I like studying history, I really do. I'm one of those people who thinks an hour long lecture on the finer points of Roman politics sounds interesting, at least most of the time. But there's something I learned from being saturated with all these details and conflicting academic perspectives: the key issues are often pretty … Continue reading History: if you want the crux of it, ask a layman
The two biggest mistakes you can make learning a new language or studying history are thinking, "They're exactly like me," and, "They're nothing like me." It's so natural to drift between these two extremes in both scenarios and yet I think that the more we're conscious of our tendency to think in this way, the … Continue reading Studying history is like learning a new language
What does the Kalevala have to do with longsword fighting? It's Finnish, longsword sources are in German and Italian, what's up? When reading about the Kalevala I realised a number of things about magic in pre-industrial societies. I think I've realised what, in a very real sense, it was for. Or at least one part … Continue reading Poetry, swords and the Finnish National Epic—the mystical roots of HEMA
Last week I showed you a photo of a Minoan (Cretan) fresco at Tell el-Dab'a. Did you realise that was in Egypt? Let's think about that for a second. Why is it there? Those of us who study Ancient History are aware of Greek cities all around the Mediterranean by the time Rome came along, … Continue reading The unknown Magna Graecia and a problem with archaeology
One of the first things you'll see if you study (or google) the Minoans is the "bull-leaping" fresco. You'll see a guy somersaulting over a charging bull. Pretty neat. And, you would have thought, pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, academics have decided to debate the otherwise rather straightforward explanation and it is this phenomenon I'd like to … Continue reading Minoan bull-leaping—fact or fiction? (And does it really matter?)
"[...] wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all—it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention." Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey. "I know it is the fashion … Continue reading History or Fiction… you can’t have both, can you?
So, to start with, what is HEMA? The acronym stands for Historical European Martial Arts. Fine. What's it all about? Basically, we realised we had a bunch of previously forgotten manuscripts which were dedicated to teaching you how to fight—ranging from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the Early Modern Era. Ever wanted to … Continue reading HEMA—A historian’s perspective
That's what most people think of when they hear the name. Good old Theseus slaying the dastardly Minotaur in the labyrinth of Knossos. But how much of this actually squares up with history itself? The people of the Bronze Age who inhabited Knossos are called the Minoans, at least by us. Did they have magical … Continue reading Ariadne, like, that princess in the maze with the Minotaur, right?