What are Guilds?

“Bird of the same feather, flock together.”

St. Vaclav (Wenceslas) and Boleslav the Cruel

A story to the likes of Cain and Abel, the brothers St. Vaclav and Boleslav the Cruel created a legend combining fratricide, foreign invasion, and polarizing opinion on religion that established the power of the Premyslid Dynasty over Bohemia.

The Premyslid Dynasty of Bohemia

A story of a dynasty overshadowed by another. They shaped Bohemia and built the foundation of the modern Czech people. The Premyslid dynasty ruled Bohemia from around 9th century to the 1306 and contented for greatness, but fell short against the rising prominent house – the Habsburgs – ultimately ending with their extinction.

History of the Kingdom of Georgia - Part 1

Large empires dominated the history of the world. But stories of small countries struggling to survive between the wars of empires filled the margins. Some became spheres of influence, puppets in proxy wars of stronger empire, but others succeeded in becoming independent and even achieved their very own golden ages that made their descendants proud. Such was the story of the Kingdom of Georgia.

Kingdom of Georgia at its apex

Medieval Age Developments in Agriculture

The backbone of the Medieval Europe’s economy was agriculture. Most of the Europeans were farmers. Feudalism was based on land as property used for farming in order to sustain the needs of the nobles and the serfs themselves. The Medieval Ages was sometimes dubbed as the Dark Ages, which was in reality not true. Innovations continued to be made during this period.

Swabian League

Augsburg (1493)

There was no Germany during the Medieval Ages, but there were German states. After the death of Charlemagne in 814, the Holy Roman Empire had politically disintegrated rapidly into several entities. Some became virtual independent duchies and city states. In order to maintain independent but with a credible defense, forming alliances was the most practical way. In the north, the Hanseatic League provided this defense alongside commercial prosperity. In the region of Swabia a same alliance was form – the Swabian League.

Florin: Medieval Age Euro

The famous landmark of Florence, the Duomo, 
or the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore 

Coins are part of our everyday lives. It allows us to make transactions in small quantities, like buying a candy or using for transportation fair, or even a simple vending machine. The history of coins had progressed so long. It began by the time people discovered metals and learned how to trade. In the Medieval period, one coin that dominated the period was made by the small but powerful Italian city-state of Florence – Florin.

Burger's Mongolian Connection

Mongols besieging Baghdad

In modern day fast food chains, one of the most popular main dishes is hamburger. This dishes made of a bun and a beef patty in the middle gave a good meal to many. The burger was popularized in the United States during the 19th century. Further back, hamburger was said to be brought by German immigrant from the German city of Hamburg. But a deeper search to the beginnings, the main idea for hamburger came from one of the greatest conquerors - the Mongols.

The Almoravids - The Beber Empire of Spain and Africa

Almoravid Empire

Spain, in during the period of exploration, was the bastion of Christianity. But before it came to be, it was hugely inhabited and ruled by the Muslims. First, controlled by the Umayyad Caliphate which later moved to Spain itself and became the Cordoba Caliphate. It was later divided by Christian Kingdoms and smaller Islamic Kingdoms known as Taifas. However, when the Reconquista began, the Taifas asked helped from a dynasty that dominated Morocco – the Almoravids.

Hanseatic League: Economic Group of Germany

Lübeck - center of the Hanse

A united German States was not formed until the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 under the leader of Prussia, its King Wilhelm I, and its brilliant Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. In present Germany before the 1871, several small German states were established and ruled by local princes. During the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire existed under the control of the Germans, but the Empire was fragmented by Princes who owned lands and treated it like their own smaller kingdom. The closest form of united Germany was a mercantile organization known as the Hanseatic League or otherwise known as Hanse.