Eastern Europe
How Foreigners Get Clean
“The steam released warms the room and the inhabitants take off their clothes and live in this shelter till spring.” […]
Issues
Britons and Celts
The Royal Poisoner
“The King immediately obeyed the advice of the man who had betrayed him, and dropped off to sleep, imagining that he was about to recover his health. The poison ran quickly through his veins and the pores of his body; and thus death, which has the trick of sparing no man, came to him while he slept.” […]
Greek and Roman
Strange Punishments for Everyday Crimes
“When the facts had been established, he ordered two oxen of extraordinary size to be cut open suddenly, while still alive, and the soldiers to be thrust one into each, with their heads protruding so that they could talk to each other. ” […]
History
The Charity of the Great Khan
“When he learns that some family of honest and respectable people have been impoverished by some misfortune or disabled from working by illness, so that they have no means of earning their daily bread, he sees to it that such families (which may consist of six to ten persons or more) are given enough to cover their expenses for the whole year.” […]
Orient
Gates to the Unknown
“One of them climbs a ladder, which is leaning against the door, and when he reaches the tops step, he strikes the bolt with his hammer. Then, if one applies one’s ear to the door, one hears a muted sound like a nest of wasps. Then everything falls silent again.” […]
Viking
Respect in Death
“The beardless youth was the last survivor. When he saw that he was going to be captured, he climbed a nearby tree and stabbed himself in vital organs until he died.” […]
Eastern Europe
The Life of a Giant
“In that city the qadi Ya’qub ibn Nu’man informed me that this woman, so exceedingly tall, had killed her husband, who was named Adam and was one of the strongest men in the country. Clasping him to her bosom, she broke his ribs, killing him instantly.” […]
Britons and Celts
The Dragon’s Head
“He made a present of of the Dragons to the congregation of the cathedral church of the see of Winchester.” […]
Greek and Roman
A Fanciful Emperor & Good Companion
“He made a habit of propounding problems to grammarians, asking them to say what sounds different animals make, for example: lambs bleat, pigs grunt, doves coo, bears growl, lions roar, leopards snarl, elephants trumpet, frogs croak, horses neigh, bulls bellow – and he would confirm these from old writers.” […]
History
The Medieval Postmen of Mongolia
“For it takes these runners no more than a day and a night to cover a ten day’s journey, or two days and two nights for a twenty days’ journey. So in ten days they can transmit news over a journey of a hundred days. ” […]