#medieval African Kingdom

[panafrocore]

The History of the Gonja Kingdom in Northern Ghana

The Gonja Kingdom, also known as Gonjaland or Ghanjawiyyu, is a historic kingdom that holds a significant place in the annals of West African history. Its rich and captivating history dates back to 1675, when it was founded by Sumaila Ndewura Jakpa, a visionary leader whose legacy continues to resonate throughout the region. The kingdom was established in the northern region of present-day Ghana,…

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#African History #African kingdom #african kingdoms #Gonja #Gonja Kingdom #medieval African Kingdom #West African #West African history

[darrylcalmandstrong09]

New Vocal Article. Africa’s Most Flamboyant Emperor: “King of Kings” Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire

“You’ve heard about the extraordinary wealth of Bill Gates, J.P. Morgan, and the sultan of Brunei, but have you heard of Mansa Musa, one of the richest men who ever lived?” - Cynthia Crossen

To find out more about the richest man who ever lived, Emperor Mansa Musa from medieval West Africa, click here: https://rb.gy/ueof7

#mansamusa mali westafrica king emperor rich gold wealth black empire kingdom timbuktu mandinka songhai africa african egypt arabia medieval

[whencyclopedia]

A Gallery of Ancient African Art

In this gallery, we look at striking examples of art from across the African continent. In gold, stone and metals, ancient and medieval African artists have not only given us unique pieces of art to admire but their works are also an insight into their respective cultures whether it be certain animals which were revered, the consideration of the human head as the container of the soul or simply what kind of jewellery was popular. By no means inclusive of all cultures, this gallery, nevertheless, includes art pieces from Egypt, Meroe, the Ptolemaic kingdom, West Africa, East Africa, and Mutapa and Mapungubwe in southern Africa.

Continue reading...

#History #SonghaiEmpire #NokCulture #Meroe

[nightbringer24]

Looking up Medieval African armour is a hoot, especially when you ignore the fantasy stuff because... it’s a hoot. And not in a bad way.

Cavalry of the Ghana Empire (circa 300AD to circa 1200AD)

Royal Spearman of Kingdom of Makuria (5th century to 1518)

Oba (King) of the Kingdom of Benin and guards (1180 - 1897)

Mansa Musa, 9th Ruler of the Malian Empire (ruled c.1312 AD to c.1337 AD). I just like this picture.

Maille armour and iron cuirasses were a common thing too, though the latter were of a different design to European styles.

Empire of Bornu (c.1380′s - 1893)

#personal

[qsycomplainsalot]

What is a Gambeson ?

It’s a mystery.

Gambesons, also sometimes known as padded or quilted armor, are a type of protection usually made from at least two layers of linen, cotton or leather, with various types of batting sandwiched between the two.

Their use has spanned most of the world, from ancient Scythian horsemen in the Caucasus, to 17th century Europe, even seeing use in the Aztec empire and medieval African kingdoms.

In Europe, gambesons or aketons were initially used as a base layer on which a mail shirt was worn, but went on to be used independently by men-at-arms as a very cost-effective form of protection, in both cases being able to absorb blunt blows and stop projectile weapons.

Variants meant to be worn alone were known as padded jacks and were usually thicker and made of more layers of fabric, complemented with scrap textile or animal hair. These were somewhat vulnerable to draw cuts, and were extremely warm.

On the other hand arming doublets were meant to be worn under a plate harness, covering less of the neck and thighs but offering several attach points on which to lace the different segments of rigid armor, all the while preventing chaffing between the skin and the metal plates. As it evolved into the 15th century, these doublets also started to incorporate patches of maille of varying size called goussets or voiders, that were meant to protect the joints and otherwise vulnerable areas of a knight’s body.

Chain voiders on a linen pourpoint.

Something to take note of, is that lighter armors were occasionally sewn or attached directly to the gambeson, like in the above image. This was commonplace in Asian cultures where most maille and splint armor was sewn directly to thick silken sleeves.

Although the arming doublet was slowly replaced by jerkins and buffcoats in Western Europe, the concept of combining numerous layers of textile to produce armor never truly died. In Asia especially, both Japan and Mongolia have records of layered silk armor being used during the early modern era, and Korea even developed a padded cotton armor known as the Myeonje baegab for the express purpose of stopping bullets, which it did.

Korean bulletproof cotton armor, made c.1860′s

Related Vocabulary

Aketon: Another name for a gambeson based on the Arab for ‘the cotton’ through old French.

Buff coat: The most common type of protection replacing arming doublets in the 17th century, made of a single layer of thick suede leather.

