World History – Page 31 – General History

Archers and Archery

English and Welsh bowmen (and King Henry V) at Agincourt / lookand learn.com

An archer was a soldier, usually professional, armed with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. It would be difficult to estimate how long this lethal weapon has been in use, but woodcuts exist of Scythian archers employed by the Romans. The bow was not long, because the Scythians fought on horseback, but the arrow seems to have been at least two and a half feet long from goosefeather guide to the iron arrowhead. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-14T06:49:04+00:00 January 14th, 2013|A History of North America, British History, English History, French History, German History, History of the Cinema, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

The House of Guise

Mary of Guise, Queen of France and mother of Mary Queen of Scots / vacationsscotland.biz

The name of a branch of the ducal house of Lorraine in France, it became prominent, if not menacing, during the 16^th century. Claude de Lorraine was born in 1496 and created Duke in 1528 when he was thirty-two. By then he had already distinguished himself in a respectable number of (French) military conflicts, all of which he won. They included the Battle of Marignano in 1515. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-12T18:17:33+00:00 January 12th, 2013|French History, World History|0 Comments

Two Hawkins, father & son, both ‘pirates’

Sir Richard Hawkins / thebiggeststudy.blogspot.com

Sir John and Sir Richard Hawkins or Hawkyns would have preferred to be called seamen, or navigators, or simply sailors. That is how British history books describe them. French, Dutch and especially Spanish historians prefer to say corsarios or piratas. But then most European historians describe any man (or woman) who sailed across the seven seas with a crew and attacked other shipping or a passing port – as long as they were British – as pirates or corsairs. The Spanish even call Admiral Lord Nelson a pirate, despite the awkward fact that he was a professional navy man who assaulted Spanish-held ports or Spanish ships when England was officially at war with Spain (or France for that matter). One could claim that that was his job. Hawkins however was by no means indefatigable, losing a sea battle to the Spanish at San Juan de Ulúa (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-12T07:41:55+00:00 January 12th, 2013|British History, Dutch History, English History, French History, South American History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

Monks, Friars & Orders

The founder of the Franciscan Order / ginagenis.wordpress.com

Men who renounced a worldly life in order to enter a monastery were many in medieval times. They are few and far between now, but the three most celebrated orders these religiously inclined young men joined, or attempted to join were the Benedictines, the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Each of these ‘sects’ was founded by a man who was not necessarily a saint in his youth, but whose foundations have lasted under those names for centuries. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-11T07:47:02+00:00 January 11th, 2013|History of the Cinema, Italian History, Today, World History|1 Comment

The Battle of Cannae

Cannae / forums.taleworlds.com

This was not just an armed, bloody struggle between fighting men. It was one of the classic victories in military history. Carthage’s general Hannibal (q.v.) faced a Roman army with larger infantry units, but Hannibal had more cavalry, well-trained and armed horsemen, kept out of sight. The armies were engaged at the village of Cannae, in southern Italy. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-08T13:52:44+00:00 January 8th, 2013|History of Rome, Italian History, World History|2 Comments

King Canute, Knut or Cnut

Canute was King of England, Denmark and Norway. There are various distinct ways of spelling his name, but he will always stay in the memory because of something he did which has either been misconstrued intentionally by historians and jesters, or properly interpreted, which I hope we will do here. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2019-03-29T20:08:37+00:00 January 7th, 2013|British History, English History, Scandinavian history, World History|0 Comments

The Fuggers

Jacob Fugger / redroom.com

Now before the bloodhounds of Google get hot about the collar and assume I am using a form of Anglo-Saxon four-letter-word in the plural, give me time to assure them I am talking about a German family of bankers. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-05T12:14:20+00:00 January 5th, 2013|EU History, German History, Italian History, Jewish History, Philosophy, Spanish History, Today, World History|0 Comments

The Intelligence Services

The new SIS headquarters on the Embankment, London / en.wikipedia.org

Where dictators or democratically elected governments rule, they need organisations dedicated to the gathering and evaluation of information, mainly concerning the intentions of other states that may not have their best wishes at heart. These are the intelligence services, and they have been in active operation for much longer than many students think.

Some historians insist that it was Queen Elizabeth I, with her faithful Walsingham and his ring of spies, who was the first absolute ruler to insist on full intelligence gathering. This is patently untrue. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-03T13:31:37+00:00 January 3rd, 2013|A History of North America, British History, English History, French History, Greek History, History of the Cinema, Russian history, The Arab races, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

All-time mysteries: Roanoke Island & the Marie Celeste

Roanake: what happened to the settlers? / sonofthesouth.net

In Albemarle Sound off the northern coast of North Carolina there is an island which was the first English colony in North America. This is Roanoke, where a small group of settlers financed by Sir Walter Raleigh had tried to establish themselves in 1585. The local natives had had other ideas, and the beleaguered settlers were ‘rescued’ by Francis Drake, who had been engaged in one of his buccaneering expeditions in the Caribbean. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-02T10:39:57+00:00 January 2nd, 2013|A History of North America, British History, English History, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

Serfs

As villeins or servants of a medieval lord serfs were not actually slaves, though many writers of historical novels would have them so. Peasants they were, and by no means free. They were there to work the land of the lord (from which comes the more modern expression ‘landlord’). Serfs represented the lowest possible level of society. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-02T08:58:08+00:00 January 2nd, 2013|Austrian history, British History, English History, French History, German History, Philosophy, Russian history, Today, World History|0 Comments