Episodes
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In this captivating episode, we delve into the remarkable legacy of horse archer civilizations—the Parthians, Mongols, and Comanche—and their profound impact on Western societies. Buckle up as we ride through history, exploring their strategies, innovations, and cultural exchanges.
🏹 The Parthians: From the mid-3rd century BC until 224 CE, the Parthian Empire spanned vast territories—from the Euphrates River to Central Asia. Their skilled horse archers revolutionized warfare, employing tactics that confounded enemies. We’ll uncover their influence on the Greeks, Persians, and Romans.
🐎 The Mongols: Under Genghis Khan’s leadership, the Mongols forged the largest land empire in history. Their swift cavalry, including expert horse archers, reshaped geopolitics across Asia and Europe. Discover how their legacy echoes in Rus, Poland, and beyond.
🌾 The Comanche: On the American frontier, the Comanche—a formidable horse culture—transformed the Great Plains. Their mobility, tactics, and archery prowess challenged European settlers and left an indelible mark on American history.
Join us as we ride alongside these equestrian warriors, exploring their impact on trade, military strategy, and cultural exchange. From ancient times to the Wild West, Japan to Amarillo, their legacy gallops through the annals of Western civilization!
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In this episode we study the unique technologies and cultures that developed in the womb of the great Eurasian and American steppes. We will look at how these hearty humans adapted to their harsh environments and synergized with horses to form mobile civilizations. We will then look into how these civilizations accumulated enormous wealth and developed key horse-related technologies: the bridle, saddle, and stirrups. We will then discuss the evolution of mounted archers and the unique danger this posed to Western Civilization. This episode is focused specifically on early horse civilizations and the Scythians. Part 2 will discuss the Parthians, Mongols, Magyars, and Comanche.
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It's the time of year where romance is in the air. In this episode, we look at several ill-fated high-profile romances throughout the medieval period including...- Prince Mal and Princess Olga of Kiev- Constantine the VII and Regent Olga of Kiev- Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere- Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Polenta- Heloise and AbelardSources for this episode include: The Primary Chronicles http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/01/saint-buried-people-alive-burned-city-revenge/ History Tea Time Podcast https://www.historyandwomen.com/2010/10/love-story-of-lancelot-and-guinevere.html https://vault.hanover.edu/~battles/arthur/affair owlcation.com/humanities/Famous-Love-Stories-in-History-Paolo-and-Francesca abelardandheloise.com--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode, we draw from the well of chess again. This time discussing five of the most popular and successful openings in Chess: the Spanish Opening, the Sicilian Defense, the Italian Game, the French Defense, and the Caro-Kann. On our journey to learn about openings, we will also learn about chess legends like Arpad Elo (the inventor of ELO), Ruy Lopez, Giulio Greco, and more. We will sink our teeth into chess history like the Gottingen manuscript and the first recorded games. Then, we will study how the greatest players of today like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Vladislav Artemieve like to start their games. Special guest appearance from Napoleon Bonaparte.Sources:How to Win At Chess by Levy GrozmanChess.com--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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It is our 50th episode! To celebrate this historic milestone we are having a meta episode about the history of speaking itself. We will examine the oldest oral histories of the Indigenous Australians that have endured over 10,000 years. Then we will look at Moses and the oral law, followed by Homer and the bardic tradition. We will look at tricks bards used to memorize lengthy historical epics. After that, we will study how medieval Europe adapted the spoken word into sermons and operas, and then see how modern technology like radios, iPods, and RSS feeds launched the spoken word to new heights.