Ichcahuipilli: Aztec quilted armor, Nahuatl for ‘cotton shirt’.

Arming points: reinforced spots on an arming doublet where the armor is attached.

Voiders: Chainmail sewn directly to a pourpoint styled gambeson, common in Europe from the 13th century onward.

Pourpoint: A longer European gambeson style used until the development of the arming doublet. It sometimes went all the way to the knees, and was commonly separated into two parts, sleeves and torso. Also the French word for doublet.

#armor #what is #history

[enbycrip]

I have come across a number of things in books and podcasts about historical West Africa recently which have made me think about our current society and how we as humans handle prestige, class, resources and stability.

(I am aware I’m writing this as a white European and that the people this knowledge passed to me through had European or American accents and names; while all of them referenced academics with African names, I am acknowledging as a starting point here that there is going to have been flattening of power relationships, oversimplification, translation issues, issues with how oral histories reach academic writings, and the issues of a colonial lens *at the very least* in the transmission of knowledge to me here, and that’s before whatever misunderstanding and issues with my lack of context and structural racism have occurred in how I have processed what I have read and heard.)

So it seems that, in a lot of medieval West African kingdoms, particularly historical Ghana (relationship to the modern state of Ghana is complex and not really geographical), land was neither owned by individuals/families or by the king a la European feudalism; it was in something closer to corporate wider kin/tribal group ownership.

Unlike the situation in *most* of medieval Europe, there was just not a land shortage; there never seems to have been an issue with any individual or familial group having security of tenure of a particular area of land as long as they had the capacity to work it.

The issue of shortage was *labour*, not land itself; it’s basically the complete inverse of the situation in Western Europe in the 14th century just before the decade preceding the Black Death, when there was so much labour due to population growth that all the marginal land was under cultivation just to feed everyone and there was this underclass living in serious poverty and food insecurity, who were, horribly and familiarly, the first people to start dying in the decade of disasters that led up to the Black Death.

This kind of situation, where *land* is the prestige resource, is the one really baked into the European and colonial mindset, and you can still see the effects of it stretching into our modern western capitalist mindset when, in a lot of ways, that doesn’t entirely make logical sense. But, in medieval to early modern West Africa, the prestige resource was *labour*, not land.

Hence the long, stable social history of slavery in West Africa; when labour is your scarce resource, holding and controlling labour is how you gain, hold and demonstrate power and prestige.

And because it is long and stable, the institution of slavery in West Africa seems to have had a lot more in common with serfdom in Europe or thralldom in early medieval Scandanavia than chattel slavery in the Americas or Roman slavery. Because both of those depend on an Imperial mindset. While a society can *absolutely* persist stably with manifest inequality and exploitation, and even dehumanisation of whole classes of people, it can’t *use up* people the way those institutions did and still remain stable.

It’s not even simply an issue with birth and replacement rates etc; there are conditions of life that humans can tolerate on a generational scale and ones we can’t. We are these highly social apes that evolved to survive and thrive in small, hierarchical but highly interdependent clan communities. So there are certain kinds of stress we can tolerate an enormous amount of *if* we have other protective factors.

Imperial societies do not allow their underclasses these factors because they do not only seek to *maximise* output of resources at any given time; they see the maximum theoretical output as their “right”. They work slaves to death and exploit land to infertility because they can always conquer more land/take more prisoners/buy more slaves. The fact that they *can* acquire MORE people, and/or more land, quickly becomes a social imperative; they are *duty-bound* to acquire more people and/or more land; to EXPAND, and not doing so becomes a “loss”.

(Yes, Augustus set Rome’s imperial boundaries; it didn’t stop them continually starting wars for resources and prisoners to become slaves until the collapse of the Empire.)

I think it is fairly clear that modern capitalism is a global imperial society. You can, in fact, explicitly see that evolution. Capitalism was born at the same time as Spanish imperialism - and colonialism-genocide - in the South Americas; it was South American silver that was the resource injection that allowed the beginnings of the stock market in the Netherlands. Both of these were part of the Spanish Empire at the time, and the Netherlands’ nascent capitalism powered itself on that resource injection and used it to leap free from Spanish control and immediately begin its own colonial ventures.

Capitalism was part of the imperial machinery of the Dutch, French and British Empires; the American Empire has been more explicitly capitalist than it has been imperialist, as one became more overtly acceptable than the other. It didn’t really change its nature; just moved it from a national base - and let’s be clear; nation states are as much social constructs as anything else is, and the fact that they are somewhat anchored to a geographical location does not give them more objective reality than, for example, money - to something more diffuse that nonetheless still operates to systemically entrench power and privilege to certain people and marginalise others.

