Historiansplaining: A Historian Tells You Why Everything You Know Is Wrong

They rained terror and destruction on Christian lands across Europe as far as Spain and Constantinople, before turning their attention away from raiding towards permanent settlement and the founding of new societies, from Ukraine to Normandy to Greenland. There has never been an explosion of exploration and aggression quite like the Viking expansion of the early Middle Ages -- we discuss the motives behind the expansion, which are rooted in the religious mismatch between Scandinavia and mainland Europe, the technologies that made it possible, the prizes and targets at which they aimed, the victories and setbacks that they encountered, the imprints that they left behind, and the winds of change that ultimately brought an end to the Viking adventure. Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King," from the Peer Gynt suite, by Grieg, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, published by Musopen Image: The "Lindisfarne Stone," a gravestone from Lindisfarne Monastery, Holy Island, 9th Century Please si

I update listeners on the podcast's new partnership with a producer, and provide a short clip of the latest patron-only lecture on the rediscovery of the lost early history of sound recording, ranging from French space lasers to a long-lost recording of a German leader singing an American folk song and the "Marseillaise." Special thanks to the First Sounds collective, for recovering long-lost audio recordings and sharing their files freely with the global public, at www.firstsounds.org. All audio files used in this lecture are courtesy of First Sounds, except for the Edison/Wangemann cylinder recording from 1889, which is courtesy of the National Park Service and the Cylinder Archive. Please sign up to hear the full lecture! -- https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

--Made of brass, most likely in France, ca. 1720-1750 --1 inch long, with depictions of St. Ignatius Loyola & Saint Mary with Latin inscriptions --Found in ruins of Fort Michilimackinac; in collection of Mackinac State Historic Parks, Michigan A small brass religious medallion found in the house of a French fur trader inside a fortress on the remote Straits of Mackinac shows the immense power of small numbers of merchants and missionaries to control sprawling networks of diplomacy and trade, stretching from Europe all the way into the deep interior of North America, and to sway the course of wars and imperial power struggles. Special thanks to Mackinac State Historic Parks and Dr. Lynn Evans for their help in producing this lecture.

We have all seen images of axe-wielding Vikings raining destruction upon the shores of medieval Europe -- but who were these berserking Norsemen and where did they come from? What society produced them? How did the Scandinavians of the Viking age understand the world and their place in it? We examine the Norsemen's complex and mysterious cosmos described in the poems and prophesies of the Eddas, and compare it to the realities of survival, trade, kingship, politics, warfare, art, gender, and the family in Scandinavia from the eight to eleventh centuries, as reconstructed from surviving documents and the latest archaeology. Image: top section of the Hunninge picture stone, island of Gotland, Sweden, 8th century. Music: "In the Hall of the Mountain King," from Peer Gynt suite, composed by Edvard Grieg, performed by Czech National Symphony Orchestra, published by Musopen. Suggested further readings: Neil Price, "Children of Ash and Elm"; Else Roesdahl, "The Vikings" Please sign up as a patron to hear

We consider some of the major events of this year in light of their historical roots, from the abortion ruling to the Ukraine war; in particular, we consider the Twitter controversy in light of the history of media monopolies beginning with the telegraph, and the crisis over railroad labor in light of the railways strike of 1922, exactly one century ago. First video segment of my appearance on the Katie Halper Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8ZKcL8SHE&t=3s&ab_channel=KatieHalper Relevant articles: On the history of abortion as invoked in the Dobbs debate: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/arts/roe-v-wade-abortion-history.html On the roots and history of the anti-abortion movement: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12340403/ https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2016/november/abolishing-abortion-the-history-of-the-pro-life-movement-in-america/ On Western Union and its choke-hold on the telegraph system: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/05/how-the-robber-barons-hijacked-the-victorian-internet

“Cowboys and Indians.” For most Americans, the words evoke a sinister game, representing a timeless enmity between the forces of civilization and savagery. In actual historical fact, cowboys and Indians were symbiotic trading partners, and many cowboys were Indians themselves; but the image of the cowboy as a conqueror and as the bearer of civilization into the “Wild West” has become central to the American national myth. We trace how the romantic self-image of the 19th-century buckaroos as modern-day knights gradually evolved into the iconography of gunslingers battling on the untamed frontier, from early dime novels to grand “horse operas” to Hollywood Westerns and science fiction, and finally to the new fable of the gay cowboy. Image: Frederic Remington, "Shotgun Hospitality," 1908 Suggested reading: Russell Martin, "Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the Wild West"; Richard Slotkin, "The Fatal Environment" & "Gunfighter Nation." Please sign up to support and hear patron-only lectures, including Myth o

