Vinegar
The ancients had several kinds, which they used for drinks.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Showing posts tagged ancient
Stirrups
Were unknown to the ancients. Gracchus fitted the highways with stones to enable the horsemen to mount. Warriors had projections on their spears for the same purpose. Stirrups were used in the 5th century, but were not common even in the 12th century.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Sceptre
A more ancient emblem of royalty than the crown. In the earliest ages, the sceptres of kings were long walking-staves; afterwards carved and made shorter.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Parasols
Used by the ancient Egyptians. Came into general use in the United States about 1820.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Lemures
The ancients supposed that the soul, after death, wandered over the world and disturbed the peace of the living. The happy spirits were called lares familiares; and the unhappy, lemures.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Clans
The following is a list of the known clans in Scotland, with their ancient badges:
- Buchanan - birch
- Cameron - oak
- Campbell - myrtle
- Chisholm - alder
- Colquhoun - hazel
- Cumming - common sallow
- Drummond - holly
- Farquharson - purple fox-glove
- Ferguson - popular
- Forbes - broom
- Fraser - yew
- Gordon - ivy
- Graham - laurel
- Grant - cranberry heath
- Gun - rosewort
- Lamont - crab apple tree
- M’Alister - 5-leaved heath
- M’Donald - bell heath
- M’Donnell - mountain heath
- M’Dougall - cypress
- M’Farlane - cloudberry bush
- M’Gregor - pine
- M’Intosh - boxwood
- M’Kay - bulrush
- M’Kenzie - beer-grass
- M’Kinnon - St. John’s wort
- M’Lachlan - mountain ash
- M’Lean - blackberry heath
- M’Leod - red whortleberries
- M’Nab - rose blackberries
- M’Neil - sea=ware
- M’Pherson - variegated box-wood
- M’Quarrie - blackthorn
- M’Rae - fir-club moss
- Menzies - ash
- Munro - eagle’s feathers
- Murray - juniper
- Ogilvie - hawthorne
- Oliphant - great maple
- Robertson - fern or breechans
- Rose - briar-rose
- Ross - bear-berries
- Sinclair - clover
- Stewart - thistle
- Sutherland - cats-tail grass
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Thyme
The ancient Greeks were aware of its value in perfume, since the name comes from the Greek thymon, or sacrifice, owing to its presence in the temple incense.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
Pig
The ancient Egyptians regarded the pig as an unclean animal, identifying it with Set, the god of evil.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
Heart-Burial
The burial of the heart away from the body. This is a very ancient practice, the special reverence shown towards the heart being doubtless due to its early associations with the soul of man, his affections, courage and conscience…. Some of the most notable cases are those of:
- Richard I
- Henry III
- Eleanor, queen of Edward I
- Edward I
- Louis IX
- Philip II
- Louis XII
- Louis XIV
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910. From All There Is to Know by Alexander Coleman, 1994.
Ammut
An ancient Egyptian creature part hippo and part lion with the jaws of a crocodile; it ate the hearts of sinners.
Descriptionary by Marc McCutcheon, 1992.
Chrysography
Lettering in gold and silver ink, a practice originating with the ancient Greeks.
Descriptionary by Marc McCutcheon, 1992.
Cavea
The dens of wild animals under the seats of ancient Roman amphitheaters.
Descriptionary by Marc McCutcheon, 1992.
“
Words borrowed of antiquity do lend a kind of majesty to style, and are not without their delight sometimes. For they have the authority of years, and out of their intermissions do win themselves a kind of grace like newness. But the eldest of the present and the newest of the past language is the best.
Jonson. Many Thoughts of Many Minds by Henry Southgate, 1902.
Nameless City
The most ancient Rome, which was said to have had another and older name, which it was death to pronounce. This mysterious name is supposed to have been Valentia.
Handy-book of Literary Curiosities by William S. Walsh, 1892.