#capitalism #disaster capitalism #african history #european history #imperialism #colonialism #slavery #medieval history #early modern history #anti capitalism #capitalism is imperialism #world history

[bookishfeylin]

Hi there! I read your post about Egypt and Cleopatra, and now I am really curious about the African Kingdoms you mentioned and was wondering if you could tell us more about them please, they sound really interesting.

Oh, there's SO much I could tell you, and there's so many African kingdoms that have been woefully understudied--and many more aside from the ones I mentioned. They all have their own rich histories, cultures, political intrigue, and it's an actual tragedy that they aren't discussed more. I'm still researching myself, so I'll just review some of my favorite things from each kingdom.

Aksumite/Axumite Empire: Located in modern-day Ethiopia, this empire existed from the 1st to 8th century CE, though its prime was from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE. The Axumites converted to Christianity of their own free will over 1,000 years before colonialism and as a result have ancient churches, some made of stone and carved from the earth itself. They also were the first African kingdom to mint their own coins, and their capital city of Axum had, at its peak, 20,000 people living in it. Also, I love the Dungur palace. Here's a reconstruction of what it looked like:

LOOK AT IT.

Source: x

Kongo: Located in central Africa around modern-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries. This kingdom had a rich social hierarchy, apparently had ambassadors to Europe, and some people practiced Catholicism, which led to their own branch of Christianity led by a woman named Beatriz Kimpa Vita in the 1600s who believed she had visions that informed her Jesus actually came from Kongo. Yeah.

Sources: x, x

Loango: A neighbor of Kongo, but one we know much less about due to Kongo having a long, well-documented history of interacting with Europe (see: the ambassadors), and Loango... does not. But we do know they also had a rich social hierarchy, and we have this map of their capital city.

Sources: x, x

Great Zimbabwe: From 1100- 1500, located in modern-day Zimbabwe, this was a city of the Zimbabwe empire that was either used for storing grain or as a royal residence. Either way, the ruins of said city look like this:

Here's a reconstruction:

Sources: x, x, x, x

Ghana/Mali/Songhai: These were three successive empires from West Africa, with Ghana being the first from the 7th to 13th centuries, Mali being the second from the 13th to 16th centuries, and Songhai being the last one from the 15th to 16th centuries. If you learn about a non-Egyptian African civilization at all in school, chances are it's the Ghana empire and its successive empires, and they're most famous for gold, Timbuktu (with its ancient mosques, library, and university), and Mansa Musa.

Sources: x, x, x, x, x

Ashanti/Asante Empire: Located in modern day Ghana, this kingdom lasted from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. This kingdom is most well-known for its role in the slave trade. The Ashanti had well-built roads and architecture, and a little fun tidbit about them is that, after the introduction of guns, they actually had a minor firearms industry.

Here's their capital, Kumasi:

Source: x, x

Swahili Coastline: The coastline was made up of MANY city-states that saw their prime in the 11th to 15th centuries--including Mombasa, Zanzibar, and Kilwa--that participated in the Indian Ocean trade route, and pottery from as far away as China has been found in these cities. Many of these cities also practiced Islam and had their own mosques. Kilwa is my personal favorite:

These cities were built of stone, but Kilwa's palace, in particular, was built of coral. Its architecture led to the city being described by Ibn Battuta as one of the most beautiful in the world, which is part of why it's so fascinating to me.

Source: x, x

Of course, this barely scratches the surface. There are many more kingdoms all over the continent and a variety from ancient and pre-medieval times that deserve much more love.

And this image doesn't even cover them all!

So yes, ancient and medieval Africa deserve much more love, more research and more hype, and hopefully one day soon they'll get just that.

#africa #black history #ask #black tumblr

[annachum]

Asgardian, Vanir, Alfheimr, Olympus, Talokanil, Wakandan and Nidavellir cuisines in MCU HCs

Basically, Asgardians eat a mixture of Ancient Nordic, Medieval and Renaissance European foods

Since it is a colder planet in comparison to Alfheim, Asgard has a number of stews and roasts

Bread and potatoes are literally staples amongst Asgardian cuisine

Oh, and seafood is a popular culinary choice in Asgard too

One of Loki's fave foods is salmon stew btw

In MCU, Vanir cuisines are actually a mix of Central Asian, Slavic, Mongolic and Far East Siberian cuisines

Yeah Vanir culture has some nods to Central Asian, Slavic, Mongolic and Far East Siberian cultures in MCU btw

