RIBALDRY. Vulgar abusive language, such as was spoken by ribalds. Ribalds were originally mercenary soldiers who travelled about, serving any master far pay, but afterwards degenerated into a mere banditti.
A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)
From the #HRE we turn to another quite special actor: #earlymodern#Switzerland. We are very happy to have found none other than Sarah Rindlisbacher Thomi from the university of Bern as an author.
Rindlisbacher wrote her PhD on “Ambassadors of Protestantism. Foreign policy activities of Zurich's town clergy in the 17th century” (in German). So who could be better suited to tell us about the characteristics of Swiss #emdiplomacy?! (2/5)
Nonetheless, Switzerland was because of its geopolitical position of great interest for these foreign powers. Thus, they sent their diplomats who then struggled to understand the dynamics of Swiss politics that differed quite a bit from European monarchies. (4/5)
More than 400 formal balls are held in Vienna each winter carnival season in a tradition that dates back to 1814, with breaks only for the two world wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly every profession holds its own dance — some, such as the Hunters' Ball, have outlived the imperial-era jobs they were created to celebrate. For the Dial, writer Jessi Jezewska Stevens attended three balls to try and determine: "On a continent that relishes golden-era traditions yet finds itself slipping in the geopolitical world order, how do you face the future without romanticizing the past?"
Book review #38 for 2024 CW Goodyear's President Garfield glad to see new treatments of Presidents during eras that have often been overlooked. This biography does both. Lots of what ifs in this story. It is also a snapshot, in my opinion, of a transitional period in American government as the boss system begins to crumb @histodons@books@bookstodon#books#bookreview#JamesAGarfield#bookstodon #history
Thank you to the @OIEAHC for a wonderful conference in Poitiers last week and for the great interest in our panel on the Prize Papers and the American War of Independence. Great panels and discussions! We also saw the sights & enjoyed good food. #history#histodons#OIEAHC#Poitiers@histodons@historikerinnen
“Gerardus Mercator is perhaps well-known for all the wrong reasons. His last name evokes the infamous Mercator projection, which depicts the world in a distorted way. The projection has been criticized for putting Europe at the center of the world and favoring the northern hemisphere by making countries there appear bigger than they are in reality.”
Als 1949 das Textilgeschäft "Lützow" in der Bremer Hillmann-Passage wiedereröffnet wird, schaute dieses Gedicht mutig nach vorne und doch wehmütig zurück auf den alten Standort in der zerstörten Sögestraße.
Today is International Day of Women in Diplomacy! #emdiplomacy was by no means an all male affaire. Women played a central role not only in mainting contacts to the queen's court and other female actors. They could also directly take part in negotiations, as the example of the Ladies' Peace of Cambrai (1529) shows. Here Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy negotiated for the Emperor and the king of France respectively.
If you want to know more, have a look at the #handbook article by Carolyn James who talks about female diplomatic actors.
CODS. The scrotum. Also a nick name for a curate: a rude fellow meeting a curate, mistook him for the rector, and accosted him with the vulgar appellation of Bol--ks the rector, No, Sir, answered he; only Cods the curate, at your service.
A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)