=======================================================================
IN THIS ISSUE
=======================================================================
* Special Announcement - eHistory Introduces HistoryLists

* HistoryList of the Month

* Oracle of Delphi

* Medieval Village

* Historical Quote

* Writers Wanted

=======================================================================
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - EHISTORY INTRODUCES HISTORYLISTS
=======================================================================
What are HistoryLists? HistoryLists are fun and informative lists about historical facts and opinions. For example, who were the first 10 people to fly in space? Or, who were the best generals of the American Civil war. HistoryLists cover a wide spectrum of topic areas including: Top 10 lists; essential reading lists; lists of about important Firsts; and Best of lists.

Any member of eHistory can create one or more lists. The lists are displayed throughout the eHistory web site.

Share your expertise with others; show off your knowledge; create a list today -- it's fast and free!

Please visit here for more information: http://www.ehistory.com/lists/ListAbout.cfm?ReturnURL=

=======================================================================
HISTORYLIST OF THE MONTH - USSR SPACE FIRSTS
=======================================================================
Most people know that the first person in space was a USSR Cosmonaut by the name of Yury Gagarin. However, not many people know that the USSR holds many other space firsts. Here's a HistoryList from member Alex that you might find interesting:

Firsts of the USSR Space Program by Alex, a space nut

Flight Date Who What

1.	Vostock 1	12 April 1961	Gagarin	First person in space
2.	Vostock 1	12 April 1961	Gagarin	First person in orbit
3.	Vostock 3 & 4	12 August 1961	Nikolayev & Popovich	First joint mission
4.	Vostock 6	16 June 1963	Tereshkova	First woman in space
5.	Voskhod 1	12 October 1964	Komarov, Feoktistov& Yegorow	First three-person flight
6.	Voskhod 2	18 March 1965	Lenonov	First space walk
7.	Soyuz 1	23 April 1967	Komarov	First death during a space mission*

Alex's Comments: * - The Apollo 1 fire occurred during a test at the launch pad

http://www.ehistory.com/lists/ListList.cfm?MID=4837

=======================================================================
ORACLE OF DELPHI [By Preston Chesser ]
=======================================================================
Around 1400 BC a goat herder noticed his sheep acted strange after peering into a particular chasm. He looked in and found himself "agitated like one frantic". At least that is how the legend goes on the humble beginnings of the Oracle at Delphi.

The effects of the brain altering vapors were attributed to a deity residing on the hill. Other people began inhaling the vapors so that they could prophesy. But the gas was so disorienting some fell into the cavern and were lost. So a tripod was built and an individual was appointed to sit over the chasm and prophesy. Originally, the perfect candidate was considered to be a young virgin girl. But after one of the virgins escaped with a young Thessalian it was decreed no prophetess (also called the Pythoness or the Pythia) would be appointed under 50 years of age.

A booming industry grew up around the Oracle. Temples were built and rebuilt, priests indoctrinated, rituals created and sacrifices performed. Priests were necessary to perform the interpretation of the Pythia's incoherent utterances. Presents were brought to both to placate the deity and in the hope of influencing a positive prophesy. The Delphic temple itself became one of the largest "banks" in the world. Delphi became a center for banking and commerce.

The identity of the deity changed a few times over the course of several centuries. When the profits of the Oracle began to decline it was declared that Neptune was speaking through her. Later this changed to the goddess Themis and, finally, Apollo was determined to be presiding over Delphi.

For over a millennia people traveled to the hill to consult the Oracle. Common farmers consulted the Oracle on matters as simple as planting and harvest. Famous world leaders consulted on matters of conquest. Sophocles, Alexander the Great, and Croesus of Lydia all consulted the Oracle at one time or another.

The priests interpretations may have been more coherent than the Pythyoness but they were still cryptic and ambiguous. Croesus for example donated a fortune to the oracle to find out if he should invade a neighboring country. He was told "If you go to war you will cause the destruction of a great empire". He went to war and not only was defeated but was captured. He sent word to the Oracle asking why he was mislead. The word came back that he wasn't mislead, he had been told that there would be the destruction of a great empire and there was -- his.

The world famous Oracle of Delphi played an influential role in ancient history. For fourteen centuries it helped determine the course of empires. The prophesying was finally silenced by Christian Rome in the 4th Century AD.

=======================================================================
MEDIEVAL VILLAGE [By Thomas R. Long, Jr.]
=======================================================================
For most peasants in the Middle Ages, life centered around the village. The village was usually part of a manor run by a lord or someone of noble birth or a church or an abbey. Most peasants never ventured out of the village during their lifetime.

The primary occupation of the majority of peasants living in villages was farming. Peasants worked land they rented for a small fee from the lord of the manor. Fees could be in the form of money, but most often they were provided in-kind, i.e. in the form of grain, game, or some form of service. The amount of land a peasant worked was dependent upon the amount of time he was to spend working the lord's land or demesne--the more land a peasant worked for himself, the more work he owed to the lord. This work was called week-work and could require a peasant to work upwards of 30-40 days a year on the lord's land (and to the detriment of his own land).

Most peasants worked their land with either horses, oxen, or a combination of the two. Because of the difficulty of turning a plow and its team around, farmers plowed a straight line as far as they could in a single day. The following day, the farmer would turn his team around and plow back in the opposite direction. Unscrupulous farmers would sometimes try to pick up a little bit of precious land by swiping some of their neighbors land in a process called furrow stealing. As a farmer plowed the edge of his own land, he might move over into his neighbor's land and plow a few furrows, claiming them as his own. Furrow stealing often lead to fines levied by the lord's court.

Not all peasants in the village farmed. There were blacksmiths, tapers, ale makers (usually women), potters, and all-around handy men. These residents of the village also owed fees and services to the lord but usually not as much as those who worked a large amount of land.

Free peasants also lived in the village. Free peasants owned their land outright and did not owe any service to the lord of the manor.

Not all the services in the village were owed by the peasants to the lord. The lord also owed services to the peasants. The lord provided a mill for the villagers (for a portion of the grain ground, of course), a bakery, a court of justice, protection, and sometimes a parish church. The lord also provided land the peasants could use to graze their pigs for a small fee called pannage.

Peasants and lords lived in a symbiotic relationship, each providing something the other needed. The lord received goods, services, and some cash to keep the manor running while the peasants received justice, protection, and services that would have been too expensive for a peasant to provide himself.

=======================================================================
HISTORICAL QUOTE
=======================================================================
"In history as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment and a thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour."
Stefan Zweig (1881 - 1942), Austrian writer

=======================================================================
WRITERS WANTED
=======================================================================
Are you interested in writing for The eHistory Explorer newsletter? It's a neat way of sharing your knowledge plus we'll provide a link back to your site within your article. Please send an email to historyexplorer@ehistory.com to learn more about this opportunity.

=======================================================================
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
=======================================================================
To remove your email address from this newsletter please visit:
http://www.ehistory.com/register/newslettercancel.cfm?n=3

To sign up for other eHistory newsletters please go to our member area:
http://www.ehistory.com/register/member.cfm

Thanks to this weeks contributor(s):
Preston Chesser
Thomas R. Long, Jr.

Larry Gormley, Editor
historyexplorer@ehistory.com

eHistory
http://www.ehistory.com
© 2002 eHistory.com LLC.