So the Vanirs LOVE dumplings, stews, LAMB AND MUTTON PREPARED IN ANY WAY, and a hunch of dairy in breakfasts

Light Elven cuisine of Alfheim basically has several nods to Mediterranean and Balkan cuisines

Basically it's got a hunch of fruits and vegetables, sweets and baked treats being VERY popular in Alfheim, and edible flowers are also popular in Alfheim too

Breakfasts are at times served in little trays of breakfast goods with fruit/floral scented tea or coffee ( imagine like an Ottoman style breakfast )

A popular street food includes hand pies of different flavours - sweet, savory, spicy, etc

Also a cultural drink of Alfheim is actually wine - as in different types of wine, not just wine made from grapes ( and the Light Elven grown ups in general LOVE to drink wine )

Dwarven cuisine in Nidavellir basically has a mix of elements of Germanic and Slavic cuisine

Being a more blacksmith geared culture, the Dwarves in general usually eat protein and dairy often as a way to sustain themselves in blacksmith relater stuff ( especially for Dwarven blacksmiths )

The Dwarves in general love a good drink - a cultural drink of Nidavellir is actually beer ( and the Dwarven grown up in general drink A LOT beer )

Wakandan cuisines defo has nods to East African and Nubian cuisines

Wakanda is rife in spices, and alcohol is popular for grown ups in Wakanda in general

Teas and coffees are popular in Wakanda too, amongst the staples of Wakanda include beans and maize

Olympus cuisines are defo have nods to Ancient Roman and Grecian cuisines

Olympus is rife with olives and fruits and vegetables - and the Olympus grown up residents in general LOVE wine

Oh and they also love cheeses ( which is a popular desert in Olympus )

Talokanil cuisines defo have nods to Mayan cuisine

Since they are an underworld kingdom, Namor's family actually managed to figure out underwater agricultural and all And underwater food supplies

Seafood is rife in Talocan, and ofc edible seaweeds and corals are amongst popular cuisines in Talocan

Amongst staples of Talokanil cuisine include maize, chili peppers and beans

And coffee and chocolate drinks are amongsr popular drinks in Talocan

🤩🤩🤩🥺🥺🥺

#asgardian cuisine #vanir cuisine #mcu nine realms #light elven cuisine #dwarven cuisine #nordic cuisine #germanic cuisine #slavic cuisine #mediterranean cuisine #olympus cuisine #talokanil cuisine #wakandan cuisine #mayan foods #east african cuisine #ancient greek cuisine #ancient roman cuisine

[thoughtportal]

Join Dr. Andrea Myers Achi, Mary and Michael Jaharis Associate Curator of Byzantine Art in The Met’s Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, for a virtual tour of Africa & Byzantium. Art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire (circa 330–1453), but less known are the profound artistic contributions of North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had a lasting impact on the Mediterranean world. Bringing together a range of masterworks—from mosaic, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork to luxury objects, paintings, and religious manuscripts—this exhibition recounts Africa’s central role in international networks of trade and cultural exchange. With artworks rarely or never before seen in public, Africa & Byzantium sheds new light on the staggering artistic achievements of medieval Africa. This long-overdue exhibition highlights how the continent contributed to the development of the premodern world and offers a more complete history of the vibrant multiethnic societies of north and east Africa that shaped the artistic, economic, and cultural life of Byzantium and beyond.

#the metropolitan museum of art #art #art history #religion #africa #byzantine #byzantium #sudan #Egypt #Nubia #Ethiopia #medieval #ancient history #Youtube

[panafrocore]

The Sokoto Caliphate: History, Legacy, and Impact On One Of Africa's Powerful Caliphate In West Africa

OThe Sokoto Caliphate, also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a powerful Sunni Muslim caliphate that emerged in West Africa in the early 19th century. Founded by the revered leader Usman dan Fodio during the Fulani jihads, this influential empire played a significant role in shaping the region’s history and continues to leave a lasting impact on contemporary Nigeria and West Africa as a…

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#African empires #African History #African kingdom #Legacy #medieval African Kingdom #Sokoto Caliphate #Sultanate of Sokoto #Sunni Muslim caliphate

[asitrita]

I just spent half a day arguing with someone who claims aph Spain is practically Arab because of Al Andaluz and I can't with people

That person didn't know any basic history. If Spain is Arab because of Al Andalus, India must be an exact copy of Britain and the quintessential Anglo Saxon society. And at least they do speak English, lol.

