Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Imperial history was replaced by the creation of another Golden Age through leadership of the Song Dynasty. The Song were known for their many technological advances such as the bicycle chain, mechanical clock, compass, windmill and movable type that allowed the mass production of books including the world's first medical encyclopedia. Advances in the development of improved rice strains provided food surpluses that allowed further city and population growth throughout the empire.  Even the style government was revamped with the full establishment of the "Scholar-Official" Class of administrators.

Zhao Kuangyi-Emperor Taizu (960-976 CE) founder of the Song Dynasty.

Some of the China' greatest classical poets, artists and writers appeared during the 300 plus years of Song rule.  Scholars such as Mi Fu, Zhuxi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Sima Guang and Shen Kuo created works that are still studied and admired to this very day.

Yet the Song had many enemies, first the Jin took Northern China in 1127 CE restricting the Song to the Southern part of the country.  Here they were able to hold out for another two centuries till the 13th century when they finally fell to the overwhelming might of the Mongols in 1279.  Another Gold Age was laid waste as China was ruled by the foreign Yuan Dynasty for almost a century.

The First Tsar

First "Tsar of All the Russias"-Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Tsar-1547-1584), also known as "Ivan the Terrible."  Formally titled the Grand Prince of Moscow (Prince-1537-1547), Ivan created a new Imperial title "Caesar" or Tsar in Russian. His foreign policy led to the annexation of substantial lands to the East and Southeast as well as the importation of West European goods technologies (including the first printing press in Russia). The first Russian exploration and expansion into the vast lands of Siberia occurred during his reign.

His domestic policies revamped the government, created the Zemsky Sobor (a Feudal style parliament) and strengthened the hold of the lords over the Serfs.  He was responsible for the first "Modern " (for the 16th century that is) government in Russia.

He is often called "Ivan the Terrible" for his brutal actions against those that he believed were his enemies, both real and imagined.  He is blamed for countless massacres (the cities of Novgorod and Kazan experienced especially brutal treatment), enslavements, banishments and murders including killing his own son during a fit of temper. 

Ivan IV was a complex man, dangerous, often unpredictable, ruthless and always a ruler who understood power and how to use it to his best advantage.  By the time of his death Medieval Russia had also died and the foundation for the Russian Empire had been formed.

Constantine the Great

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus, Emperor of Rome 306-337 CE. died of natural causes at the age of 65. Last of the great "Roman Emperors." He is famous for shoring up much of the strength of the Empire, accepting Christianity as the leading religion of the Empire and moving the capital further East to what he called "New Rome" (Constantinople). The acceptance of the growth and power of the Christian Religion was to have enormous Social ramifications for the history of Europe and the rest of the World. While the choice of his new capital, closer to the Eastern threats to the Empire as well as its greatest wealth, would lay the foundations for the survival (through the as yet unborn Eastern Roman Empire) of Roman technology and knowledge well into the 15th century.

The city of Constantine, Constantinople (Modern Day Istanbul), ancient Greek city of Byzantium, rebuilt (circa 330 CE) with a new name and destiny as the new capital of the Roman Empire. Protected on three sides by the sea and on land by the greatest city walls ever constructed, Constantinople would rule first the Roman World and then the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire) for more than a thousand years, until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 CE.