History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.
I was looking for reaction to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol from his contemporaries when I came upon a collection of the author’s other Christmas works. The work, Household Words: Christmas Stories, 1851-1858, was a compilation of short stories and reflections that Dickens had authored over the years. Among them are stories such as “What […]
Freedom of will. A crucial point for Erasmus. In his De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio (1524), he lampoons the Lutheran view on free will. He lays down both sides of the argument impartially. In response, Luther wrote his De servo arbitrio (On the Bondage of the Will) (1525), which attacks the “Diatribe” and Erasmus […]
There was one survivor from that fateful day on the 25th June 1876, when Lt.- Col George “General” Armstrong Custer led five troops of the 7th Cavalry in his fatal attack on Chief Sitting Bull’s combined Sioux and Cheyenne encampment at the Little Big Horn. Two days later, when General Terry’s force arrived at the […]
There was a program on the History Channel program about the origins of Frankenstein and the inspiration for Mary Shelley, who was only in her teens at the time she wrote her famous book in 1815 (published 1818). Frankenstein presented a timeless classic of a doctor who creates a person with sewn-together body parts and […]
Older generation historians structured their monographs around great man themes. Today’s generation of historians focus less on significant actors in history, and more on cultural and ideological based themes. Is this a step forward or backward in historical method practice? Or are there times when both are appropriate?
What struck me was, had this been followed, WWII could possibly have been averted (IMHO). What also struck me was how it would have been impossible to follow it (which it wasn’t) and how naive Wilson was to think it had even a chance of being accepted. France and Great Britain could have cared less […]
Originating in eighth century Wessex, the Anglo-Saxon shire system would replace the Roman Provinces as the British standard of local government. Throughout the eighth and ninth centuries the system gradually expanded to cover the whole of England. A Shire which usually took its name from its principle city was governed by an Eldorman, a noble […]
The most well-known work of prehistoric sculpture today is likely the Venus of Willendorf. Call it what you will – the “Woman” of Willendorf, if you must – it is a classic work of prehistoric craftsmanship that is an object of curiosity as well as amazement to those who see it for the first time. […]
The fifth century B.C. was a significant period in ancient Greek history and witnessed a vibrant intellectual and cultural milieu that greatly influenced the development of Greek philosophy. This era, often referred to as the Golden Age of Greece, saw the rise of city-states, including Athens, which became a center of intellectual and artistic achievements. […]
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