That person probably fed on all the Orientalist propaganda and ridiculous stereotypes about Spain. But the influence Arab culture had in Spain is minimal and superficial. Sure, there's some Arab influence, but it is pretty superficial and non transcendental to Spanish culture, society, or identity. Its biggest contribution to Spain was it acting as its adversary, hence reinforcing the Roman and Christian identity of Spain's population. They should just ask themselves what language do Spaniards speak and what is the predominant religion in Spain.

Also, just ask the person if they think Arabs are responsible for mass genocide in Spain and killed all native inhabitants so everyone in Spain is Arab now.

Tbh, I'm sure they don't even distinguish between Arab and North African/Berber culture, nor are aware of the process of Reconquista, let alone know the difference between Emirate and Caliphate, or the existence of the Taifa kingdoms.

Anyone who thinks Spain is an Arab country, or even somewhat Arab, because of Al Andalus, is either an ignorant/delusional fool, or a troll, or maybe both.

As for aph Spain, I would think nation personifications represent the people living in those regions. Since people living in Spain today are not Arab, not even remotely so, and are descendants of the Northern Christian people who repopulated the south + buckets of Christian people who lived in the south under Muslim rule but who never converted and were later assimilated again within a Christian, Greco-Roman, and Medieval European context and culture, I see absolute no reason to make aph Spain Arab, nor anything remotely similar. That would make as much sense as creating an OC of the Mexica (Aztec) empire and making him/her Spanish, or making India a Saxon warrior, or Nigeria a Viking sailor (actually, maybe even less sense, if that's even possible).

#and don't fight me on this #aph spain #antonio fernandez carriedo #tbh #i got the feeling some people do it out of ignorance #and I may have been too rough in this post #and their assumptions are nto coming from a bad place at all #but it is annoying #think whatever you want #but it does get irritating at times #more so when you are talking to them and they insist over and over on the topic #again #there IS sone Arab influence in Spanish culture #just like today there's a whole ton of American (USA) influence in pop culture all over the world #but this is superficial and non-trancendental in terms of identity society or overall culture of a nation #if Spain is practically Arab because of the little influence Al-Ándalus had in Spanish culture #then we may very well say Spain is France's clone for there's no other country that has influenced Spain as much as France has #italy coming a close second #however saying aph Spain or Spain is practically French or Italian because if their influence in our culture and politics would be nuts #history #kind of

[synergysilhouette]

"Wish" rewrite: Setting the Scene (NOT the prologue)

Welp, I'm finally doing a lengthier rewrite of "Wish." For those new to my account, I must stress that you do not--repeat: DO NOT--need to read my shorter two rewrites of the film as well as song rewrites in order to understand this story. (BTW, the above art is by Sanjaycreates on Twitter.) NOTE: THis is all subject to change before I get the prologue and stuff going!

The Setting

The Kingdom of Nelke is a fantasy kingdom with German influences (but with racial demographics that you'd see in the Americas), but by no means should it be taken as something historically accurate, or even 100% culturally accurate. I kind of wanted something akin to "Baldur's Gate 3" where you see a mix of modern and historical garb--actually, it'd be pretty akin to many high fantasy RPGs, in my opinion, as well as the fashion for 2015's "Cinderella," if you will. I always loved the mix of modern and medieval aesthetics when used correctly. The royal family's crest is be a swan, in reference to "Swan Lake" and ruled by the favorable Queen Lina and overseen by her right-hand advisor, the sorcerer Eiko.

The Characters

(Note: I'm not an artist, so I'll simply use pics of characters who fit the overall vibe I'm going for, either in fashion, personality, or design.)

Talia--For those who don't know, a variant of "Sleeping Beauty" sees the main character named Talia, which is fitting since "Wish" was visually inspired by it. She's a young woman in her early 20s, wears an orange dress, and while she is kind at heart, she is rather hot-headed, and not always in an endearing way. Right now I'm considering making her half-Egyptian, half-African in reference to the lead couple in Disney's play "Aida." She has been a sorcerer's apprentice ever since she discovered she had magical powers, but talent isn't everything. She's become a bit shy around crowds, concerned with bringing out their ire of making them overly dependent on her. She occasionally leads her friends--nicknamed "The Dreamers"--when making decisions. (Art by Jonuelsketch and Disney.)

Vocally, I imagine her to have a deep, theatrical voice, something booming and powerful. She loves to sing in order to de-stress, though this doesn't always become a song; sometimes she just sings a line or a few sentences to herself like a lot of people do at random moments in time. If I was an artist, one person who would inspire her design would be Janelle Monae.

