John Keane, Antarctica, and sovereignty

An interesting but in some respects puzzling article, Antarctica: Notes on the Fate of Sovereignty, came across my screen this morning. It is by John Keane, author of The Life and Death of Democracy and other works on the world history of democracy.The...

A great sorting out?

Two experts in the Middle East have been more useful to me than most of the more prominent ones. They are Juan Cole and Joshua Landis. If you are interested in what is going on there and how it will affect us in North America, read this and this.Here is an example of what Landis has to say:My advice to Obama would be to lay low. This sectarian-nationalist process has been boiling...

The humility of a troubador? Marcabru Canso 14

The virtue of the one I singreigns high, without dispute,and her valour is sovereign,even if disputed,for, if I don't wake up for her,don't expect that another awakens me!He who [writes?]the words and dancedoes not know whence the dancing comes.Marcabru has written the danceand does not know whence the dancing com...

The crazy years?

The famous and influential science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein, was known early in his career for creating a future history in which individual short stories were framed. There was a big timechart in which the stories and other background events were located. One feature that looked big and important on the chart, which was never quite developed by Heinlein was "the crazy...

Do late medieval fight books reflect actual practice?

For anyone interested in the actual practice of late medieval combat, interpreting the fight books that survive is a crucial activity. Thanks to a heads up from John Joseph Cash, here are two attempts to do so.One of them is a master's thesis in archaeology submitted by Johann Keller Wheelock Matzke to the University of Exeter in 2011.The other is a summary and interpretation of...

A tribute site for Anne Clendinning

Tributes to Anne Clendinning by both students and colleagues can be found here. You're free to add your o...

41,000

On the week of the 25th anniversary of the Tien An Men repression, an event that has disappeared from the official record in China, it is sobering to learn that there are 41,000 political prisoners in Egy...

Loss of a colleague -- Dr. Anne Clendinning

From Dr. Katrina Srigley, Chair of History, Nipissing UniversityHistorian, mother, sister, friend, Dr. Anne Clendinning started her life adventure in Ingersoll, Ontario and ended it in North Bay on June 1, 2014.  She lived her life to the fullest.  She loved to learn....

Unhelmed

As portrayed in Froissart's Chronicle; and thanks to Raymond Hind...

Chivalry Today: Scott Farrell interviews Christian Cameron

It is the first of June and I'm going to celebrate this beautiful day by taking a moment to talk about Scott Farrell's interview with the historical novelist Christian Cameron.I was enough impressed by Cameron's novel of the 14th century, The Ill-made Knight, to review it in this...