Richard III accepting the crown by Geoffrey Wheeler

When the remains of King Richard III were found beneath a modern day car park, analyses were conducted on the last Plantagenet ruler's skeleton. Richard III stood 5'8" tall (1.74m) which was the average height of Englishmen in the 15th century. This was also the average height of the Western Steppe Herders around 4000 years ago!

I like this piece by Geoffrey
Wheeler because it accurately depicts Richard's height as well as the clothing of the time period.

Niclas von Popplau, a Silesian knight visiting England in 1484 said the following about the king:

"King Richard is a high-born prince, three fingers taller than I, but a bit slimmer and not as thickset as I am, and much more lightly built; he has quite slender arms and thighs, and also a great heart."

In short, Richard III was a short king! 😉

King Richard III
The last Plantagenet.

Have a fantastic St George's day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

St George is an incarnation of the ancient mythological dragon slayer.

Invoking his name in battle brings strength to your arm and courage to your heart.

Happy St George's Day!

https://youtu.be/YJvI-MUl9IQ

Generations since your ancestors lived. Collaborative post with FeniusKarl.

This can vary a lot. Personally I can get back 1000 years in only 26 generations, not 40!

While it is said that on average people have 20 gens every 500 years, I reckon on several lines I have just 11 generations for every 500 years. Probably because many of my ancestors had children later in life. This probably evens out a lot the further back you go though, so that 20 per 500 becomes a good average for anybody once you go back 1500-2000 years or so

^ This is the case for me as well.

There are 26 generations between my direct paternal ancestor from the 11th century and myself.

My recent ancestors had children fairly late in life too - my x5 great grandfather who was part of the gentry from St. Marylebone in the 18th century had my x4 great grandfather at 43 years old, and my x4 great grandfather had his youngest son (my x3 great grandfather) at 45 years old.

World Map of Anaximander (610-546 BC)

To Germanic polytheists, the number nine is sacred and/or special to us. The ancient literature attests various examples of where and how the number nine is significant and important in various contexts regarding death, rebirth, the universe, the afterlife, the gods, and more:

-Nine is the number of worlds/homes connected via Yggdrasil, the cosmic world tree (Vǫluspá)
-Nine is the number of witches in the wood (iviði) existing before the present world tree (Vǫluspá)
-Nine are the mothers of Heimdallr
'World Dazzling', all sisters (Hyndluljóð, Heimdalargaldr, Snorri)
-Nine are the daughters owned by the ocean jötunn Aegir and Rán, personified in waves, streams, brightness and gold, often deadly (Snorri)
-Nine are the rune-carving daughters of the ocean god Njǫrðr, awaiting in the afterlife (Sólarljóð)
-Nine is the number of nights of the Nórna dómr - 'the verdict of the norns', where you sit in the Nornarstóll - 'the chair of the norns' after death, receiving your Fates' verdicts before moving on (Sólarljóð, Fafnismál) to what appears to be a whole specter of different afterlife possibilities
-Nine is the number of worlds in which Hel rules (Snorri)
-Nine is the number of worlds beneath Misty Hel (Vafþrúðnismál)
-Ninth is the heaven ruled by Freyia, Fólkvangr (Grímnismál)
-Nine, or three by nine, is the number of valkyriur riding together (Helgakviða I, II & H. Hiǫrvarðssonar)
-Nine is the number of nights that Odin hung on the tree (Hávamál)
-Nine is the number of nights that Hermóðr spent riding down to Hel (Snorri)
-Nine is the number of nights that Skírnir rode down to the death-realm of Gerðr (Skírnismál)
-Nine is the number of nights that Freyr must wait before he can meet Gerðr in the breezeless grove (Skírnismál)
-Nine is the number of spellsongs that Odin received when he hung
-Nine is the number of spellsongs that Odin made himself (Hávamál)
-Nine is the number of spellsongs that Gróa sang from her grave (Gróagaldr)
-Nine is the number of maidens seated beneath the Tree of Memory on the Mountain of Medicine (Fjölsvinnsmál)