Aion--Taken from Aiionwatha, an alternate name for Hiawatha, a Native American figure who Disney made a short about and once tried to adapt into a feature film. He doesn't talk very often, and frequently tries to put on a brave face, despite his severe depression over losing one of his older brothers to magic when he was a child. He's the heart of the group, and often tries to diffuse conflict, as they stress him out. While he has great concern for Talia as a sorcerer's apprentice, he supports her, though Talia misunderstands his feelings and wants her to fail, since his own brother couldn't succeed at using magic. His main color is usually a flurry of colors, making him look like stained glass (which influences Talia's fashion at times).

Lucy--A reference to the protagonist in Walt Disney Pictures' adaptation of "The Chronicles of Narnia" with Walden media. She's of Arab descent and dresses in purples to reference Princess Jasmine. A fast-thinker, she always tries to think up solutions quickly and ahead of time, making her Aion's best friend when it comes to crisis aversion. The daughter of a diplomat and a smooth talker, she has confidence to spare and while she can be self-centered at times, she's first and foremost a great friend. For health reasons, she is often accompanied by a (stylish) cane, sometimes a wheelchair if things are severe.

Wolfgang--Not a Disney reference, but simply a German name. He has a lot going on with his life, largely due to being a political pawn all his life. While he has those he cares for, he isn't good at expressing it and consistently tries to control everything around him. It's been remarked that in another world, he and Talia could've been siblings, but not in this lifetime. He doesn't have many (real) friends, but his years of emotional abuse have led him to crave attention, even if it's not in the best possible way. Perhaps that's why he's often dressed in green; he has a bit of envy to spare.

Queen Lina-- A reference to "Thumbelina." The greatest person you will ever meet, or at least that's how the slogan goes. She's beautiful, intelligent, and often takes to disguises in order to check on her citizens. She's quite dramatic when you get to know her, but more in a theatrical way that pulls you in, not an annoying way. Her husband, bless his heart, likes to stay out of the limelight often, so he lets her be the face of the kingdom, and it suits her vanity just fine. Her clothing is colorful and ALWAYS memorable. Of course, she has an edge to her, something she doesn't want to let the citizens know about. As someone with a couple chips on her shoulder, Talia can relate--but are they in the same boat?

I imagine a soprano-type voice for her, but she has an affinity to rap when she's frustrated.

Princess Elsie--An occasionally clever, but altogether lazy princess. She enjoys her royal status and letting people fawn over her. Due to her commitment to being completely selfish, the people of Nelke assume this is an affront to a more caring future ruler (which Lina continually tries to support). When she's bored, she's been shown to be quite hilarious and astute, though you can be sure she won't let herself be bored for long. She's beautiful, but in a way slightly askew to mainstream society.

A good singer, albeit not the strongest; good enough for a movie, but not to sell albums.

Eiko--The queen's right-hand man and flatteringly referred to as her fairy godfather. A man who's past is shrouded in mystery (ironically clad in purples and greens), he vowed his fealty to the queen when he found her to be a worthy ruler. As of late, however, he has been looking for an apprentice to take over his place. As magic by birth is extremely rare and magic by education is difficult without a trained tutor (which there are few of in the kingdom), he has had difficulty finding one--until he comes upon Talia. While she is highly skilled, she doesn't always think things through, making her a mixed public figure before she's even come to prominence. When he isn't conducting official business for the crown, he is quite relaxed--and an excellent singer.

He used to be a more powerful singer, but he prefers a much softer sound now due to age.

Anselm--My Kingdom Hearts friends get this. The mysterious being in the west wing of the castle. It's said that his (their?) magic eclipses even Eiko's. But how Anselm came to be there--or what secrets lurk inside their mind--are anyone's guess. When Talia encounters him, they are a wise and mesmerizing figure, as she's able to see a sea of stars in his eyes. When he ventures beyond the wing and into the world below, he's shown to be playful and caring, always seeming to have one's best wishes at heart. Their magical form is a cascade of silvers, blues, and white, while as a human, they often wear "feminine" colors (bright/light colors, including pinks and purples) with flower motifs when in his human form, his favorite being a bleeding heart. His favorite room in the castle consists of a giant koi pond that frequently calms his soul. However, despite his outgoing nature, he can be quite shy when he develops a crush on someone, most recently Talia. Despite her attempts to look the other way, Talia reciprocates his feelings, and she finds that he may be hiding a mystery of his own, as she sees a sea of stars whenever she gazes into his eyes for a long time.

Probably the best singer, a tenor with heart and power.

