Eyes front:

THE MOST IMPORTANT POST

Please, everyone, give a warm welcome and donations to the funeral fund of your newest AskHistorians moderator, /u/Gankom! You probably recognize Gankom from, well, from this very thread! and also being a wonderful presence around the sub in general.

So happy to feed you to the volcano gods have you at the helm, Gankom!

I wrote an overlooked response to a query that asked for more information about the legend of the Dry Tree, a potent medieval metaphor for death, winter, barrenness and life without God. Dry Trees appear as appropriate spots for suicide as well as the destination point of quests in the literature of the Middle Ages – and, arguably, as the only significant bit of scenery in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

I wrote a two-part discussion on "What did Europe eat and drink during the Napoleonic [Era]?" that seemed to sink without a trace.

Welcome to the Sunday Digest! The best place on the net for your weekly dose of History. Alas, my posting has drawn the attention of mysterious yet benevolent gods and for my sins they have seen fit to give me even more work to do. See mom, and you thought spending all my time on the net wouldn’t amount to anything.

I do want to say thank you to the five people who sent me PM’s this morning offering pun suggestion, but I also want to say that all five of you used the same “Did Nazi that one coming”, so maybe we need to branch out a bit more and try for something a bit more original.

Lets get rolling with the usual weekly features!

Tuesday Trivia: What was it like to be on the “home front” of your era during wars? This thread has relaxed standards and we invite everyone to participate!

The Friday Free-for-All | January 18, 2019 is always a popular thread, full of lots of good stuff.

The Saturday Showcase | January 19, 2019! Not only can you read the ongoing tale of Italian Fascism by /u/Klesk_vs_Xaero, but if you’re an aspiring flair writer this is your chance to showcase your skills. Questions in your field don’t come up often? Pick a subject you like and tell us about it.

There’s another podcasts! And this time we’re getting alliterative! Historians Podcast 128 -- AskHistorians Asking Historians At the American Historical Association

I finally had some time to write some answers this weekend! Yay!

• Did a group of early medieval cardinals really decide that allegorical biblical interpretation was a heresy?
• "If Christian kingdoms sent missionaries to the New World to spread Christianity there in the post-Columbus era, why didn't Muslim nations like the Ottoman Empire do the same to spread Islam?" - focusing on why Catholics did as the aberrant status here, rather than why other people didn't as some kind of "lack"
• "In Medieval Europe, women were considered inherently lustful and prone to sexual sin. Would modern stereotypes of male sexual appetite apply to them?"

The last question especially generated some great follow-ups (and I haven't gotten to write about medieval sex/sexuality in so long!), so props to /u/BreaksFull for kicking off a really fun discussion!

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• This week I enjoyed reading this answer by /u/VicStMall in Tuesday Trivia, which gives a chilling perspective on the desaparecidos under the Argentinian dictatorship.

• I also had a chance to write a bit more about Cuban medical/educational aid in Angola, not a super well-known topic.

I just read /u/lcnielsen answer for a great question about perceptions of ancient conquerers focusing on Alexander.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ahuixh/why_is_alexander_the_great_remembered_in_history/eej9dxr

It's an excellent contrast that explores a few different ways to view perceptions of powerful historical figures. Very informative for those curious about Alexander's legacy in Persian territories too.

A slew of busy weekends means I have a buncha stuff saved up going back a few weeks. Stay tuned!

"If early European Americans were largely at war with Native American Indians, why go through all the trouble of importing slaves all the way from Africa? Why not just raid a nearby Indian tribe and enslave them?" got the triple treatment from /u/derprofessor, /u/drylaw, and /u/PartyMoses.

Moses did plenty on his own too though, with answering "Was there any Pro-British sentiment in the U.S. during The War of 1812?" and "I've read that the Continental Army was often desperate for firearms and that enlisted men often brought their own hunting rifles. What was the gun ownership rate in the colonies around the time of the American Revolution and did it have any significant effect on the war?"

Will sponsor my first major post in quite some time answering u/JJVMT's question: Was there controversy around Monty Python's Flying Circus' use of Nazi Germany for comedy less than three decades after WWII?

I want to thank u/Velken for answering my week old question My colleague told me today, that his family fled Vietnam when he was 7 years old and that his family fought against the North Vietnam. What happened to those who fought against North Vietnam and stayed after the war ended?

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Oh and could you give us some further reading on those post war years, please?