Thank you for Remember the Titans, a strong memory of my childhood. May you be remembered well

So the lower classes never used cooking or heating fires? I don’t think this data is accurate.

I also find it interesting how it basically just villainizes the middle class and praises the high-income group. From what I’ve seen of private jets, yachts, huge houses, lavish vacations and unsustainable lifestyles, this graph just doesn’t ring true to me.

With the revival of Greek thought and custom that marked The Rennaissance also came the practice of pederasty, although the full picture is much more complex than just that. The understanding of sexuality was different then, as well as the understanding of masculinity and femininity.

Further, Florence, Milan, and several other city-states were rather progressive and accepting of much, even while the church was not. It was a time of great change and great acceptance. There were traveling foreigners, ideas and goods from faraway lands, many new customs and practices, constantly-emerging inventions and improvements, massive public works projects, and a whole mindset of growth and permissibility. Leonardo himself was a bit of an eccentric dresser and took great pride in his beautiful clothes; it was not a time of timid conservatism.

Also, people like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, etc were rockstars. The fact that they happened to have same-sex romances was not a scandal like it would be today (or, say, 50 years ago). People would hear that they had a new painting or sculpture completed, or anything else, and they would come from miles to look at it and be entertained, moved, etc. Punishing them for pursuing same-sex love would be counterproductive and massively unpopular. Although it did happen, just typically not to people with such stature and public admiration. Theater was popular, as was poetry and music, but for the visual arts the best artists were like the celebrities of their day.

So I guess a more concise answer would be that a) the sexual landscape was more complex and not as focused on the whole 1 man and 1 woman thing, b) many powerful Italian city-states weren’t bothered by same-sex relationships, and c) people like Leonardo had a bit of a free pass anyway due to their celebrity status. He used his political connections and clout to secure royal intervention for family members’ financial squabbles even.

https://retrospectjournal.com/2019/11/10/homosexuality-in-renaissance-florence-the-ambiguities-of-neoplatonic-thought/

https://oxfordre.com/politics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-1245

I would like to add to this picture that this is not to say that homosexuality wasn’t criminalized. For example in Florence there was a police organization nicknamed “The Office of the Night” whose task it was to find those committing sodomy. However, it seems as though they mainly just issued small fines—many of which were never even collected. It is unclear what the exact climate was in Florence, but it was certainly more libertine than many other places in Europe.

Leonardo was taken on as a courtier and mainly worked as a painter, stage designer, prop maker, and entertainer. He did not work in an official military capacity until much later in his life and he did not seem to enjoy it and left shortly thereafter (at that later time he worked for Cesare Borgia of all people, yikes). This letter was an attempt by him to branch out and away from painting, but it did not really pan out that way.

At this time, his painting skills were already well-known and he was of aristocratic class, though illegitimate. Beyond painting, he enjoyed experimenting and creating curios. He even used to make fake mythical animals out of other animal parts (and various other things) to wow and amaze people.

Italy at the time, especially Milan, where he was hired in this instance, used art, stage shows, and spectacle to express power and wealth. Leonardo was a useful courtier to have around for the purpose of helping his patrons showcase their sosphistication and nobility. In Italy at the time, the ruling class was intellectual and invested in the arts and learning, so commissioning and funding sources of community pride and respect was a way to gain authority and power. Leonardo was already an accomplished painter and therefore a practical asset to secure.

Milan at the time had a newly installed and wealthly ruling family led by Ludovico Sforza, who needed to consolidate his power, express his authority, and make Milan proud to have him in power. So naturally, he commissioned many works of art and theater—most glorifying his own family and Milan. During these years that Leonardo worked for the Duke of Milan he created stageshows, theater props, portraits, poems, and was even commissioned to make an enormous equestrian statue to honor the family. It was to be the biggest equestrian statue in the world and would have brought great renown. 70 tons of bronze was secured for its construction—it would have been monumental, quite literally. Leonardo worked for a long time perfecting various casting techniques and furnace arrangements that would be needed to successfully mold and pour the statue. He even made a full-size clay model of the statue, which drew crowds from all over Italy. Unfortunately, the lingering conflict with France got worse before its completion and the bronze was used for cannon.

On that note, shortly thereafter the French invaded and captured Milan. Leonardo was friendly with them during their occupation, so before Ludovico Sforza recaptured the city he fled to Venice to avoid his wrath. He then moved around a few times and ended up settling back in Florence, where he had begun his career as an apprentice before starting his employment with Ludovico Sforza. After several years had passed, he moved back to Milan in 1506, now under French influence, where he stayed and worked for some time. Then he moved to Rome in 1513 at the bequest and patronage of the legendary Medici family, who employed him for several years. He finally moved to France in 1516 to live closely with King Francis I, officially as a court painter, but mainly as an advisor, tutor, and friend. King Francis esteemed, adored, and treasured Leonardo and took very good care of him until Leonardo’s death in 1519 at the age of 67.

One part of Leonardo’s life that seems to never be talked about is that he was gay. Not privately either, he was openly gay. Florence and Milan (and other places in Italy and France) at those times were more progressive in many ways than we are today.

I made this comment because it often is said that Leonardo was a military engineer when in truth he rarely worked in such capacities. He was a painter and artist, an impresario, a valued courtier, and a man always esteemed for his great experiential knowledge and abilities of detailed study. His work as a military engineer were mainly a couple stints surveying fortifications, a mere blip in a long life of artistic creation and beautiful academic study.

The flying car is for the employer exploiting your labor and making all the money off of you. Duh.

Running heat/AC off of batteries feels unrealistic to me. What will you be charging them with?