“as Barbara Tuchman, author of Distant Mirror, put it, “clerical celibacy was a joke.” Despite the previous ban on clerical marriages, nuns, monks, cardinals, priests, and other representatives of the holy cloth were frequently fraternizing in impious ways.” — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Iwo Jima is more officially known as “Sulfur Island,” and it lies in a chain of volcanic islands south of the Ogasawara Islands. In… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Rachel’s tomb is located a short distance north of Bethlehem, on the road between Jerusalem and Hebron. It consists of a small building with… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights. Then he… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Washington is the only President to be elected unanimously – not once, but twice.” — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“As the story goes, the cardinals began to regret their decision the very night of Pope Urban VI's coronation. During the celebratory feast that… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“When Lee heard of Jackson’s injuries, he sent his religious leader Chaplain Lacy to Stonewall with the message, “Give him my affectionate regards, and… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“For the first time, the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize the full independence of a nation, not because of a war with a… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Midway was merely a convenient target chosen by Yamamoto to draw the Americans out, and both sides’ objectives were attritional attempts to degrade their… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Paris had heard of Helen of Sparta’s beauty, and though she was married to the warlike Menelaus, he immediately consented to awarding Aphrodite the… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Although cargo shipments of precious metals as described here seem quite fanciful to modern ears, archaeologists recently excavated a shipwreck at Uluburun with a… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“The British government in 1807 had issued the “Orders in Council,” which enforced a naval blockade against France, and with a shortage of seamen… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Fearing for his life, Urban stayed put. He publicly blasted the French cardinals and attempted to revoke their titles, breaking records by appointing 26… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
