Renaissance Clothing for Men

The medieval renaissance clothing for men consisted of long tunics that went down to the knees. This was a common medieval clothing for men. Kings and noblemen also wore these tunics as a part of renaissance festival clothing, during parties and ceremonies. The Germans were the ones who introduced the ideas of pants, that caught on with others, as men had to travel long distances on horses and during cold climate, pants made a better clothing option than skirts. Tights were worn by noblemen under their tunics. They wore woven tights that were not very tight as knitting had not been invented until then. During winter, the men wore wool cloaks to protect themselves from the cold, winter winds. The medieval costumes for men included leather shoes, especially for those who could afford them. Men wore shoes with square toes, before or after 1300s it was changed to shoes with pointy toes. They even had a curve up at the toes to make them look a bit more fancy. There were many changes seen in the women's clothing and you can read about it in detail in the elaborate article on medieval clothing for women.

Madness, A Form Of Judicial Defense

For the past centuries, a big part of the western jurisdiction was represented by the concept that a civilized society must not punish a person that is incapable of controlling his impulses - that is of course from the judicial point of view.

In 1794, a British law-court sustained the idea that a man is not responsible for an act if he doesn’t know what he is doing, "not more than the savage animals". Nevertheless, the modern standards of legal responsibility are based on M’ Naghten’s decision, no. 1843. This rule states that a defendant can be considered innocent due to his madness only if he was so severely affected in that time that he had not been aware of what he was doing , or if he knew what he was doing he was not aware that is was a wrong thing to do. This rule had been adopted in the USA and the distinction between good and wrong had been the foundation for the majority of the decisions concerning judicial irresponsibility for almost a century. Some states have added the doctrine of the "irresistible impulse". By this it was stated the fact that some individuals might answer correctly when they are asked whether an act is good or wrong from the moral point of view, but they also might have been incapable of controlling their behavior at the crime time.

Furthermore, in the year 1970, a series of states and federal courts adopted " The Rule Of The American Institute of Law". This rule contained a new judicial definition of madness, which was more permissive. The content of the definition can be summarized by the idea that not every incapacity can eliminate responsibility. If an individual knows what he was doing but he doesn’t understand it, he cannot appreciate whether it was right or wrong, in this case he cannot be considered guilty and responsible for the act.

Medieval Clothing for Women

During the medieval period, people wore loose linen and wool tunics that were similar to loose baggy t-shirts. As the medieval ages progressed, clothing became more distinguished and men and women of different professions wore clothing different from each other. Men wore wool pants under the tunics. The old men, monks, kings and noblemen wore tunics that were long enough to touch the ground. The medieval costumes of women were different from the medieval costumes of men. Let us have a look at the medieval clothing for women and medieval renaissance clothing for women in detail. Know more on medieval clothing patterns.

Medieval Costumes of Women

The early medieval costumes of women consisted of 'kirtles'. These were tunics that were worn till the ankles. Shirts were worn over the tunics and when in public, women often topped the tunic with a shorter 'kirtle'. The noblewomen wore luxurious medieval clothing for women, than the less fortunate ones. Married women wore tight fitting caps and nets over their hair. They would were a 'bun' hairstyle on their heads and few would wear veils over their hair, that would be braided tightly or left to hang loosely. Let us see the medieval clothing for women in detail.

Feudalism and Manorialism

Feudalism vs manorialism, is analogous to the difference between the practice of a system and the economic and commercial aspects of that system. Simply put, manorialism can be considered as a subset of feudalism . Both these aspects are specifically understood as a mutual give-and-take relation between social classes, starting from the lowest class to the king.

The serfs worked on the fields and did all the hard labor like working for the upkeep of the manors and allied activities. In return, they were offered certain wages and protection by knights or the lords. The knights, who served the lords militarily for defending and gaining territories, in turn got rewards and titles from the feudal lords, who got that from the king. As mentioned before, they protected the serfdom too, which ensured the lords, loyalty and taxes from them. The vassals formed the slightly higher class, between the lords and the knights, who enlisted the services of the knights and provided them perks accordingly.

