When we think of great classical music we think of symphonies etc, and that’s still considered a marker of class and sophistication, but there was lots of popular folk music that existed throughout that time period as well.

Do we know what the great composers thought of this music? Did they enjoy a ribald tune like the rest of us? Did they look down their noses at this low form of entertainment? Did they recognize any compositional merit to these tunes?

I’m reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations right now and in paragraph 2 of book 3 he writes:

And ears of corn bending down, and the lion’s eyebrows, and the foam which flows from the mouth of wild boars, and many other things—though they are far from being beautiful, if a man should examine them severely—still, because they are consequently upon the things which are formed by nature, help to adorn them, and they please the mind[.]

I’ve seen other references to corn as well though I finally wanted to ask on seeing this tonight. Does anyone have any ideas or possible explanations?

Let me explain.

I've always been taught that Germany was this military monster and that France was an army in shambles before the Battle of France of 1940. It's what I was taught at school, it's what I've seen reflected in games, movies. I've also always been under the impression that Poland got absolutely walked over by Germany.

I've started to watch the documentary on Netflix called Greatest Events of WWII in Colour and very early in the documentary, after mentioning that the allies declare war on Germany for invading Poland, the following lines are said:

In fact, Hitler is far from ready to fight the combined British and French armies.

It takes his army over 20 days to defeat the poles. Polish resistance has given Hitler's armed forces a major battering and they have lost a substantial number of their armored vehicles.

It becomes evident that Germany isn't equipped for this war. The German forces do have tanks and tank divisions but they only account for a small part of the Wehrmacht.

We (Germany) have not well-trained soldiers, we have no supply, no ammunition, whatever. Poland was the proof that we possibly are not able to fight against a proper army. And France is a proper army. France is the best-rained, best-equipped army in Europe. How can we, as Germans, win?

The specialists talking are:

• Dr Peter Lieb, Historian Potsdam, Germany.
• Sönke Neitzel, Profession of War Studies, Potsdam.

I'm especially surprised by the lines that I bolded. So was Germany really this weak and unprepared? Was really France considered the best army in Europe or was it in shambles and disarray? I always felt that the Blitzkrieg tactic always was a lever for the German's army might but now I am realizing that it might have been the sole reason they won?

I'd appreciate someone clearing this up a bit. Maybe the documentary is trying to be a sensationalist?

While I'm aware of podcasts like "Slow Burn" or "Hardcore History", are there any good Historical podcasts about historical figures? Or the oddities in history? Fun things to learn for talking points, interesting people in history. Essentially the things that make history fun and things I can learn to grab people's attention. As well as to grab my own, because while into history, I can't get invested into a textbook or documentary for more than twenty minutes at a time before yawning and going back to my phone, or changing to another topic.

Thanks in advance

I was watching a WWII movie and a scene in it led me to wonder how all the heavy military detritus scattered through France, Germany, Russia, etc. and Europe/northern Africa after the war.

Was it up to whatever new or reestablished governments of the individual countries to deal with them? Were the countries who originally produced and used these vehicles interested in reclaiming any of them, either to restore to working order, to prevent reverse engineering or military technology from being taken and possibly utilized?

How were they even disposed of? Were they taken apart piece by piece and then those hauled off? Were the materials such as metals melted down to be used for other things?

Any insight would be appreciated!

hello i am new to this reddit page but recently i have been very interested in history more specifically i am interested in how past civilizations have risen and fallen, conflicts and actions leading up to war. if you have any books in mind, it would be greatly appreciated

Germany and Italy are mainly what I have in mind with this post. There was not a nation of Italy or Germany until reletively recently, but there was complex regional powers that overlaped in territory and influence like the Papal states, Holy Roman Empire, etc. So when did people think of themselves as Germans and Italians, or other modern European country rather than Prussians, Florentines, Bohemians, etc.

I'm interested in what kinds of ships/people/towns they would rob from, or if they even robbed people all that often at all, how they kept their ships in shape, and what they did when they weren't busy "plundering."

Hello all, I'm not sure if this question is appropriate, but I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a map of the Ohio River Valley that an explorer might have used in the 1790s. I want to get a feel for what landmarks, towns, and natural formations were used to navigate at the time. Thank you!

Then there are ones that break the pattern, notably the Achaemenids and the Qajars, off the top of my head. Also why are so many called the -ids?

Hello everyone, I have to do a man essay on Turkey after the First World War, the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Attaturk regime. If anyone knows of any good source I would appreciate it.

It is my first time posting here, I hope this is the right place, and I apologize for my bad English, is not my native language and I helped myself with a translator.

Thank you very much in advance.

Question is about the legitimate Spanish government in the civil war. Before they weren't the puppet for sure, but through the civil war they became kind of. So, to which extent were they a puppet and what happened in Republican side to be considered as Stalins proxy and puppet?

A friend and I were having a debate about going back in time and blowing their mind with modern technology. But realistically I don't think I can go back to Egypt and explain complex topics.

We’ve seen Anti-Semites for as long as Jews have existed, but I can never find the source.

Not sure if this question is more about history or politics, but if this is the right sub:

How and when did this shift happen where the Republican party became associated with the conservative racists and the Democrats the social progressives compared to the reverse during the Civil War?

Due to... recent events I saw some articles on the history of "Aunt Jemima" and several of them mention that the character was portrayed by a woman named Nancy Green. Unfortunately the articles I found and her wiki basically just say "she was a former slave and then she sold pancakes." Do we know anything else about this person? Sounds like a rather fascinating life story.

I’m wondering if there is any recorded history of Christian colonizers and missionaries (I guess from 1st - 17th century) encountering cultures where there are gender categories that differ from the Western binary, eg. hijras in India.

Obviously, there is the story in Chapter 8 of Acts that talks about the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch. But it’s not clear to me whether a eunuch was considered a separate gender category from male and we don’t have records of how eunuchs were treated in early Christian communities (apart from the fact that they are allowed to be baptized).

Google is yielding a lot of modern results about Christian responses to intersex and transgender people in the West, but that’s not what I’m interested in.

Are there any historical documents or studies of this topic?