In the illumination for July, the Limbourg brothers provided another bucolic scene. In this detail you can see two peasants hard at work shearing sheep -- hot work on a sunny summer day, but it must have felt good for the sheep to lose its heavy, warm wool. See more summer agricultural work in front of the solid Château du Clain in the page for July in the Les Très Riches Heures Image Gallery.

Did the Vikings believe their dead played games on their voyage to the afterlife? That's what Dr. Howard Williams from the University of Chester stated when commenting on the recent discovery of 23 rare amber gaming pieces in a boat grave. An archaeological team excavated the grave, dating back to the 9th century, at Skamby in Ostergotland, in South Sweden. Find out more in the item by Mohit Joshi at Top News.

Scandinavians were were known to play board games and engage in other hobbies to while away the long winters. Find out more about Viking Life and Society in these resources compiled by your Guide.