Sources:
Microphone Image Courtesy of Alvaro_cabrera / Freepik
Homer: From Oral Tradition to Canon | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)
Brief History Of The Radio From 1900 To 2023 Evolution (radio4all.org)
'Here is a story! Story it is': how fairytales are told in other tongues | Fairytales | The Guardian
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November 5th is the anniversary of the Gunpowder Treason Plot, an almost successful attempt by persecuted Catholics to blow away their Protestant opposition by detonating 36 barrels of gunpowder directly underneath the House of Lords on the opening day of parliament in 1605. Learn how crafty King James I avoided the fate of his father (being exploded), and why the man caught holding the fuse, Guy Fawkes, is an inspiration to anarchists and hackers and the origin for the word "guy." The events that would happen this night would topple the dominoes leading to Shakespeare's and Milton's greatest works as well as the colonization of America and establishment of it as a place of religious freedom.Sources for this episode: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guy-Fawkes https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/the-gunpowder-plot-of-1605/overview/the-plot-and-its-discovery/conspiracy-and-deception/ https://www.tudorsociety.com/5th-november-1605-the-gunpowder-plot/ https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/gunpowder-plot-what-history-behind-bonfire-night --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode learn about Halloween's spooky origins as Samhain, an October 31st Celtic harvest festival featuring all the scariest things: mischievous fairies, ghosts, and taxes! Then learn how All Saints Day and All Souls Day got moved to this time of the year fusing them inextricably with the Celtic traditions resulting in new rituals like wearing white bedsheets and calling yourself a ghost, trick-or-treating, and turnip -carving. Finally, learn how these traditions were exported into America and forever changed into the pumpkin-obsessed candy-filled 12 billion dollar holiday we know and love today. Sources: https://time.com/5434659/halloween-pagan-origins-in-samhain/ https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7448.html https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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Marie is back! This episode discusses the origins of playing cards and tarot cards in the Middle Ages. We discuss the origins of suits, the games you could play and what they tell us about Medieval life. Sources A Cultural History of Tarot by FarleyPleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age by ClassenRandom Riches by ZollingerMaster of the Playing Cards | The Queen of Flowers | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)We’re going on a bear hunt - Medieval manuscripts blogace | Etymology, origin and meaning of ace by etymonlineKarnöffel Game Rules - How to Play Karnöffel the Card Game--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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When looking at the Republics of medieval Italy it's always shocking to see on the map a northern central Italian country with Rome in it known as the Papal States. The Papal States were a territory under the direct control of the Pope for over a thousand years from AD 756 to 1870. In this episode, we look into why the Pope became a sovereign king over earthly territory, how he protected this land from Huns, Goths, Vandals, and Lombards, how the territories forced the Pope to crown 2 Roman Emperors in France 1000 years apart (Charlemagne and Napoleon), and how the territories eventually got reduced to just the Vatican Hill near Rome. Finally, we look at the modern state of Vatican City and compare it to its past iterations, as well as discuss how even though the Pope's earthly power has waned, his influence is more relevant than ever. Sources for this episode:https://www.britannica.com/place/Papal-Stateshttps://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/pope-titles/1937813/https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-bishop.htmlhttps://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Papal_supremacy--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode we continue our series on the Italian City-States by discussing the ruler of the Papal States: The Pope. He is probably more famous for being the head of the Catholic church though, and so this episode focuses on the history of this position. We will look at where his authority derives from and how the early Bishops of Rome gained primacy over their peers: the Bishops of Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. We will then discuss what the New Testament teaches about the leaders of Christianity and how those ideas evolved into the modern Pope. Lastly, we will cover the Pope's eight titles and what they all mean: the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, the Primate of Italy, the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, and the Sovereign of the State of Vatican City.Next week, we will discuss the history of the Papal States and the Popes who ruled over them.Sources for this episode are:https://www.britannica.com/place/Papal-Stateshttps://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/pope-titles/1937813/https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-bishop.htmlhttps://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Papal_supremacy--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this fourth episode in our series on the Italian