Filles du roi: the Founding Mothers of New France
Sent by Louis XIV, the filles du roi were sent to North America to birth new generations of colonists and help conquer the land.
The Alien Enemies Act: Annotated
Confused about the oft-mentioned Alien Enemies Act? This explainer, with links to free peer-reviewed scholarship, may help clear things up.
E. P. Thompson and the American Working Class
Published in 1963, Thompson’s influential The Making of the English Working Class quickly led to questions about the nature of the American working class.
The Swooning Knights of Medieval Stories
In romantic literature of the fourteenth and fifteen centuries, fainting wasn’t just for ladies.
Palmyre’s Belle Époque Lesbian Bar
By providing sexualized entertainment to tourists, the bar owners of Montmartre made visible and even celebrated the quarter’s queer culture.
Bringing France Back into American History
The current arrangement of nation-states in North America has made the role of the French in colonial history seem less important.
The Return of Ocular Communion
The idea of a virtual Eucharist may feel at odds with Catholic tradition, but it has deep roots in the church’s history.
When Monks Went Undercover to Steal Relics
Because relics were understood to be capable of working miracles, any relic that was stolen must have wanted to be.
A Roman Feast… of Death!
The banquet hall was painted black from ceiling to floor. By the pale flicker of grave lamps, the invited senators coud make out a row of tombstones.
A 19th-Century Catfishing Scheme
In the late 1800s, a U.K. scheme lured lonely bachelors with newspaper advertisements supposedly placed by wealthy women.