Lemme know if you have any questions! IDK when I'll release the prologue, but it shouldn't be too long. Originally I was gonna include the storybook intro in this, but I've decided it's better to just put it in the prologue since I'm still figuring out my words. I may or may not write songs for this; I imagine it's a musical, but IDK if I'm gonna be happy with the songs I write.

#disney #disney animation #wish #yen sid #fantasia #enchanted #fictif #fire emblem #winx club #disney princess #jasmine #kida #atlantis #asha #kenai #brother bear #cinderella #once upon a time #barbie #swan lake #big hero 6 #pocahontas #she hulk #marvel #marvel comics #this wish #the arcana #asra

[stirringwinds]

When it comes to personifications, what do you think are the factors that cause a nation to have a “modern” form derived from an “ancient” personification (i.e. Greece and Ancient Greece, Egypt and ancient Egypt)? I mean, I get that it may be an inconsistentency or creative choice done by Himaruya, but how is it possible for other older nations to manage to live for so long without producing a “modern heir” to replace them in the present day (i.e. China, Japan, Korea, India, Mongolia, etc.)?

interesting question! i definitely agree this is something inherently subjective.  there isn’t really a singular way of interpreting the complexity of history, let alone how we’d transpose that history onto the helltalias and their lifespan. at least for me, i rationalise some of it in relation to historiography and dynamics of political-cultural contiguity, such as with how Himaruya takes opposing approaches for China and Rome (whom i will focus on in this ask). 

for China (aka my great-grandpa): in terms of history, i want to first emphasise that all cultures change; it isn’t a perfectly continuous, unbroken 4,000 year old civilisation, even if we often like to trace Chinese history right back to the ostensible Xia dynasty. there are some elements that have endured for a very long time (like the writing system)—but there were also periods of political disruption very similar to the fall of Rome (and one can argue Rome endured in many ways). however, in terms of melding it to hetalia canon—Yao being old as balls fits quite nicely with the ‘dynastic cycle’ historiography of China—that Chinese history is an unbroken succession of dynasties. Which is flawed actually, but which has tended to dominate perceptions of Chinese history all the same. ergo—‘the empire long divided must unite’, or the thought of the first emperor ‘uniting China’ (as opposed to ‘conquering a vast empire stretching from the north all the way down South to Vietnam and other non-Han ‘Baiyue’ tribes, and Sinicising dozens of different nations that had some similarities with how conquered European and Middle Eastern/North African regions ‘became Roman’). 

to me, Yao being extremely old also fits with the way Chinese cultural influence has dominated in the region in terms of influence on material culture, philosophy and language. Like, in the Confucian hierarchy, age = prestige. He sees himself as the great empire and well spring of civilisation (humble? nah, he’s rather arrogant). He’s older than Kiku and Yong-soo, and likes to assert he is older than Lien (Vietnam) which she contests lol. With Kiku especially, I see a very long-running mentor/protege dynamic between them that has at times turned into an ‘ambitious apprentice backstabs his master’ relationship even before the modern era (i.e Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s attempted invasion of Ming China). There are also certain cyclical elements in Chinese culture; like China was historically influenced by Buddhism that came via India and its concepts of reincarnation. So, he dies but he comes back all the same, no matter if it’s in a different form (kingdom to empire to republic). as i headcanon him, there’s a mix of calm (i will endure and wait for spring to come again) but also sometimes spitefulness lol (i’m not dead yet, fuckers). 

for Rome: i do headcanon that the Italybros are his sons not grandsons. when it comes to the historiography and cultural perceptions of it, there’s a lot of thought about ‘the fall of the (western) roman empire’ and in terms of political continuity, yes it is fairly clear that the roman empire is no more. historiographically, there’s a sort of linearity to how people have perceived it too: a dramatic rise and fall, beginning and ends. you have people like Petrarch calling the medieval period the “dark ages”, in contrast to the “light” of Rome and the rest of classical antiquity. this is something that most medieval historians today won’t agree with (incl my old professor haha who was a specialist in women’s medieval history)—the parts of Europe (and MENA) that made up the old Roman Empire sure as hell didn’t stand still for a thousand years until the Renaissance; it was a period of cultural developments and not simply darkness and ignorance. but, in terms of transposing it to hetalia—i kind of think Roma being dead fits nicely with 1) the way people have perceived the history of Rome (rise and fall) 2) the medieval developments— all the new European states (and some older ones) emerging from the shattered remnants of the empire, all of them changed by Rome in some ways (Latin --> different Romance languages.) in contrast to China, i guess reincarnation is less of a concept in the Roman pantheon or in Christianity. 