I update listeners about my recent work, including for the upcoming symposium issue of Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, about my hope of beginning a collaboration with a producer to work on videos and on lectures about music, and about the crisis created by banks and credit cards declining patrons' pledges to the podcast. Please go to Patreon to see whether your pledges have been processed, or to sign up as a patron if you have not already: https://www.patreon.com/posts/history-of-in-20-74790682 The recently launched podcast website: www.historiansplaining.com

I speak with historian Tobias Harper about about the evolving and growing role of the British crown as the head of the voluntary sector in a neoliberal, atomizing, and celebrity-driven society. We examine both the "magic of the royal touch" and the hard-nosed bureaucratic calculations that it can serve to obscure, as captured in Toby's book, "From Servants of the Empire to Everyday Heroes: The British Honours System in the Twentieth Century." Toby's recent article on the current challenges to the monarchy: https://theconversation.com/charles-iii-faces-challenges-at-home-abroad-and-even-in-defining-what-it-means-to-be-king-190339 Image: Bono holding up the medal recognizing his honorary knighthood, 2007 Please sign on to support this podcast and hear the patron-only materials: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

What is the signifcance of Robin Hood as an outlaw -- a person declared legally dead -- who lives in the greenwood, where life is constantly renewed? Why does Shakespeare heavily allude to Robin in his Henry IV plays? And most significantly, was there a real Robin Hood, or is he a pure creation of myth and folklore? We consider the possibilities and scrutinize the evidence. Suggested further reading: Maurice Keen, "The Outlaws of Medieval Legend"; J. C. Holt, "Robin Hood"; A. J. Pollard, "Imagining Robin Hood." Please support in order to hear all the patron-only materials: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

James II was Britain's shortest-reigning monarch of the entire early modern age -- yet his brief rule caused a dramatic rupture, which in turn opened the door to the transformation of the kingdom into the constitutional, commercial, imperial state that we know as modern Britain. Was it because of his Catholic faith? His resolute -- or pig-headed -- personality? His determination to rule absolutely, like his ally Louis XIV? Or, as some have argued, was James too far ahead of his time in his belief in freedom of conscience? We consider the complex life and personality of the ill-fated king, as well as the class conflicts and ideological shifts that let to the so-called "Glorious Revolution" and the beginnings of the modern state. Please sign up as a patron to hear patron-only lectures, including the previous installment of "Doorways in Time" on The Library of Ashurbanipal: www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

We examine the so-called "zero point of history," the "first temple," the "world's oldest building," the massive and deeply ancient complex of stone-age megalithic monuments on a hilltop in Turkey, which since being uncovered in the 1990s, has dramatically overturned received ideas about the beginnings of civilization. Please sign up as a patron to hear patron-only lectures, including the previous installment of "Doorways in Time" on The Library of Ashurbanipal: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

In the final lecture on Florida, we examine how the tropical state, thanks to innovations like DDT, orange-juice concentrate, and air conditioning, was able to boom at an unimaginable pace, rocketing into the top five biggest states in the union, with massive scientific and artistic communities, a diverse immigrant mosaic, and after the Civil Rights movement, exceptionally volatile and unpredictable politics. We consider the importance of the last great expression of Florida utopianism -- namely, Disney World -- and the shift into a perceived playground of anarchy and American dreams gone mad, as personified in the notorious "Florida Man." Rolling Stone article outline ways to help Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico following Hurricane Ian: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hurricane-ian-victims-help-donate-florida-puerto-rico-cuba-dominican-republic-1234601215/ Suggested further reading: Gannon, "Florida: A Short History"; Nolan, "Fifty Feet in Paradise: The Booming

Sam interviews historian Margarita Fajardo, a professor of history at Sarah Lawrence College, about her new book, “The World That Latin America Created,” which traces how a movement of scholars and statesmen centering around CEPAL, a UN economic commission based in Santiago, Chile, formulated a new world-view and far-reaching agenda to foster unity and development in Latin America; the so-called “Capalinos” rose to dominance and set the policy agenda in Brazil and other countries in the 1950s and ‘60s and then set the stage for dependency theory, which took the world by storm in the 1970s. We also discuss how the travails of the Cepalinos might shed light on the transformations currently happening in Chile, Colombia, and other Latin American nations and the horizons that they might open up. Margarita’s book opening will be at: Location: Recirculation (a branch of Wordup Community Bookshop), 876 Riverside Drive, New York, NY Time: Saturday Sept. 24th, starting at 11am. Please support this podcast to hear

We consider how the crisis of legitimacy and breakdown of order following the downfall of the Zhou dynasty spurred on a flowering of philosophy, as various scholars and sages sought new principles to guide life and achieve harmony, giving rise to the enduring teachings of Taoism and Confucianism, as well as other long-forgotten sects ranging from draconian legalists to humanitarian pacifists. Hear the first lecture on China here: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/china-pt-1-making-the-middle-kingdom Image: Song-era painting of a landscape with three men laughing, symbolizing Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Please support this podcast to hear patron-only materials, including the recent lecture on Conspiracy Theories: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

