Historical museums are filled with artifacts that have changed history, such as the Declaration of Independence, pieces of the Parthenon, and remnants of Viking vessels like Sutton Hoo.
However, even mundane things can carry a strange history; until the twentieth century, a museum in Modena, Italy, boasted a bucket said to have caused the War of the Bucket, making it history's most famous pail.
Wars have been fought in defense of many noble values, like freedom and liberty, and political issues, like national boundaries and royal successions across the globe.
However, some wars are fought over much less noble things, and one of the strangest is the War of the Bucket.
Named for the bucket that played a critical role in one of the most significant battles in the medieval era, this war appears to have been fought over a trifle.
Even in the Middle Ages, buckets were common enough that they weren't worth a whole war.
Yet this fight caused the death of around two thousand people, so it's time to dive into this unusual conflict.
It did not immediately impact northern Italian politics or leave any lasting changes on warfare in the Middle Ages, but it reminds us of the complexities and trivialities that can push people into violence at the drop of a bucket.
Was this war actually fought over a stolen bucket?
The legend states the war began when some Modenese soldiers snuck into the center of Bologna and found a bucket at a well.
