Linguistics
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What Was The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle?
Most medieval European chronicles share a fairly common formula. You’d be forgiven for confusing one with another, forgetting their names, ignoring their details. Yet the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle sits so far outside the norm of a typical chronicle that it demands close attention. So what makes the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle so special?
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An Italian Egyptian in Croatia: Who was the Zagreb Mummy?
Some time around 1848, a man named Mihajlo Barić found himself in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Few records on the details of Barić’s life remain. By the time he died in 1859, no one could have guessed the accidental contribution he had already unwittingly made to history. What we do know, is that during…
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In Spiritus —The Linguistic Link Between Life and Breath
The connection between life and breath can be found within cultures and languages across the globe and through time. But how did it develop, and where can it still be found?
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Where Did the Phoenix Come From, and Why Does It Keep Coming Back?
“A mysterious fire flashes from its eye, and a flaming aureole enriches its head. Its crest shines with the sun’s own light and shatters the darkness with its calm brilliance. Its legs are of Tyrian purple; swifter than those of the Zephyrs are its wings of flower-like blue dappled with rich gold.”
Telling Time 