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Extent of the Western Chalukya Empire (circa 1100)

Extent of the Western Chalukya Empire (c. 1100)

A large body of Western Chalukya literature in the Kannada language was produced during the empire's reign (973–1200) in present-day India (map pictured). Kannada literature from this period, usually considered Old Kannada, constituted the bulk of the Chalukya court's textual production and pertained mostly to the socio-religious development of the Jain faith, with some of that of the Shaiva faith. Important literary contributions in the Kannada language came not only from court poets, noblemen, royalty, ascetics and saints who wrote in the marga (mainstream) style, but also from commoners and artisans, including cobblers, weavers, cowherds and shepherds who wrote in the desi (folk) style. These poets revolutionised Kannada literature, rejecting traditional themes that eulogised kings and noblemen, and writing didactic poems that were closer to the spoken and sung form of the language. In addition to hundreds of male poets, over thirty female poets have been recorded. (Full article...)

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In the news

Naomi Mataʻafa

After more than 200 deaths, a ceasefire is enacted in the Israel–Palestine crisis.
Results of the Samoan general election are upheld by the Supreme Court, giving the majority to the opposition FAST party led by Naomi Mataʻafa (pictured).
Darwin's Arch, a rock formation in the Galápagos Islands, collapses due to natural erosion.
Cyclone Tauktae makes landfall in Gujarat, killing at least 122 people in India and Pakistan and forcing the evacuation of over 200,000 others.

On this day

May 23: Aromanian National Day

New York Public Library Main Branch in 1908

1555 – Gian Pietro Carafa became Pope Paul IV, beginning a tumultuous four-year papacy during which the Papal States suffered a serious military defeat.
1873 – The North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.
1895 – Backed by Samuel J. Tilden, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library agreed to merge and form the New York Public Library (building pictured).
1951 – Delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama and the government of the newly established People's Republic of China signed the Seventeen Point Agreement, affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet.
1974 – The Airbus A300, the first twin-engined wide-body airliner, went into service with Air France.

John Wood, the Elder (d. 1754)
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (b. 1844)
David Lewis (d. 1981)

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Today's featured picture

The Crucifixion of Saint Wilgefortis is an oil-on-panel triptych created by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch from 1497 to 1505. The identity of the subject has been uncertain; she was believed to be Saint Julia of Corsica, whose feast day is May 23 in the Western liturgical calendar, but the triptych is now believed to depict Saint Wilgefortis, after restoration work revealed that the female martyr had originally been painted with a beard. The work is in the collection of the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy.

Painting credit: Hieronymus Bosch

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