Where do conspiracy theories come from? Why do some people believe in them and not others? Aren't some of them true? And what kind of purpose or agenda is served by setting apart "conspiracy thories" as a distinct realm of thought? We weigh and examine all the different perspectives, and consider why conspiracy theories are an unavoidable and fundamental aspect of modern democracy. This is a short excerpt -- please become a patron at any level to hear the whole discussion and all the patron-only lectures: https://www.patreon.com/posts/myth-of-month-20-70438551

Unlocked after one year for patrons only: The secretive Gnostic stream of Christianity, which taught a radically different metaphysics and spiritual cosmology from "orthodox" doctrine in the first four hundred years of the church, was largely lost to history, until 1945, when a camel-herder in a remote part of Egypt stumbled upon an old ceremic jar with 13 massive books containing 52 ancient Gnostic texts. We consider what the so-called "Nag Hammadi LIbrary," which may have been hidden in the desert to protect it from destruction, reveals about the origins and importance of the Gnostics' secret teachings. Image: A Nag Hammadi codex open to the beginning of the Apocryphon of John. Suggested further reading: Jean Doresse, "The Discovery of the Nag Hammadi Texts"; Elaine Pagels, "The Gnostic Gospels." Please sign up as a patron to hear all patron-only lectures: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

We follow the southward-racing juggernaut of modern Florida, from statehood in 1845 to the 1930s – the insatiable quest of visionaries and megalomaniacs, from Jewish utopians, to slave-driving planters, to evangelical missionaries, to black politicians, to hotel magnates, to messianic cult leaders, to women’s suffragists, to Cuban revolutionaries, to bohemian poets, to impose a sense of order upon the chaotic and unruly wilderness of tropical Florida. Though ignored in our national mythology and dismissed as a southern backwater, the state was the site of the first confrontation of the Civil War, and of the longest-lasting and most aggressive Reconstruction regime, which created the first universal public school system in the South and fostered the first booming tourist economy in America, spearheaded by none other than Harriet Beecher Stowe. We conclude our journey through Florida with an examination of Florida literature, ending with an analysis of Wallace Stevens’ ode to Florida, “The Idea of Order at Ke

We follow the long struggle to build power, wealth, and lasting harmony on the rich but harsh and unforgiving landscape of China – from early farming villages, to the quasi-legendary early emperors, through dynasties obsessed with ritual and divination, the age of fragmentation and warring states, and finally, the dramatic quest for unification by the ruthless emperor that gave China its name. We learn the causes and contexts for the creation of the first Great Wall, the invention of wet rice farming and hydraulic engineering, the composition of ancient classics like the I Ching and the Art of War, and the appearance of the powerful philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism. Hear my previous lecture on the discovery of the Terracotta Army that guards the tomb of the first Qin emperor: https://www.patreon.com/posts/59523522 Suggested further reading: Li Feng, “Early China”; Yap & Cotterell, “The Early Civilization of China” Image: Bronze ceremonial vessel from Zhou dynasty Please sign up as a patron to

--Three pendant amulets, in form of a forearm with closed fist --made of silver; ---about ½ inch to 2/3 inches long --found in midden at site of Spanish outpost, Los Adaes, in present-day Louisiana --dated to 18th century These three silver amulets in the form of a fist, found among the remains of the Spanish colonial fortress of Los Adaes in modern-day Louisiana, were intended to protect women and infants against the evil eye during childbirth. They reflect the fear, conflict, and struggle over control of sex and reproduction, as well as good and evil magic, at a remote colonial outpost. Please support to hear all patron-only lectures, including the previous installment of "100 Objects" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/61475405 Link to Twitter Space discussion for listeners and supporters, on July 2nd: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ypKdEwVRWgGW?s=20

Unlocked after a year for patrons only: An elaborately carved oak chest of unknown origin, but marked with the initials of a young unmarried lady, exemplifies the first regional artistic style ever to arise in the American colonies -- the "Hadley Chests" of the Connecticut River valley. Suggested reading: Clair Franklin Luther, "The Hadley Chest." The Winterthur Museum catalog entry on the chest, with more photos: http://museumcollection.winterthur.org/single-record.php?resultsperpage=20&view=catalog&srchtype=advanced&hasImage=&ObjObjectName=&CreOrigin=&Earliest=&Latest=&CreCreatorLocal_tab=&materialsearch=&ObjObjectID=&ObjCategory=&DesMaterial_tab=&DesTechnique_tab=&AccCreditLineLocal=&CreMarkSignature=&recid=1958.0696&srchfld=&srchtxt=hadley+chest&id=452a&rownum=1&version=100&src=results-imagelink-only