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.
I've been playing Crusader Kings and went on a little journey through some medieval answers in this sub. One type of question I encountered over and over again was "Would a common soldier get in trouble if they killed the enemy king?" and the answer is always "no it's actually good to kill the enemy in a war, although more lucrative to capture and ransom."
I'm just wondering where this question comes from. Is there some movie or show where a soldier kills a king and gets imprisoned, executed, excommunicated, something, for it? Is it a trope in fantasy novels? I have never heard of this concept but there is question after question about it in the archives here.
Shamelessly ripping of a question I saw elsewhere.
What is your favorite history Mystery AH'ers? Is there something with no ending that you'd love to find the truth to? Or maybe a mystery with a couple of different possibilities and you have a chosen favorite? Tell me all about them!
For those interested in Ridley Scott's newly-released movie in theaters, The Last Duel, historians Sara McDougall and David Perry did a great article on what is - and is not - historically accurate in the film, as well as the film's r/badhistory:
Qualifications:
Sara McDougall is Associate Professor of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, and is a member of the doctoral faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research focuses primarily on marriage and law in medieval Europe. She is the author of Bigamy and Christian Identity in Late Medieval Champagne (2012), and has also published on adultery, marriage, illicit sex, and the role of gender in canon law. She was a Mellon fellow in Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 2014-2015.
David M. Perry is senior academic adviser in the history department at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and formerly a professor of history at Dominican University. He is currently a a freelance journalist covering politics, history, education, and disability rights.
According to his 1865 Confessions, Karl Marx's greatest aversion was Martin Tupper, a poet? What did Marx have against this guy? (I just posted this as a thread of its own, but I figured I might as well ask here too)
Edit: This was answered by u/nightblueprime here https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/q9adl1/according_to_his_1865_confessions_karl_marxs/hgusdnv/?context=3
Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap
Friday, October 08 - Thursday, October 14
###Top 10 Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 6,709 | 657 comments | [Meta] META - As much as I've enjoyed r/AskHistorians for the past 10 years, I firmly believe that this subreddit should make a better effort to redirect people seeking more of a skin-deep understanding to subreddits more conducive to casual discussion. This would be a huge benefit to all. |
| 3,522 | 75 comments | In 1966 only 42% of Americans wanted to keep the Death Penalty, but by 1994 80% were in favor of keeping it. What led to this massive swing in public opinion? |
| 2,356 | 90 comments | Sparta wasn't that effective in war; were there any hyper-militarized groups that DID have success (besides Rome)? |
| 2,193 | 31 comments | How did women treat urinary tract infections before the rise of antibiotics? |
| 1,955 | 68 comments | There were a lot of subculture pseudo-theories that the moon landing was a hoax. All of them have been debunked, of course. However, did the Soviets ever have doubts? Did they have their own hoax theories about it? Did any official sources questioned it at least initially? |
| 1,798 | 38 comments | Was the famous “French maid outfit” ever actually a working uniform for maids in France? |
| 1,645 | 37 comments | As a result of 9/11, was Osama Bin Laden’s aim to expel the US from the Middle East or to draw them in? |
| 1,644 | 41 comments | The abortion debate is often viewed entirely through the lens of popular Abrahamic Religions such as Christianity. What did Native American religions think of abortion? |
| 1,457 | 29 comments | How did the Soviets react to American advances in CPU design? |
| 1,403 | 37 comments | Did Christopher Columbus do all that bad stuff because that's what any other explorer would have done at that time or was he uniquely evil in his actions? |
###Top 10 Comments
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I'm really looking forward to seeing the Last Duel tomorrow but I little bummed that I got accidentally got spoiled for a 600 year old historical event.
Is there any truth to the idea that coffee becoming Americas hot beverage of choice instead of tea is because of the boycotts against British taxes that took place before the Revolution?
When Alexander Hamilton left the Caribbean it was because of donations from people on the island. Was he expected to return someday so Nevis could benefit from his education?
who was the owner of mitsubishi during ww2?
who we have any historical references as to what epaminondas of Thebes looked like?