Tag: germanic

guest author

Stuck in the Middle with Romans

Ben Gartner

Before we go spelunking into history, a little background: I have a middle grade time travel adventure book called The Eye of Ra, in which the main characters, John and Sarah, find themselves in ancient Egypt. For the next book we’re scheming, my boys and I did some brainstorming around a story β€œwith swords.” I… Continue reading Stuck in the Middle with Romans

history, literature

History through Poems: Examining Beowulf

Kristyn J. Miller

Epic poems have incredible staying power both as literary achievements and as historical resources. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is one of the foremost examples of this. Despite its mythological themes, the story offers historians a rare insight into Anglo-Saxon ideals of masculinity, heroism, and society. At the same time, it presents literary scholars with a… Continue reading History through Poems: Examining Beowulf

culture, history

A Brief History of Fraktur

Kristyn J. Miller

𝕻𝖔𝖕 π––π–šπ–Žπ–Ÿ: π–œπ–π–†π–™ π–Žπ–˜ π–™π–π–Š π–“π–†π–’π–Š 𝖔𝖋 π–™π–π–Žπ–˜ 𝖋𝖔𝖓𝖙? At first glance, many folks in the English-speaking world would probably call it "Old English," but that name isn't really accurateβ€”the Old English language predates this style by a few centuries, and the calligraphic hands used to write Old English were entirely different. Its real name… Continue reading A Brief History of Fraktur