#Spooktober 4: the Drudenmesser

Wallada bint al-Mustakfi: the Caliph’s Daughter Who Loved Women and Lived Free Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (Córdoba 1001 – 1091), daughter of a deposed Umayyad caliph, was not merely a noblewoman—she was a poet, provocateur, and cultural icon in the intellectually radiant courts of Al-Andalus. Refusing

Love and Lament in the Songs of Jonathan and David “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;very pleasant have you been to me.Your love to me was wonderful,surpassing the love of women.”— Samuel 1:26 Spoken by David upon the death of Prince Jonathan, this

Saints and Soldiers: the Embrace of Saints Sergius and Bacchus One of the oldest surviving icons from the early Byzantine world, this image depicts two Roman soldiers and Christian martyrs standing side by side—clad in military garb, halos touching through the depiction of Christ. Sergius