Benjamin of Tudela Introduction “Jerusalem […] is a small city, fortified by three walls. It is full of people whom the Mohammedans call Jacobites, Syrians, Greeks, Georgians, and Franks, and people of all tongues. It contains a dying-house, for which the Jews pay a small rent annually to the king, on condition that besides the…
Whoever cleans himself in this bath Unites with God And cleanses in one bath His body and soul, as he should. Thomas Murner, Badenfahrt 1514 Whenever I return home from a long trip, one of my first pleasures is to take a shower, appreciative all over again of the luxury of a bathroom that is…
Have you ever stumbled over a historical figure and were overcome with the urge to bring that figure to life? That was the case for me when I first encountered Stephen de Sancerre, more properly known Stephen I, the first Count de Sancerre (1133–1190). He became one of the principal characters in my historical fiction…
