I'm working on a screenplay dramatizing the Battle of Monmouth - largely because it seems like an amazing cast of characters. In order to write the dialogue, I would love to get as much info as I can about the personalities of the various characters (their opinions, mannerisms, preoccupations, reputations, etc.)

Some figures (like Washington and Hamilton) I feel like I have a strong handle on. But others, I would love to learn more about. (Finding succinct information about the actions of these people is not that difficult, but finding summaries of their personalities has been significantly harder.)

Some specific figures of interest:

Major General Charles Lee

Marquis de Lafayette

John Laurens

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

General Nathanael Greene

Lord Stirling, General William Alexander

Mary Ludwig Hays

General "Mad" Anthony Wayne

General Henry Knox

General Charles Cornwallis

Sir Henry Clinton

​

Any material regarding the personalities of these characters would be greatly appreciated!

There were quite a few of these, and I'm not striving for accuracy here, "Phillip le Hardi", "Peter the Great", "Roger the Stammer", calling a King or Duke a stammerer or even bastard seemed permissible, and then it stopped. Was this because people didn't use to have surnames, or because of illiteracy, or some other cause that it would have ceased to be a trend?

Hey everyone, I've really been getting into world history lately but one area I'm finding it difficult to find good video resources on is Southeast Asia. The wiki here and on r/history have a lot of book resources but far fewer documentaries.

I'm specifically looking for documentaries because it's the medium I find easiest to learn from (adhd gang). I'm looking for an broad treatment of both peninsular and maritime southeast Asia including cultural and geopolitical history pre- and post-colonisation if possible, presented without bias (so I'm not really interested in "history of vietnam in x minutes" youtube videos). I'm willing to look at both free and paid resources, whether single- or multi-parted.

I know this might be a difficult ask, considering documentaries are produced far less often than books. I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and reply to the post. Thank you in advance!

I put medieval in quotes because I'm not fully sure if it's truly medieval, but the point of history where kings and queens ruled and a currency was established, The general timezone that most medieval fantasy books are based on...

To explain the question more, When I say average citizen, I mean both the ones living close to or inside the main royal city as well as those who live on the outskirts of the country. I found out from reading about something called the hundred-year war that heavy taxes would happen and that some villagers and farms near the battlefield would be destroyed but other than that I couldn't find much.

Would the average life change much other than things costing more?

Would they still hold the big festivals or fairs that merchants gather at?

Most of the knowledge I have about medieval times is unfortunately from video games, books/movies, and the information that I could find with google. I'm asking so a story I'm writing feels a lot more realistic than if there was a war going on but everyone was unaffected by it. I tried researching but I can't seem to find much myself.

When you listen to English in the Anglosphere both Canadian and American English seem to have lost many of the features that would make it sound quite as “British”.

In comparison Australia and New Zealand which were also settler colonies of the UK both have adapted to what sounds like a regional variety of British English - As in the difference between a London accent and a Scottish accent Is similar to the difference between a London accent and an Australian. Whereas North Americans sound significantly more different?

So I’m reading Burr by Gore Vidal, I know it’s historical fiction but Vidal is known for his extensive research. There is constant reference to George Washington having a massive rump. Is there any truth to this? Can’t find anything online.

I’ve always understood (from constant debates about firearm restrictions) that it was intended to guarantee citizens the right to protect themselves from government forces (“a well-regulated militia”).

But it occurs to me that it might have been intended to prevent any interference in controlling slaves, i.e. so that white prior could always have supremacy of violence over slaves. Basically, I wonder if—as originally written—it was intended in part to protect the institution of slavery (same category as the 3/5 rule).

Why did the western roman catholic church ban cousin marriages in the medieval period?

A lot of people talk about how catholic church's ban on cousin marriage led to individualism and the birth of western civilization in the medieval period.

But not a lot of people talk about how and why that came to be.

Also what other things did the church do that contributed to the rise of individualism and why did they do it?

New thread made on request by u/alkibiades415.

