Category Archives: Women

The Prophet’s Third Wife, A’isha

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Ruth

One of the diciest parts of Muhammad’s story is that as soon as his new house was completed, he and Abu Bakr decided it was time for A’isha to move into her wife-apartment in the house. Until this time, she … Continue reading →

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Muhammad’s First Marriage

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Ruth

Muhammad is said to have been 25 when his employer, Khadijah, asked him to marry her. She was trying to run a business inherited from her deceased husband, having to depend on relative strangers and men whose interests might go … Continue reading →

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Latin drama used to teach Latin

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Ruth

Christianity went west and east during the latter years of the Roman Empire. Of course, its language going west was Latin, while its language traveling east was Greek. Priests and monks needed to read Latin sounds at the minimum, so … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Granada, 1492

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Ruth

Granada’s fall was as inevitable as Constantinople’s. In both cases, there was a sorting process in which boundary territories that had wavered between Islam and Christendom had final settlements. By the time each last enclave fell, it was well surrounded … Continue reading →

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The Mamluk Revolution, 1250

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Ruth

Under the last real Ayyubid Sultan, as-Salih, the Mamluk corps was built up to unprecedented size and strength. They were a neat solution to a political problem because as slaves, they did what they were told, but as people with … Continue reading →

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The Saint and the Seventh Crusade, 1248-50

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Ruth

Of course, the Pope called a new crusade. But Europe was in bad shape for a Crusade. In the Sixth Crusade, the King of Hungary had led, but now Hungary was in ruins. Europe’s bad boy Frederick was not only … Continue reading →

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The Jerusalem Family and Saladin, 1177-1187

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Ruth

The rulers of the Crusader kingdoms are difficult to track through this period without careful focus, although they helped by reliably naming the heir of Tripoli “Raymond,” of Antioch “Bohemund,” and of Jerusalem “Baldwin.” Lifespans were short, due not only … Continue reading →

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Baldwin II’s daughter Hodierna of Tripoli, 1137

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Ruth

Note: this one should have been posted before the Second Crusade entries. Hodierna, Baldwin’s third daughter, didn’t marry until she was about 25 (in 1137). It’s not clear why she stayed home so long when her sister Alice was married … Continue reading →

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Queen Eleanor of the 2nd Crusade

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Ruth

If you singled out just one person to stand for the Second Crusade, it should be Queen Eleanor. She was the grand-daughter of Duke William of Aquitaine, the troubadour who just barely survived the First Crusade. William had gone home … Continue reading →

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Melisende and Fulk

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Ruth

Melisende was named for the Countess of Rethel, Baldwin II’s mother; it’s a variant of Millicent, an old Germanic compound name. Now it has become the name of a fairy-tale heroine of an opera, so it sounds fanciful, but when … Continue reading →

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