French History – Page 20 – General History

Charles ‘the Bold’, Philip ‘the Good’ & Philip ‘the Bold’ (of Burgundy)

Burgundy was an important former duchy in south-central France, originally settled by a German tribe called the Burgundii, there in the 5^th century. It was first under Merovingian control, and later was absorbed into the Carolingian Empire (q.v.). While powerful Holy Roman Emperors exercised imperial control it was ruled by a series of impressive dukes.

Oddly enough, the Court of Burgundy was by far the most splendid in Europe, but few people have heard of it, France having easily and erroneously assumed that mantle. Dukes of Burgundy were more powerful than kings of France, especially when they were astute enough to form partnerships with England (as they did during the Hundred Years War). It was then that these dukes presented a real threat to the kings of France. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-18T17:45:01+00:00 June 18th, 2012|Dutch History, English History, French History, World History|0 Comments

Great sauces: Hollandaise

Here is a marvellous sauce for purists in this matter. It goes with salmon, asparagus, almost any vegetable, entrées and most fish dishes.

Now one may ask why I say ‘for purists in this matter’? The reason is that purists state rather firmly that the only true Hollandaise Sauce consists of nothing but unsalted butter, egg yolks and lemon juice. My problem with this is that I find Hollandaise made this way is rather insipid. I reckon Hollandaise should start with a preliminary reduction of some good white wine, as one does in the making of Béarnaise (q.v.). The flavour is so much better. Forget about the lemon, as it disintegrates the sauce too easily, and you will end up shooting yourself because you have used up twenty fresh eggs and still got no Hollandaise. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-07T17:19:01+00:00 June 7th, 2012|Dutch History, French History, History of haute cuisine|0 Comments

Roman law, Roman religion & Romance Languages

The Romans believed in law, and tried to live by it, frequently failing when political necessities seemed more important, or integral to the purpose. Roman Law developed (in Rome) for around one hundred years before the birth of Christ, and continued after his death to circa. 220 AD.

Nevertheless, more centuries were needed before the Emperor Justinian (justly named: 482-565) codified it in his Corpus Juris Civilis which we translate as ‘Body of Civil Law’. Then, a long time after lawless Germanic bands had destroyed Rome itself and the remnants of its Empire (q.v.) Roman law emerged again in the 11^th century as a popular subject for study in Italian universities. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-06T09:33:23+00:00 June 6th, 2012|French History, Greek History, History of Rome, Italian History, Today, World History|0 Comments

Great Sauces: Béarnaise

This sauce goes marvellously well with any good cut of red meat, such as fillet, sirloin, entrecôte, rump and T-bone. But it is also superb with rich kinds of grilled (not boiled) fish, such as turbot or salmon. Some people like it with shell-fish. I don’t. It is similar to Hollandaise, but considerably thicker and sharper in taste. Here is how you make it: (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-27T16:24:32+00:00 May 27th, 2012|French History, History of haute cuisine, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

Romanticism

From the late 18th to the middle of the 19th century there was an almost radical revolt against simple reasoning, the sciences, all authority and most traditions, against order and discipline, which overcame (and to a certain extent subdued) Western civilisation. This was the sweeping movement of Romanticism.

It meant social, political and moral reform, yes, but manifested itself above all in the arts; one could claim that the two major extremes of art are Classicism and Romanticism. Subsequent movements are generally regarded as being associated with one or the other. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-20T16:05:07+00:00 May 20th, 2012|Czech History, English History, English Language, French History, German History, Philosophy, Russian history, Spanish History, Today, World History|1 Comment

The History and making of great Sauces: Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise, however you like to spell it, is at least two hundred and fifty years old. It is said to have been invented by The Duc de Richelieu’s cook in 1736, while the good duke was busy besieging the English at Port Mahon on the island of Minorca – and I cannot for the life of me see why not. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-18T20:32:06+00:00 May 18th, 2012|French History, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

The Luck of the Byngs, father and son

This sketch of the Admiral’s execution appeared in The London Magazine /

George Byng, Viscount Torrington was born in 1663. After school education he headed straight for the Royal Navy to make his name as a sailor. Having a nose for politics, he made himself agreeable to William of Orange (q.v.) and quickly became an Admiral.

George Byng’s most prominent successes as a sailor took place during the Wars of the Spanish Succession (q.v.), especially in 1718 at Cape Passaro, where the fleet he commanded managed the extraordinary feat of sinking an entire enemy squadron which had had the intention of making a landfall in Sicily prior to an invasion. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-15T11:05:04+00:00 May 15th, 2012|English History, French History, Philosophy, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

The ‘Indignants’ and Anarchy: what it is all about

We see on the daily news programmes that ‘Los Indignados’ have returned to the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza de Cataluña in Spain, and various other municipal hot points in Europe, to celebrate an anniversary. It was in May last year that European city-dwellers learned to put up with their plazas and places filled to saturation with the young and the old, of every sex, of every class, of every profession, setting up camp, breaking out the same tired old political cant on badly spelled, cheaply printed placards. These are the ‘Indignants’. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-14T08:02:36+00:00 May 14th, 2012|English History, French History, German History, Philosophy, Russian history, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

Canada

This is the second largest country in the world, and yet there is little mention of her in the media. Unless one of Canada’s great cities holds an Olympic Games, as did Montreal, you never hear about Canada. The same situation abounds with the two great islands of New Zealand. The reason for this lack of newsworthyness is probably that Canada (and New Zealand) are very well governed, exceedingly rich, and both are willing members of the Commonwealth of Nations. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-05-07T11:11:40+00:00 May 7th, 2012|English History, French History, History of Afghanistan, History of New Zealand, Russian history, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

Holocaust – the comments

Hundreds of comments have been posted on General-History following publication last year of the article on The Holocaust. Some comments are learnéd, some are not. Many are openly anti-Semitic. A few show sympathy with the victims. Some question the figures quoted. Anyone can find out the figures for themselves simply by making enquiries in any office of records in any of the countries I am about to list, or simply asking for statistics in Tel Aviv. For those commentarists who claim the Holocaust did not actually happen one feels sorry for those who must endure life near them. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-04-30T18:39:13+00:00 April 30th, 2012|Czech History, Dutch History, Estonia, A History, French History, German History, Greek History, History of the Low Countries, Italian History, Jewish History, Romanian History, Russian history, World History|2 Comments