City States of the high middle ages and Renaissance, we learn about Genoa. Genoa was a major maritime republic in the northwest of Italy that ran an empire from the 10th century to the 17th century that included territories across the Crimean coast, Anatolia, the Aegean sea, Corsica, Sardinia, and even Panama. In this episode you'll learn about Genoa's contributions to western civilization including helping win the first crusade, creating the best crossbowmen on the continent, restoring Constantinople to the Byzantines, giving birth to Columbus, inventing jeans, and connecting the trade of the Levant to the markets of Europe. Learn about Genoa's fierce rivalries with Pisa and Venice, as well as its ruinous business partnerships with France and Spain. Sources for this episode:https://www.britannica.com/place/Genoa-Italyhttps://www.historicmysteries.com/sacro-catino/https://www.travelplan.it/genoa_guide_historical_buildings_monuments.htmhttps://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Genoese_Crossbowmanhttps://www.tasteatlas.com/genoa-salami--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode, we learn about how the Medici family came to power in Florence, and how their efforts gave a place to thrive for the geniuses who called Florence home. We will discuss some of these famous Florentines: including Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Amerigo Vespucci. But of course, that would be impossible without discussing the Medici family and its two most famous scions: Cosimo and Lorenzo, who will be the focus of this episode.SourcesFlorence | Italy, History, Geography, & Culture | BritannicaHistory of Florence and Of the Affairs Of Italy, by Niccolo Machiavelli (gutenberg.org)Medici Bank - WikipediaHouse of Medici - Wikipedia--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode you will learn about a Roman fort that turned into a retirement community for veterans of the legions. They moved out of the mountains and into the valley, establishing a key trading hub that became the gateway to northern Italy. For this reason, the city was quarreled over by the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines. Eventually, their fighting reduced the city to rubble. Fortunately, visionary and faithful leaders like Charlemagne, Hugh the Great, and Contessa Matilda would see to it that Florence rise again. It would become the capital of Tuscany, and it would become the Pope's choice city to oversee his banks. Florence would then become the mint for the world's monetary standard: the gold florin. In this time of prosperity, Florence decided to give power to its people and guilds. They established a unique democracy with incredibly short terms of service for government officers. Immediately, the nobles and external powers such as the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire sought to take advantage of the little democracy. Yet, the people of Florence continually succeeded in fighting to preserve the fledgling institution. The one thing their democracy could not survive, however, was internal division. In this episode we will discuss the sorry state of their democracy when they exiled Dante Alighieri, one of their greatest citizens. In spite of the wickedness of this act, it actually galvanized Dante to process how this could happen to him, inspiring him to write one of the greatest poems ever created: the Divine Comedy. The success of this poem gave rise to the Florentine dialect, resulting in all of Italy speaking in the Florentine way. Even today, modern Italian is derived from Florentine. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this short episode, we take a quick look into what was up with the Republic of Venice: a free market merchant-run nation that lasted for over 1100 years. We talk about its industries, innovations, and institutions to figure out what made this unique place tick. First episode in a series on medieval Italian city-states.Sources Referenced:Italy - The Republic of Venice | Britannicahttps://www.venicebyvenetians.com/brief-history-venice/https://www.furniturelibrary.com/mirror-glass-darkly/--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode, Doug discusses the history and rules of chariot racing in ancient Rome and how it carried over to the Byzantines. He will discuss the various strategies and teams that developed, as well as some notable racers and horses. He concludes with an assessment of how wealthy winners could become vs how deadly the races were, including, sometimes, for the spectators.Sources Chariot racing | History, Rules, & Facts | Britannica saymedia.com (history.com) meaning and origin of the phrase ‘bread and circuses’ – word histories Chariot Racing in Ancient Rome - World History Encyclopedia Blue versus Green: Rocking the Byzantine Empire | History| Smithsonian Magazine Chariot Racing In The Roman Empire: Speed, Fame, and Politics (thecollector.com)--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode we will dive into what life was like for a medieval Benedictine monk. We will talk about the vows they made and the codes they abode by like the Vows of Stability, Conversion, Obedience, Chastity, Poverty, and Silence. We will also discuss their daily schedule including what they did for prayers and work. We will learn about the different occupations monks found themselves in such as farmers, cheesemakers, brewers, butchers, builders, bookbinders, scribes, historians, and teachers. Last of all, we will discuss the discoveries monks made in their various occupations and in their spare time such as creating the field of genetics and