You mention that there is evidence of breaks in religious tradition at some sites, before they restarted at a later date. Was there continuity in the practices at those sites? As in, would the same or similar gods be worshiped, using existing facilities and similar ritual practices? Or would the "new" worshipers have simply coopted the old site for usage in their "new" religion?

With the death of Abe Shinzo, I remembered all the times news would talk about him going to the Yasukuni Shrine.

While I feel that he going there was more about constructing a narrative about Japan than worshipping, I still gave a read about the state of shrines in modern Japan.

To my surprise, it seems a lot of them count members of Japan traditional families (e.g., people with royal blood or ties to the LDP) as priests. At least if my reading of Wikipedia is right.

This would suggest that Shinto is not just a symbol (like I assume the Emperor is) but an actual player on Japanese politics.

If this is true, I would like to understand how it came to be so and why.

With the results of WWII and Emperor officially renouncing divinity, I would assume any left-over influence of State Shinto would wane. And Japanese people don't seem so religious from my point of view - but I live in Brazil, so may views on religions may be too biased towards frequent, collective cerimonies ministered by a figure of authority.

Hi guys. I'm doing a bit of amateur research on the religious practices of the Pre-Norman and Pre-Schism Old English orthodox church, and as an Orthodox myself I'm wondering if anyone knows of any material that would actually give me texts of an Old English Western Rite Divine Liturgy, if such a thing exists. I've been reading Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which is good at describing some aspects of English and Irish monasticism and asceticism, but not so much day to day services and so on. Any material relating to this, be it Church documents, historical analysis or any modern translations of the liturgy into Old English would be super helpful. Its my hope to be able to reconstruct this as it would serve well as the Liturgical language for English Orthodoxy. Thanks.

In The Dawn of Everything Graeber and Wengrow write:

"In the Middle Ages, most people in other parts of the world who actually knew anything about northern Europe at all considered it an obscure and uninviting backwater full of religious fanatics who, aside from occasional attacks on their neighbours (‘the Crusades’), were largely irrelevant to global trade and world politics.1"

The footnote is: "In his (2009) Europe Through Arab Eyes, 1578–1727,Nabil Matar considers the relative lack of interest in Frankish Europe among medieval Muslim writers, and possible reasons for it (especially, pp. 6–18)."

Large parts of Europe were part of the Holy Roman Empire, that included northern Italy whose city states were important trading powers. Earlier in the middle ages the Normans conquered Sicily etc. This is why I found this passage a bit strange, especially as the footnote refers only to medieval Muslim writers and seems to refer to a period fof the middle ages that is quite late.

So, does this claim make any sense?

My wife is writing a story based in the early 1900's, and I would like to get some interesting facts to show her and get some inspiration.

All facts are welcome. In particular, she is trying to figure out how inheritances work if a widow dies. How were possessions distributed?

Specifically did the US during the Cold War or any other time send someone who was so bland as Melissa McCarthy's character in the move to act as a spy... with the caveat that she was playing a spy "support" role before she was sent into service?

How do did the Anglo-Saxons before Christianity was introduced believe the world was formed? Who was involved? How did their story go? Asking for either a story/paraphrase/summary of their creation story or just any details on the creation account. Any help is much appreciated!

My ancestor Mary Bradbury (Perkins) was a victim of the Salem witch trial and I found it very interesting two of her sons, Wymond and Jacob Bradbury died in West Indies/Barbados, 1669.

The eldest son, Wymond, was a father with a pregnant wife. I would assume he left them behind in Massachusetts? A pregnant woman wouldn’t have made that voyage? I’m just wondering, historically speaking, what was the world like at that time? What would posses a couple of brothers to travel that far away, leaving their families? I also find it very interesting they both died the same year.

I’ve read a lot of 1st hand Greek mythology texts before but I’ve never really read either of the eddas before. I just watched Thor Ragnarock in preparation for love and Thunder, and I wanted to read the original norse version, but since I’ve never really experienced norse texts, I don’t know what is a good translation?

Related extra/alternative questions: Why was the Dreadnaught designed when it was (1905), and not earlier or later? Could a dreadnaught-like battleship have been implemented earlier, and would it have been similarly effective? How early would be too early?