13th Century facts
While investigating facts about 13th Century, I found out little known, but curios details like:
In one 13th-century version of the King Arthur myth, Merlin is the spawn of a demon and a mortal woman and was intended by Satan to be the Antichrist, but was baptized by a priest shortly after birth which nullified Satan's plan, and now uses his demonic powers of magic and prophecy for good.
In the 13th century, Genghis Khan proposed "friendship and peace" with the fellow nomadic Khwarezmian Empire in Persia. The Khwarezmia shah ordered a Mongol trade delegation killed, prompting Khan to invade the empire, kill 1.25 million, and destroy the Khwarezmian Empire.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 50 of the best facts about 13th Century I managed to collect.
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Due to heavy inbreeding, Louis XIV of France (17th century) is descended from Louis IX of France (13th century) in 368 different ways
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Archeologists in Bulgaria uncovered a grave of a 13th century staked "vampire". At the time of the man's death, vampires were perceived as a real threat in many Eastern European communities.
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Onfime, a boy from the 13th century. The only reason we know of him were his handwriting lessons found on pieces of birch.
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People have been building a medieval castle near Treigny, France, using only medieval techniques and materials, according to an architectural model from the 13th century. They're in their seventeenth year.
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In the 13th century, in order to discover which language humans would speak naturally, Frederick II, emperor of Germany, placed 50 newborns in the care of nurses who would only feed and bathe the babies but not speak or hold them. The emperor never got an answer because all of the infants died.
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Since 1997, a castle is being built in France with the same materials, tools, and methods used by people in the 13th century. Scheduled to be completed in the 2020's.
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A parchment manuscript was erased by a 13th-century monk to write a Christian liturgical text. The erased manuscript was originally written by Archimedes and contained some of the fundamentals of modern calculus, which wouldn't be developed for almost another 2,000 years.
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A 12-year-old girl discovered that all except one US president is descended from 13th century King John of England.
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Before the fruit, the colour orange had no name, it was basically known as a "yellow-red". The earliest known usage of the word Orange to refer to the fruit is around the 13th century. The earliest use of the word Orange to refer to the colour is the 16th Century.
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About Onfim, a boy from 13th century Novgorod whose homework and drawings have been preserved by time
What is true about 13th century?
You can easily fact check it by examining the linked well-known sources.
The 13th century 'Latin Book of the Civilized Man' included such advice as 'If there is something you do not want people to know, do not tell it to your wife.' - source
In the 13th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II took two infants, raised them apart only to be suckled by nurses and not to be communicated with in attempt to see what the natural language of humans was (Hebrew or the language of their parents). However, the children died of neglect. - source
The skeletons of 40,000 people were used to build a chapel in Prague. The site became popular in the 13th century when an abbot sprinkled “holy soil” from Jerusalem on the cemetery grounds.
Croissants originated in Austria, not in France. At least as early as the 13th century. - source
The Black Plague in the 13th century was thought to be contagious through air because of the bad stench it made, so incense and perfumes were used to "cure" it.
Gilles de Rais, 13th century child serial killer and companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, depleted his wealth performing occult experiments including three attempted summonings of a demon named Barron.
A German peasant girl claimed she tasted the sweet foreskin of Jesus during communion in the 13th century. Her confessor's notes about it were published 500 years later, confiscated and put on the index of banned books, then re-released in the 20th century.
A Greyhound became a Saint in 13th Century France
Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' (about a Welsh witch) and 'Angel' were based on the Mabinogion. They were the earliest prose stories in Britain (12th - 13th centuries) and were written in Welsh.
Frederick II, the 13th-century German king, performed an experiment to determine the natural language developed by infants who are raised without human interaction. Frederick experiment found that the babies grew up to speak no language because they all died due to malnourishment.
