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Following a lead from VP(P) - [1], an editor has tried to add a section to Gunpowder Plot suggesting that the king was behind the plot - diff - and cites Scholastic's The Slimy Stuarts, part of their Horrible Histories series. It's doubtful that that book can be considered a reliable source. Two questions: 1) does anyone have the book to hand, to check whether the assertion is merely flippancy on the author's part and 2) has anyone come across a reliable source for such an assertion? thanks -- Tagishsimon (talk) 03:10, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
Here is a negative review in a Catholic journal of a book arguing that Robert Cecil contrived the plot to defame Catholics. At least it provides a attributable reliable source for that minority theory. The Enigma of Gunpowder Plot, 1605: The Third Solution (review) μηδείς ( talk) 19:08, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
What were the NWS offices closed/merged/created by the Weather Service Modernization Act of 1992? I know that the wiki article is redlinked, so the best I can do for background information is this link, where the text of the act can be found under the header "Weather Service Modernization". A Reference Desk Barnstar will be awarded if a complete list can be provided. Thanks in advance, Ks0stm ( T• C• G) 03:51, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
Did the process of identifying a witch by dunking her in water to see if she float or sank always resulted in death as most source say including the article on dunking? I've heard on a documentary (can't remember the name but may have been a history channel one) that they didn't let them drown they actually pulled they back up if they sank, proving their innocence.-- KAVEBEAR ( talk) 06:16, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
To say that letting them die would have taken away the opportunity of punishing them later is to confuse the point entirely. Witches didn't sink, they floated. Killing a supposed witch was not a problem, since drowning proved her innocence, and, presumably, going to heaven was her reward for cooperating in furthering the overwhelming state interest in rooting out witches. If she survived then she was obviously guilty and could be executed without further compunction. μηδείς ( talk) 16:27, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
How many people would a 2000 acre big (or small if'd like) barony be able to hold?
It's not a big land (2,000 acres = 8 km2) but imagine that the land is rich and fertile, well suited for agriculture; farming and keeping livestock and such so that the people can be fairly self-sufficient and mostly cover their own most basic need; food. Obviously people would gather in small village(s) inside the barony and work what land was available to them, but with such a small barony there would a limit to how much it could produce and thus how many people it could sustain. My guess: around 400?
A similar 1000 acre land would thus be able to hold 200 maybe?
But if we double the land size from 2000 to 4000 acres then it would likely be able to hold significantly more than double the population of a 2000 acres-sized land, right, or does my way of thinking get me wrong?
I'm thinking middle ages around 1100-1250 first and foremost, pointing out what timeperiod I'm thinking of might be a good idea since the middle ages spanned over a long time 85.165.120.106 ( talk) 10:02, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
When did the population of the United States overtake that of the UK? LANTZY TALK 22:31, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
Humanities desk | ||
---|---|---|
< August 12 | << Jul | August | Sep >> | August 14 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
Following a lead from VP(P) - [1], an editor has tried to add a section to Gunpowder Plot suggesting that the king was behind the plot - diff - and cites Scholastic's The Slimy Stuarts, part of their Horrible Histories series. It's doubtful that that book can be considered a reliable source. Two questions: 1) does anyone have the book to hand, to check whether the assertion is merely flippancy on the author's part and 2) has anyone come across a reliable source for such an assertion? thanks -- Tagishsimon (talk) 03:10, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
Here is a negative review in a Catholic journal of a book arguing that Robert Cecil contrived the plot to defame Catholics. At least it provides a attributable reliable source for that minority theory. The Enigma of Gunpowder Plot, 1605: The Third Solution (review) μηδείς ( talk) 19:08, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
What were the NWS offices closed/merged/created by the Weather Service Modernization Act of 1992? I know that the wiki article is redlinked, so the best I can do for background information is this link, where the text of the act can be found under the header "Weather Service Modernization". A Reference Desk Barnstar will be awarded if a complete list can be provided. Thanks in advance, Ks0stm ( T• C• G) 03:51, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
Did the process of identifying a witch by dunking her in water to see if she float or sank always resulted in death as most source say including the article on dunking? I've heard on a documentary (can't remember the name but may have been a history channel one) that they didn't let them drown they actually pulled they back up if they sank, proving their innocence.-- KAVEBEAR ( talk) 06:16, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
To say that letting them die would have taken away the opportunity of punishing them later is to confuse the point entirely. Witches didn't sink, they floated. Killing a supposed witch was not a problem, since drowning proved her innocence, and, presumably, going to heaven was her reward for cooperating in furthering the overwhelming state interest in rooting out witches. If she survived then she was obviously guilty and could be executed without further compunction. μηδείς ( talk) 16:27, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
How many people would a 2000 acre big (or small if'd like) barony be able to hold?
It's not a big land (2,000 acres = 8 km2) but imagine that the land is rich and fertile, well suited for agriculture; farming and keeping livestock and such so that the people can be fairly self-sufficient and mostly cover their own most basic need; food. Obviously people would gather in small village(s) inside the barony and work what land was available to them, but with such a small barony there would a limit to how much it could produce and thus how many people it could sustain. My guess: around 400?
A similar 1000 acre land would thus be able to hold 200 maybe?
But if we double the land size from 2000 to 4000 acres then it would likely be able to hold significantly more than double the population of a 2000 acres-sized land, right, or does my way of thinking get me wrong?
I'm thinking middle ages around 1100-1250 first and foremost, pointing out what timeperiod I'm thinking of might be a good idea since the middle ages spanned over a long time 85.165.120.106 ( talk) 10:02, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
When did the population of the United States overtake that of the UK? LANTZY TALK 22:31, 13 August 2011 (UTC)