The History Thread!

Speaking of medieval history, I've recently become fascinated with the Crusades thanks to viewing the Kingdom Of Heaven Director's Cut over the summer.

Honestly, it was one of the most underrated films that I've ever seen - and I personally found it much more interesting and dare I say it, educational (the film does an excellent job at setting the scenes and atmosphere), than most other fantasy-esque sword works such as Game Of Thrones or Lord Of The Rings.

I wouldn't say educational. Entertaining certainly educational not so much.

edited 27th Aug '15 2:41:04 AM by TuefelHundenIV

Educational in the sense that it prompted me to research more into the subject matter - I personally believe that Hollywood historical films educate by raising awareness of a topic, and inspiring audiences to look into it more instead of telling everything as a documentary would.

Most people, myself included, didn't even know that Baldwin IV existed despite how badass he was as the world's probably only leper monarch in history.

Well, most people don't really play Crusader Kings II so there's that...

You might be disturbed to discover just how many people don't bother and take works of fiction at too much face value. Apparently being a history professor is very aggravating.

That much is certainly true, and it's particularly aggravating when nihilism is discussed, or the economics and politics of the Victorian era.

It takes quite some time to remove the confirmation bias many have suffered from and try to actually educate them on various matters without them thinking that say Nietzsche was 3edgy5them or that he was basically a mad bomber who wanted to throw a petrol bomb at Bismark.

"he was basically a mad bomber who wanted to throw a petrol bomb at Bismark."

Eh?

Some people seriously think of Nietzsche as being this mad German punk who said 'BURN AND BOMB EVERYTHING' due to comedic portrayals which run purely on Rule of Funny.

The only Rule of Funny portrayal I know of Friedrich was an advertisement where he was together with some other dead writers playing poker and saying he hated being called "Nietzchezinho"

Germans don't like being called Brazilians, that would be natural and not even funny at all. That's why this happened. LOL

Except he wasn't called Brazillian at all.

"Nietzchezinho" is the diminutive form in Portuguese of his surname.

I kept it in the original because "Little Nietzche" just doesn't has the same impact to me.

edited 28th Aug '15 4:42:44 AM by SaintDeltora

For reference, Brazillian in Portuguese is Brasileiro.

Huge LEGO diorama of the Battle of Waterloo with 2134 custom minifigures.

Just in a quick glance I recognize Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, the big French cavalry attacks in the afternoon, what looks like Napoleon's retreat...

There was a beautiful miniatures display of the battle at Waterloo 2015.

Chaotic Greek urban planning policies are truly timeless. 5,000 years old Bronze Age Greek city found underwater.

Ok I am further into the book and he has discussed chain mail from origin to Medieval use and composition. There is a good chance mail may have been way more hit or miss then many people give it credit for. This is a combination of factors including the fact the mail armor was frequently recycled or patched with different links. Also given the ever present steel consistency issues with the various qualities of iron and steel it is quite likely various parts of a shirt of mail would have likely given different levels of protection depending on the circumstances of the shirts construction or repair.

Now the one part they did get consistently was using the same general steps for processing the iron at a given forge via control from the forge masters or whoever was in charge. This included trying to keep up using a good quality or type of iron and coal/charcoal for processing. For instance coal with sulphuric content tended to make iron harder(not steel) but also more brittle it was difficult to forge. There were also likely many incidents of accidental case or edge hardening especially early on. This seems to be born out in samples from swords, armors, and tools alike. They eventually do figure out a way to improve consistency and quality but it doesn't seem to be happening until towards end of the medieval period in Europe. Part of that change is a steady increase in metal working and making becoming a more defined and dedicated industry rather then just an assortment of experts all over the region.

edited 31st Aug '15 10:29:47 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Continuing the theme of Iron Working A look at traditional iron working in Africa courtesy of Christopher D. Roy.

Clues from ancient Maya reveal lasting impact on environment: "Evidence from the tropical lowlands of Central America reveals how Maya activity more than 2,000 years ago not only contributed to the decline of their environment but continues to influence today's environmental conditions, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Synthesizing old and new data, researchers were the first to show the full extent of the "Mayacene" as a microcosm of the early anthropocene — a period when human activity began greatly affecting environmental conditions."

Pottery brings to life the path of early Pacific people: "A 3000-year-old fragment of pottery has solved a mystery behind the movement of an ancient people of South East Asia into the Pacific.

These ancient colonisers - known as Lapita - carried with them agricultural plants derived from mainland New Guinea. However, until now there has been no evidence of an early connection between the Lapita and indigenous New Guineans.

Now, a new analysis of pottery pieces found at a site in the New Guinea Highlands reveals a connection dating back to the time before the Lapita moved into the remote Pacific."

While it was still part of the already crumbling British Empire at the time, was it true that, during World War II, Belize, which was back then called British Honduras, sent men to fight in the British Army?

Yes. Belize was part of the Empire at that time, so it's logical they sent troops. A lot of Belizean soldiers saw action in Italy and Egypt.

Since Tuef's been posting insights on steelmaking in the Middle Ages, I figure it's worth linking this article from De Re Militari, examining some stereotypes and myths of Medieval-era warfare. De Re Militari is an excellent historical resource in general—I'm currently reading through its PDF version of a biography of Sir John Hawkwood, adventurer, mercenary, and condotierre.

I have read that before. One thing that shocks me still is that people considered knights to be bumbling unprofessional soldiers rather then extensively trained professionals meant to field troops and serve in a larger military machine.

So today, 7th of September, 193 years ago (in 1822 to spare readers the horrors of math), Brazil declared Independency from Portugal with Dom Pedro I's Ipiranga Cry ("Independency or Death!"). As a Brazilian I feel this is a relevant day to be remembered, despite all the tragedies and bloodshed involved in it. For good or for ill, it is the day our country was forged.

A looong while ago I did a five-post series giving a overview of the Brazilian Independance. Today I'll re-read them in honor of this day, feel free to join me! Brazilian Independency Part I.

Brazilian Independancy Part II: Electric Boogaloo.

Brazilian Independancy Part III: Portugal Strikes Back.

Brazilian Independancy Part IV: The Wrath Of Cochrane.

Brazilian Independancy V: In Which A Country Is Made.

edited 7th Sep '15 9:39:06 AM by Gaon

I believe that that line of thought can be mainly attributed to the perceptions of knights from the layman's perspective, where the soldiering classes could understandably be held in contempt as destructive gung-ho troublemakers seeking to justify their own violent existence. The reputation of the Japanese samurai and the Greek Spartans readily comes into mind.

Happy independence day! Sorry for the damages caused. Oh, and, if you ever decide to come back, just say so. (Bah, why am I kidding myself?)

edited 7th Sep '15 11:01:37 AM by Quag15