paleography; breeding a new type of bee; and inventing the motor, the steam engine, and tennis.Sources for this episode:The Daily Life of Medieval Monks - World History EncyclopediaMedieval Monks: The Life and Times of God’s Men in Robes | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)The Rule - Friends of Saint Benedict (benedictfriend.org)Benedictine Vows – Saint Martin's Abbey (stmartinsabbey.org)--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode we learn about the ancient practice of living as a hermit, and why people did so. We then look at how innovators like St. Anthony of Egypt and St. Pachomius the Great turned this individual experience into a communal one open not just to those who can survive by themselves in the desert, but to anyone wanting a cloistered life of peace and enlightenment. Even though from Pachomius came the idea of a monastery, this idea needed to be spread and defended. We will learn how this was done by the foremost Christian scholar of his day, St. Jerome, who went on to establish monastic communities for men and women in Bethlehem. 100 years after St. Jerome, monastic life would be improved further by the ideas and examples of St. Benedict, the great Abbot, and his twin sister, St. Scholastica, the great Abbess. Benedict's Rule would become the code of monks the world over for more than a millennium. The Rule was not only an inspired masterpiece for monks, but it also inspired political leaders like Charlemagne, and brought the governments of Europe one step closer to embracing Democracy and Constitutional government. They also allowed monasticism to become commonplace throughout Western Europe. These monks and their monasteries would lay the foundation to other great Western institutions like the University and the Scientific Method. Sources for this episode are...britannica.comfranciscanmedia.orgetymonline.orgThe Life of St. Antony--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode, we will look at the ancient origins of Chess in 6th-century Gupta India back when it was known as Chaturanga. From there we will discover how it evolved as it spread to Sassanian Persia and the Islamic empires like the Abbasids. We will see how it developed much of its core rules and strategy. Then we will look into how it continued its spread into Europe from the Byzantines and from Mediterranean merchants, and how this two-pronged approach combined with very abstract-looking pieces led to a lot of confusion as to what Europeans were to call the pieces and how they should be made. We will then look into the rules the Europeans added to make the game start a little faster as well as some of their more bizarre ideas like giving the pawns backstories and Fairy Chess. Finally, we will examine the impact chess has had on Western Civilization and how it can improve your life.Sources for this episode are...http://www.chess-poster.com/english/notes_and_facts/chess_piece_names_in_other_languages.htmhttps://chessamid.medium.com/how-chess-conquered-europe-4d610466e5cdhttps://www.chess.com/article/view/benefits-of-chesshttps://www.chess.com/article/view/history-of-chesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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This is a follow-up to our previous episode about the Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Persians, and Turks. In this episode, we look at what was going on in the northern parts of the European continent in the early medieval period. We will shed some light on why European history went the way it did. Questions such as: Why did feudalism develop? Why does eastern Europe use the Cyrillic alphabet? Why did the French and British build so many castles? Why did Ireland produce so many medieval monks and scholars? The focus of our study today will be the Vikings, Rus, Celts, Britons, and Franks. Once again, in this breezy intro we will be looking at the key figures, cultural institutions, events, and military tactics of each of these civilizations. And yes, we will be using a bit of Age of Empires II nostalgia as an icebreaker to learn about each civ.Sources for this episode are...https://www.worldhistory.org/Vikings/https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wikihttps://www.worldhistory.org/Kievan_Rus/https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/celtshttps://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/medieval/https://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/05/03/10-interesting-facts-english-longbowman/--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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In this episode, we use a 90s strategy video game (Age of Empires II) as a launchpad to discuss five of the civilizations that emerged from the ashes of Rome's fall. The civilizations are the Byzantines, the Goths, the Huns, the Persians, and the Turks. Some of these had a hand in killing Rome, some of these carried on the traditions of Rome, some did both, and others were something different altogether.Sources for this episode are...https://www.worldhistory.org/Persia/https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/https://www.ancientpages.com/2019/04/16/who-were-the-goths-and-where-did-they-come-from/https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/hunshttps://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/08/14/the-military-of-the-byzantines/Iranicaonline.orgIslamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and MughalsGuns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/douglas-archibald6/support
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