i think there’s also a sort of ironic poetry to it, when the fall of Rome is put in context of larger imperial and global history. Rome becomes this mythical figure who haunts the imagination of the European personifications precisely because he’s dead— the towering patriarch who is the model of a grand maritime empire that all of them that used to be Roman colonies/provinces strive for in the 15th century onwards. Like, the Spanish empire had a motto of “further beyond” (plus ultra). In the Aeneid, Jupiter is said to grant the Romans “empire without limit” (imperium sine fine). Even England, where there was this duelling narrative of lionising Boudica (the Iceni queen who fought the Roman conquerors and burned Roman London the ground) and longing to be as great as Rome (there’s a caption on a Victorian-era statue of Boudica in London saying “regions Caesar never knew / thy posterity shall sway”. “Britannia” itself as a name for the UK is ofc from Roman rule. so when it comes down to it, i guess it really is a creative choice by Himaruya (and ourselves). and for me, it’s not just about Rome and China (or any other nation’s) own history but also thinking about historiography (i.e how that history is understood, in terms of dynastic cycles or rise and fall) + relationship with other characters. 

#hetalia #hetalia headcanons #hws china #hws rome #aph china #aph rome #hetalia meta #also i am a romechu shipper lol and i guess i am here for the #vibes of Yao remembering a world long gone

[theologyforthelayman]

Ancient Christian paintings discovered in medieval African churches

Old Dongola, also known as Dongola, was an ancient city located in present-day Sudan, situated on the eastern bank of the Nile River. It served as the capital of the medieval kingdom of Makuria, a Christian kingdom that thrived from the 6th to the 14th centuries. At its peak, Old Dongola was a bustling city […]Ancient Christian paintings discovered in medieval African churches

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#africa #christianity #church

[medieval-elephants]

Finally, a real medieval elephant appears! Just not where you might expect.

Katie Hemer, Hugh Willmott, Jane Evans, and Michael Buckley have shown that this ring was made from an African elephant's (genus Loxodonta's) ivory tusk in the fifth or sixth century. It was probably used as a handle on a cloth bag. It was found in a grave in Scremby, Lincolnshire (UK), where it had been buried sometime between around 450 and 550 AD.

And this wasn't the only elephant ivory to show up thousands of miles away in northern Europe: elephant ivory rings have been found in over 70 cemeteries in the area that is now England, and some have been found in the area that is now northern Germany, too. These cemeteries seem to date to the period before the 7th century.

This particular elephant may have originated in the African Rift Valley, and its ivory may have been traded from the Kingdom of Aksum to Europe. The time when it was traded coincided with the political power of the Roman Empire crumbling in western Europe and some (but not all) trade routes being disrupted. Yet the world has always been interconnected: we can't ignore the history of any region or any time.

Katie A. Hemer, Hugh Willmott, Jane E. Evans, Michael Buckley, "Ivory from early Anglo-Saxon burials in Lincolnshire – A biomolecular study", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 49 (2023), 103943, ISSN 2352-409X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103943. Read it here.

#elephant #elephants #medieval #ivory #late antiquity #african history #aksum #post-Roman Britain

[kenwiththepen]

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐂 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬? 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫!

𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭, Levi x Black OC - Chapter 1 - kenwiththepen - Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan [Archive of Our Own] Tempest is my main fic since I'm a Levi stan that isn't anti-black. It's my very first fic in the verse, full of rich African themes and black culture. Each of the girls in Neveah's squad has something to bring to the table and also...... Levi gets with a black woman. What's not to love? Forever Where the Sunflowers Grow..... - kenwiththepen - Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan [Archive of Our Own]

My fluffy, one shot featuring Armin and another beautiful black OC, Omeretta (Oma for short). Armin takes her on a beautiful adventure that will melt anyone's heart <3 Heart of the Heir - Chapter 1 - kenwiththepen - Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan [Archive of Our Own]

Another longer fic I'm working on, medieval AU of Princess Neveah navigating becoming the kingdom of Paradis' new monarch while dealing with the crass, standoff-ish knight Levi. As their relationship progresses, many dark secrets of the kingdom are slowly revealed that could change their lives forever. For those that do indulge and read through these fics, I would greatly any comments left with feedback and how you all enjoyed them! It's hard out here nowadays with so few people leaving comments, it would mean the world to me! Kenny <3

#aot fanart #aot oc #aot ocs #attack on titan #black oc #shingeki no kyojin #aot #black art #black artists #aot black oc #x black reader #x black oc #snk fanfiction #aot fanfiction #aot smut #levi aot #shingeki no kyoujin #armin arlert #armin aot #armin x blackoc #levi x blackoc #aot fluff