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Olga of Kiev: Brutal Saint and Revenge-Seeker
I recently finished listening to an audiobook version of Lars Brownworth’s The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings. Ever since I fell in love with Uhtred of Bebbanburg (to the point where I made a pilgrimage to Bamburgh in Northumberland, which is the inspiration for Bebbanburg) I’ve wanted to learn more about the Viking age. Lars Brownworth has some great medieval-era podcasts, and when I saw the book pop on up Scribd, I suspected it would be a good short history. And it didn’t disappoint. One of the characters I learned about, though, was Olga of Kiev (890-969). This woman showed that brutality during this period wasn’t just a…
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In Praise of Home Economics
I took Home Economics from 7th grade through my senior year. We actually had two different home ec classes – one was for cooking, and the other focused on things like managing a family (I remember a fascinating unit on how birth order impacts personalities), paying bills (and which bills you definitely need to pay first if you can’t pay them all), and sewing (somehow the shorts I was sewing came out with one leg longer than the other – I blame the pattern). Anyway, all through my years of taking Home Ec, which was required, I made fun of it. I got detentions because I made fun of how…
