1 Answers 2022-04-01
I am Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou and Maine. Son of Empress Matilda, and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
In light of my connection with the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, my former chancellor and friend, and the recent rebellion of my sons, with the aid of the King of the Franks, I have been advised to allow my subjects this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask me anything.
At present, my amanuensis is managing the most important business of the realm, and may only be able to answer inquiries as their other duties allow.
Edit: My amanuensis is overwhelmed with petitioners at the moment but has seen all of your questions and will be taking my dictation when time allows.
Edit 2: Having just received word of the defeat of William, King of Scots at Alnwick, I must now excuse myself to begin negotiations with the rebels. Clearly Thomas has forgiven me.
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I have read Herodotus' History and can see he delivers some real whoppers in terms of things and events that are highly unlikely to have existed or happened. This leads many to opine that generally he can't be trusted as a reliable source. I'm not so sure. For instance his claim that Scythians used marijuana by burning its seeds inside felt tents on braziers has been borne out by archaeology. My question is how reliable is he?
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We weren't there when ancient Egyptians built their pyramids; nor were we there when Columbus set foot in America. We have texts, artifacts, and other materials from the time period and that's it. How can we understand ancient people's customs, culture and behaviour with that limited "evidence"? Can you please explain how historians know the things they do about past societies?
2 Answers 2022-04-01
Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
13 Answers 2022-04-01
Greetings! Here be our proof.
We, the six wives of King Henry VIII, shall jointly share this account to answer your questions about our lives and our tumultuous times. We shall individually introduce ourselves:
I am Katherine, daughter of Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon, and true and loyal wife of my husband Henry from our marriage to my death. I bore several children, but only my daughter Mary survived infancy.
Katherine Regina
Hello! I'm Anne, and I am very happy to speak to you today about the great changes my husband made to reform the true Church of England, and the great sacrifices we made for each other along the way. My daughter, Elizabeth, was my pride and joy even before she became one of the preeminent monarchs of England.
Anne B.
My name is Jane, and I do not know how much I can tell you, for I stay away from weighty matters of politics and religion. I am the wife who gave Henry his son and heir apparent, his most dear Edward.
J. Seymour
I must admit that I am not technically a wife of Henry VIII, as our marriage was never fully binding under canon law. But I welcome the opportunity to share my views on his court during my time there as his Beloved Sister!
Anna von Kleve
Hello, hello! I greet you respectfully as a visitor to our court. My time as consort was brief, but I am pleased to tell you about my life in the Howard family and as the young woman with "no other will but his".
~ Kathryn
Experience tells me that you will have little interest in me as a person, but I am here regardless. I was with Henry in his twilight years, and influenced him in reconciling with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Few are aware that I also acted as de facto regent during my husband's final military campaign!
Catherine Parr
58 Answers 2022-04-01
But do not wonder if I ask you questions in return.
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Honorable gentlemen,
Some of you might know my name and person, but for those who are unaware, my name is Andrew Oliver Esq., Secretary of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the early months of the year of our lord seventeen-sixty-five, I was commissioned as stamp distributor for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, an act which turned out to be a most regrettable decision.
I invite you to ask me about my life, my experiences with the townspeople of Boston, about the Stamp Act, or anything else that might be of some importance to you.
I have been asked to provide proof of identity and this is what I have been able to arrange on such a short notice.
15 Answers 2022-04-01
IIRC not very much is known about music in the antiquity (Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia...) in comparison to later times, mostly learnt from mosaics, paintings, carvings and such but most depicts people playing instruments and or dancing.
So I ask if there is any surviving records or fragments even of any concrete song played by the oldest instrument, the voice. Or at least if there is any mention about how vocal music was back then.
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1 Answers 2022-04-01
AskHistorians Podcast Episode NUMBER is live!
The AskHistorians Podcast is a project that highlights the users and answers that have helped make r/AskHistorians one of the largest history discussion forums on the internet. You can subscribe to us via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or RSS, and now on YouTube and Google Play. If there is another index you'd like the podcast listed on, let us know!
This Episode
In this special episode of the AskHistorians podcast, /u/hannahstohelit and /u/EnclavedMicrostate talk about one of the more unusual history-related conspiracy theories of recent years: Tartaria. Why are thousands of internet users convinced of the existence of a lost empire in Eurasia? Where does post-Soviet nationalism come into it? And why are they so obsessed with big buildings? All this and more will be revealed in this special. 60 mins.
6 Answers 2022-04-01
It is I - the one, the only, the incomparable Jeane Dixon, renowned psychic, author and close confidante of the 40th President of the United States, Nancy Reagan. I've written multiple best-selling books, including an autobiography, a cookbook and of course my magnum opus, 'Horoscopes for Dogs'. I also predicted that the apocalypse would start in 2020 - but we can't be right about everything, I suppose*.*
Do you doubt my prowess in parsing the future? Do you require proof of my bona fides? Ah, what sad, closed minds you must have (not like Nancy). Fine then - I predict that you, dear reader, are about to spend a small amount of time reading text on the internet!
This prediction is much more impressive when you consider that I don't even really know what the internet is.
There seem to be many guests on these forums today, but they are all hacks, I assure you. For they purport to tell you only of the dingy, dreary past, like the temporally-challenged buffoons they all are. I, on the other hand, hold the keys to THE FUTURE. Ask me anything about what the future holds in store for you, your family, the world and any given president or pope of your choice!
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GREETINGS, REDDIT! I AM LEONIDAS, THIRD SON OF KING ANAXANDRIDAS AND FIRST IN FAME OF THE AGIAD HOUSE! THE EPHORS HAVE DECREED A RARE DAY OF OPENNESS TO THE CURIOSITY OF FOREIGNERS!
284 Answers 2022-04-01
... --- ...
Greetings! This message is coming to you over the airwaves from a secret location in Nazi-occupied Paris. I can't stay broadcasting for too long before the Gestapo track me down, so get your questions in before I have to go off air and hide.
edit: I will decode these at the end of today but in the meantime you can use this website to try and crack it - if you can guess the key words!
27 Answers 2022-04-01
So this question is a little bit odd. I know he's quite important and held a number of positions and was the leader of a major party for quite a while. But when I was in High School we spent I think close to an unreasonable amount of time on him. Free Silver and the Cross of Gold speech was covered in depth in my American History and my Government classes. The Scopes Monkey Trial was covered in my American History and American Law classes. All told I spent a solid 5 weeks over three years of school reading (and in some cases listening to- we had a later recorded repeat of the Cross of Gold speech as an assigned listen) all about Bryan. Even the unit on Scopes, where he was a prosecutor, were largely centered on Bryan.
This seems like a level of attention far beyond his actual impact on US History. I'm on the older side of Reddit demographics but nothing approaching it being any sort of current event, my high school time lasted from the late 90s to the early 2000's. Am I missing something? Did my school have a particular weird affinity for Bryan, or is this basically consensus on his importance?
1 Answers 2022-04-01
Greetings to my brothers and sisters over the Internet. I, the true sacred sovereign, have deigned to speak candidly beyond the walls of my mighty palace to those who would recognise my authority in this world. Should you seek enlightenment on any matter, such enlightenment shall I provide.
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I was looking at a deck plan of the Titanic and I noticed that on Deck F there were a number of "flavors" of what appear to be bathrooms that I had no idea what their functions, intended uses, or histories were.
I'm hoping that the smart folks here might help me understand what these rooms are for:
Cheers!
1 Answers 2022-04-01
