Monthly Archives: April 2015

VIRGIL (70-19 B.G.E.) (Ancient Roman) Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) was supposed to be headed for the typical Roman career of public service. But his personality changed all that. Awkward, shy, and sensitive, lacking in self confidence and prone to ill … Continue reading →

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 1759-1805) He was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von … Continue reading →

Origin of the Romance Languages French, 842; Spanish, 950; Italian, 960 A period of about three hundred years passed before French language evolved from the hybrid form of classical Latin, and another hundred years lapsed before French sprang into full … Continue reading →

Les noms patronymiques, les noms de famille personnalisée ne se pose pas vraiment en Europe jusqu’à patrician familles vénitiennes ont commencé à main vers le bas un deuxième nom de père en fils dans le 11e siècle. Essor des populations … Continue reading →

Surnames, The custom of family names did not really arise in Europe until patrician Venetian families began to hand down a second name from father to son in the 11th century. Burgeoning (growing) populations, increased travel by people of various … Continue reading →

Lied (German pronunciation:)-plural Lieder (German,”song”) Lieder( German song) the setting of Romantic German poems to music, by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano, sometimes Lieder are gathered in a Liederkreis or … Continue reading →

Renaissance to Rock Music, 3500 B.C.E; Mesopotamia Early men struck sticks together to frighten away beasts. In time these “clappers” came to be used rhythmically to accompany work songs in the fields and thus ease the hardships of labor. The … Continue reading →

Cereal, Pre-7000 B.C E.; Near East The primary crops grown by the first farmers in Europe initially were domesticated in the Near East and brought to Greece about eight thousand years ago. Although wild forms of a number of the … Continue reading →

The origins of ten other popular fruits: 1. Figs, 4000 B.C.E.; Syria 2. Grapes, 4000 B.C.E.; Caspian and Black seas coastal regions 3. Rhubarb, 2700 B.C.E.; eastern Mediterranean lands and Asia Minor 4. Cantaloupe, 2400 B.C.E.; Iran 5. Watermelon, 2000 … Continue reading →

The Olive, 3500 B.C.E. (before Christian Era) Used as a body cleanser, an all-round medicine, a lubricant to aid in moving obelisks and pyramid blocks, and often as a main dish to a meal, the olive – Plato’s favorite food … Continue reading →