In The Concept of Mind, Gilbert Ryle says "It was not until the Middle Ages that people learned to read without reading aloud" (pg. 27), but he provides no citation for this claim.

Is this really true? When Plato and all the Ancient Greeks read anything, they read aloud?

Although the US was not a global power at the time, the country yielded enormous armies on both sides with about 3,000,000 combined fighting men.

Were the US militaries technologically or tactically advanced compared to their European counterparts? Would someone like General Lee or General Sherman be recognized for their military intellect? Did the European powers have the same quality firearms and artillery pieces? And on the Naval side, were the Europeans quick to adopt ironclad ships?

Its episode 15 of season 8.

Hi all!

I’m currently doing a school project on the UK miners strike of 1984-85 and I’m doing research on the violence of the Kentish miners. I can’t currently find anything specific so I was hoping somebody here could help me! I’m kind of desperate at this point so I would really appreciate any help you could give!

I often hear it suggested by Christian apologists that because cultures stretching from the Middle East to Africa and the Americas all have flood myths similar to the deluge of the old Testament, that this means they must all come from one original story in common.

But how similar are these stories really, and even if they do share things in common, do historians who study mythology have any more realistic theories as to how these flood myths have developed?

I have been studying peerage and trying to understand it (as an american) and this is one thing I am getting stuck on. I think that the titles are just symbolic but shows like Game of Thrones have me confused because the "Lord of Winterfell" and "Warden of the North" requires them to be present in that territory to rule.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

From what I know, it seems pikes were quite popular in the ancient world, especially by the Macedonians. It then largely fell out of use for centuries before becoming the standard weapon for European infantry until guns made them obsolete. I have heard that the formation of the Roman legions countered pikes, but not how exactly. After the fall of Rome, and as cavalry became the dominant force on the battle field, why did it take so long for the pike, a great counter to cavalry, to return to use other than occasionally by the Scots and Flemish?

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...or was this already past the point where British monarchs were essential to national policy?

Hi! I just recently finished my Master thesis in history. It was completed with an oral exam, where one criticism was that some of my work had been addressed by others before. Now, I have always found it difficult to orient myself in the current historiography and I am now considering to take on a new research project. But I need to know what has been researched before. So my questions is: How do you best get a good (and preferably quick) overview of what has been written before and what projects might be new and fruitful? Encyclopedias, I suppose, are useful, but may be outdated or limited in information. Any tips on good and easy methods to get an orientation in the current historiography of a given field would be greatly appreciated. (I mainly focus on Sasanian Iran, but I am hoping for some general pointers and methods.) Thank you so much for your time!

Was there any kind of public debate for the merits of either economic system? Or was it all a conflict of militaries in regards to how our governments communicated with one another?

Just as the title says, did they ever think to flee west if things got too hairy? Much of the revolution was led by wealthy land owners and ambitious young men who likely didn't want to end up on King George's chopping block. I'm sure someone had the idea to set up shop else where, but I cannot find any evidence of it for the life of me.

Not sure if it's the right subreddit... I recently watched various videos of people reading Shakespeare and older English literature with the original pronounciation, and remained astonished at the radical difference of the sounds they used back then respect to these days. As an italian native speaker the surprise was double, as I remember in school reading old italian at literature from the '200/'300, and being able to almost understand everything at first glance. And I heard that also other languages (chinese for what I know) haven't actually changed so much, as the English Language has done. So why did it change so much? Or is it that many other languages changed a lot in these centuries, and the real question would be: why italian (and chinese) hasn't changed that much?

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Hey everyone, a war that tends to be glossed over at least outside Spain is the Spanish Civil War. Even though there were volunteers from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France, Nazi Germany, Italy ect... fighting on both sides. I was watching the documentary "World War II In Color" and they mentioned Communists and Anarchists were fighting on the Republican side, How common was it to find Communists on the Republican side? Was it few and far between? Were westerners who fought alongside them put on some kind of 1930s Watchlist when returning home? Were the majority of Republicans Democratic and not Communist?

Also, A really quick question. In terms of Tyrants and Brutal Dictators, How bad was Francisco Franco really? I know he was in close talks with Adolf Hitler and Mussolini during the Civil War but he never did join the Axis.

Really, when it comes to her reign and all, the only thing that comes to mind is her using her sexuality for the betterment of the nation and her suicide.

I hope the question was phrased well, I have search for countless hours on the internet trying to find something and I cannot.

Curious if any historians or economists have studied whether the Axis economic model was viable on a long term basis? It seems to me that the Axis was fighting to expand colonial empires with mercantilistic features. I seem to recall reading that the western empires were realizing that the empires were costing more to maintain than they were worth? Was free trade inevitable?