Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 12, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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large-minded
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The OrmulumWritten in about 1180 by an Augustinian canon of Lincolnshire named Ormin, the Ormulum is a collection of homilies on the Gospels consisting of almost 19,000 lines of Middle English verse. Because Ormin uses his own system of spelling to indicate the proper pronunciation of his words, the Ormulum is invaluable to philologists studying Middle English phonology and tracing the development of English through the Norman conquests. Who is Walter, mentioned in the work’s dedication? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Nineveh (627 CE)The Battle of Nineveh was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Dynasty, the last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia. Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor, was able to draw his Persian adversaries onto a favorable battlefield by feigning a retreat, thereby securing victory for his troops. The loss seriously damaged the Sassanids' power. Within decades, the weakened Sassanid dynasty would be toppled by the Arab Conquest. What fate did the Sassanid king suffer after Nineveh? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) John Jay (1745)Though Jay initially deplored the growing conflict between Britain and its American colonies, he became a staunch supporter of the revolution once it began. He was heavily involved in early US government and urged ratification of the Constitution. He served as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, among other posts. Today considered one of the "Founding Fathers," Jay once joked that he could travel from Boston to Philadelphia by the light of his burning effigies after he had done what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I've always believed in writing without a collaborator, because where two people are writing the same book, each believes he gets all the worry and only half the royalties.Agatha Christie (1890-1976) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (2020)Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico, and on December 12 thousands of pilgrims flock to her shrine at the famous Church of Guadalupe outside Mexico City. On the evening of December 11, crowds have already gathered for singing and special ceremonies at midnight, which are carried on national television. This great religious festival commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill, north of present-day Mexico City. The story is reenacted in a puppet show each year, and relics of Our Lady of Guadalupe are sold in the streets. More... | |