Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hollywood vs History: The Vikings (on History Channel)

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

In the last decade television (particularly the “Premium” cable networks) has been the best forum to find really good historical drama. “Rome” (2005-2007), The Tudors (2007-2010), ”The Borgias” (2011-present): Rather than trying to cram the life-and-times of some great historical personage into … Continue reading →

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A MOST SANGUINARY AFFAIR: BLOODY TOWTON

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

On a bleak, windswept plateau in Yorkshire, on Palm Sunday 1461,  two Medieval armies clashed amidst a snowstorm; brutally hacking-and-slashing with sword, halberd and bill in what was to prove the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. It would … Continue reading →

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History Bites: Warpaint!

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

Beginning with our earliest caveman ancestors, men have painted themselves before venturing forth to hunt or go to war. “War-paint” is used to this day, as we see modern warriors on the gridiron today, at the Super Bowl, painting their faces before entering the field … Continue reading →

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THE CRUSADES, PART THREE: CRUSADERS GONE WILD!

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

In 1204 a singular event occurred which shook the Western World: Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman (“Byzantine”) Empire,  long the bastion of Eastern Christendom and bulwark against Islamic expansion, was captured and sacked. Not by its Muslim enemies; but … Continue reading →

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THE CRUSADES, PART TWO: THE THIRD CRUSADE

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

(For Part One, go here) SALADIN AND RICHARD In 1187, Saladin invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem, after numerous provocations by over-zealous Crusader lords. He met and defeated the Kingdom’s army at the Battle of Hattin (also called the  “Horns of … Continue reading →

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HISTORY BITES: SON OF A GUN!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

Though seldom used today, a centuries-old exclamation in our language is, “Son of a gun!” This term is used in a variety of ways reflecting very different emotions; from admiration and excitement, to mild annoyance, to a euphemism for the more offensive … Continue reading →

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THE AGE OF ARTHUR: PART SEVENTEEN

Posted on October 26, 2012 by

This is the seventeenth-part of our discussion of Britain in the so-called Age of Arthur: the 5th though the mid-6th Century A.D. It is a fascinating period, with the Classical civilization of Greece and Rome giving way to the Germanic … Continue reading →

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THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS: 1066 A.D.

Posted on October 14, 2012 by

THE YEAR OF THE THREE KINGS Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. Called by many historians one of the “Decisive Battles of History”, Hastings was the culmination of years of dynastic intrigue surrounding the English throne; following … Continue reading →

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THE LAST HURRAH OF THE WINGED HUSSARS

Posted on September 21, 2012 by

“We saw it…. the hussars let loose their horses.  God, what power! They ran through the smoke and the sound was like that of a thousand blacksmiths beating with a thousand hammers. We saw it…Jezus Maria! The elite’s lances bent … Continue reading →

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MEET THE SPARTANS (Part Six)

Posted on September 13, 2012 by

THE REAL STORY OF THE WARRIOR-HEROES OF ANCIENT GREECE! “For the Spartans, it wasn’t walls or magnificent public buildings that made a city; it was their own ideals. In essence, Sparta was a city of the head and the heart. … Continue reading →

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