The lords provided lands to the knights and ensured their support to the kingdom. This was the most powerful and privileged class of the society, more dominant in Europe, than elsewhere. They received services and taxes from all the lower classes, in return for their confidence and rewards. The king, on whose behalf the lords provided lands and privileges, was the final authority, but became a mere titular head with all the prerogatives, in the later years of feudalism.

The economic aspect of feudalism in Europe, was more in focus for the relation between the lords and the vassals, which was the majority class. The life of a serf or a labor was tied to the manor or revolved around the manor. They were entitled to very few privileges, which were a discretion of the lord or the manorial house, they served. In return for their services, the lord offered them a 'chance' to lead independent lives, but at their mercy. They were also offered protection from invading powers and the right to earn their livelihood, by serving the manor and its occupants. This economic dependency was deeply ingrained in the rural society all over Europe. Thus, manorialism was a 'systematic hardship' imposed on the poor, helpless and the downtrodden people, who were subjected to frequent land grabbing by foreign invasion, slavery and other forms of economic hardship in the middle ages in Europe.

Sparta vs. Athens

The comparison between Sparta and Athens is a story of two cultures with drastic difference in the ideologies, societies, forms of governance and the basic way of life. While both these city states in Greece were geographically located close together, they varied greatly in almost all other aspects of life, both with clashing views on various subjects. Their brief unity against the Persian invasions was greatly overshadowed by the constant competition between these cultures for the leadership of the Hellenic world.

These two prominent historic cultures of Ancient Greece have contributed greatly to the ideals of the modern society in their own distinct ways. While Athens was one of the leading cities of Ancient Greece in the first millennium, having been inhabited for 3000 years, with its cultural and philosophical achievements laying the foundations of a new western civilization. On the other hand, the militaristic Sparta, famous as a martial power, foe of the Persian Empire, and eventual conqueror of Athens, was formed after the Dorian migration from the north. While the dumb, militaristic and machismo culture of Sparta was totally war driven, Athens was home to some of the most extraordinary accomplishments of philosophy, art, and science in human history. Here is a look at the some of the distinct differences in this Athens vs Sparta comparison list.

Remote Viewing Techniques

The adventurous nature of remote viewing makes it a very exciting paranormal phenomena that only a few may visualize. Remote viewing is one of the many ways of gathering information through extra-sensory perception. A remote viewer has an out of body experience. While having such an experience, the viewer is asked not to interfere with the surroundings. His bio-plasmic body moves out his physical body and travels to a predetermined location. The viewer tries to imbibe as much information about the surroundings as possible. In certain cases, remote viewing is also associated with relaxation and finding inner peace. Some remote viewers are known to have walked on the surface of the sun and traveled to the center of galaxy. Read more on what is out of body experience?

History of Remote Viewing Techniques

Results of technical remote viewing were so startling, that intelligence agencies around the world had no other choice but to notice this unconventional technique. Soon, the CIA and the military intelligence started exploring and developing various remote viewing techniques. Intelligence gathering through remote viewing techniques was extremely cost effective compared to traditional means. Their research, however, managed to develop techniques, that were simple enough to be attempted by civilians as well.

Any technique mentioned in any kind of remote viewing manual should only be practiced with an instructor present. However the existence of such manual is very unlikely. There are some professional institutes in the market which conduct remote viewing training. It is recommended that a new student should learn and experience remote viewing, at these institutes in a controlled environment.

Pledge of Allegiance Words

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy who was a Baptist member and a Christian socialist. This was the year of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America and celebrations for this day were being planned for years. Two individuals who were interested in making celebrations on this day grand were Francis Bellamy and James Upham. James Upham was associated with the Boston publishing firm that published "The Youth's Companion", which was a popular magazine of children in those time. He had conceived the National Public School Celebration of Columbus Day, which was an event to mark the 400th anniversary of the Columbus Day.

The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in the September 8th issue of the magazine under the title "The Pledge to the Flag", as a part of the event planned by Upham. After proclamation by President Harrison, the Pledge was used for the first time in public schools in America of 12th October, 1892. This set off the tradition of the Pledge of Allegiance being recited in Public Schools on a daily basis. Read more on history of the Pledge of Allegiance.