Monthly Archives: February 2017

Quirky History: Cats in Medieval Manuscripts (or Charming Jerks and the Devil Incarnate)

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On February 21, 2017, I published the following post on Quirk Books.

Quirky History: Cats in Medieval Manuscripts (or Charming Jerks and the Devil Incarnate)

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Cats pics and the internet go together like peanut butter and jelly. You can’t imagine one without the other. But did you know that LOL cats, cat memes, and cats being jerks go as far back as the Middle Ages?

If you’d like to read the rest of the post, please click here.

In the words of my friend, the Australian, I shall return.

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People of Color in the Middle Ages: A Primer to Promote Diversity in Fantasy

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On February 6, 2017, I published the following post on Book Riot.

People of Color in the Middle Ages: A Primer to Promote Diversity in Fantasy

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St. Maurice

A recurring topic of debate within the SFF community is the issue of historical accuracy in medieval fantasy fiction. Claims are repeatedly made that there were no people of color in medieval Europe. Therefore, the argument goes, medieval fantasy fiction with all white, Christian characters is historically accurate. Any inclusion of people of color or other religions is a distortion of history in the name of political correctness.

In actual fact, medieval Europe was a complex society where several different cultures, religions, and linguistic groups coexisted under the umbrella of the omnipresent Catholic Church.

As Jonathan Hsy shows in his book…

If you’d like to read the post in its entirety, please click here.