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Meetings with Remarkable Forgeries (British History)
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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N R Scott wrote:
Wile E. Coyote wrote:
I too have been relegated to subordinate. Snivel.

The grand chess board will always take precedence


Nemesis8 has already skewered the Lewis chessmen.... Wiley is aiming his sights at the even more famous Charlemagne chess pieces.

For folks that don't know.... this set was presented to King Charlemagne as a gift from Caliph Harun al-Rashid who, by chance, is the same caliph who appeared in “The Thousand and One Arabian Nights”....

You can see Nem's take in New Concepts.... Noggin the Nog.


nemesis8 wrote:
I received an interesting email today from a co-conspirator that advised me before the 13th century the Norse folk did not use cavalry.

I hadn't picked this up before... thinking.. well, the Normans had plenty in 1066 so ....I sort of assumed that the Norse folk must have had a mounted force, but apparently not the case.

So what is the representational significance of the Knight type figures if not cavalry?

I had previously worked out the armour on the chessmen was wrong for the time and place. (come back to this later).

This could be another important argument. Unless anyone knows different....
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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The trilogy aspect was accidental but in fact the last piece is being written now and will appear in the next book. We also were struck by the history cuties phenomenon but when Hatty and I bearded the community at large in a manuscript conference (because Forgeries was being raffled) this turned out to be a Twitter illusion. The gathered savants were a collection of people of not only unprepossessing appearance but dreary beyond belief in all other matters of public presentation. Or at any rate beyond my and Hattie's patience and we made a prompt exit in search of greater delights i.e. we went home.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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How many TV historians does it take to change a light bulb?

36.

1 beardie to change the bulb with gravitas, 1 hottie to act as cheerleader, and 34 researchers to google the orthodox way of doing it.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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N R Scott wrote:
Mick Harper wrote:
not posting a review is a clear dereliction of duty.


I've almost finished the book (just the last chapter to go). I have no negative criticism to raise. It's very easy to read. It's a very good companion to THOBR. It kind of finishes off the demolition job.

My only disappointment is that the people mentioning it on Twitter haven't offered any actual technical criticism of it yet (at least I haven't seen any). It just seems to be a general "really? is he actually saying that?" response. I was hoping they'd put up a bit more of a fight.


Maybe there is a continuity here? When the 15th century humanists started involving themselves within "the lives of saints genre," brevaries etc often for local political considerations, certain "guidelines" or rather conventions were followed, you had to write in Latin (your audience was the whole of Christendom), you had to write well, you had to provide a consistent christian chronology, etc. The humanists were allowed (according to the unwritten guidelines) to remove anything irrational which was not central to the message that they were conveying... so miracles were watered down, given different meanings or taken out, providing that there was chronological justification and importantly the new narrative was much more functional and believable than the last. Obviously all this was open to challenge both then and now from both a conservative or radical perspective ..... but only within the existing conventions, quoting of the classical sources etc.

Academia has really inherited all these traditions. Although belief in god is now optional, any perceived devilish challenge to christian chronology or the orthodox received narrative is still unthinkable. It is really foreign to them, so they must laugh at it............

Just my early thoughts. Not sure really. Maybe a tad unfair?
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aurelius



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Wile E. Coyote wrote:

The humanists were allowed (according to the unwritten guidelines) to remove anything irrational which was not central to the message that they were conveying... so miracles were watered down, given different meanings or taken out,
...

This sounds interesting, new to me, could you provide an example & source?

I thought all miracles were, by their very nature, extraordinary. What would be a 'watered down' miracle?
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Hatty
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In: Berkshire
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Ishmael has informed me that he's arranged access to the Second Dark Age thread in the Reading Room. Please say (Aurelius, Wile E, Scottie) if it works for you now.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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aurelius wrote:

This sounds interesting, new to me, could you provide an example & source?


I will need numerous examples. I better crack on.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Hatty wrote:
Ishmael has informed me that he's arranged access to the Second Dark Age thread in the Reading Room. Please say (Aurelius, Wile E, Scottie) if it works for you now.


Yes Siree.
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aurelius



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Hatty wrote:
Ishmael has informed me that he's arranged access to the Second Dark Age thread in the Reading Room. Please say (Aurelius, Wile E, Scottie) if it works for you now.


Yes, it's back (by popular demand...). Thanks, Ish!
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N R Scott


In: Middlesbrough
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Hatty wrote:
Ishmael has informed me that he's arranged access to the Second Dark Age thread in the Reading Room. Please say (Aurelius, Wile E, Scottie) if it works for you now.

I can view it now too. Thanks guys.
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Hatty
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In: Berkshire
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That's good, thanks for reporting back. Ishmael wanted verification so presumably it wasn't straightforward.
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Ishmael


In: Toronto
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Nope. it was a complicated process to set up the permissions. I need to confirm that it was all set up correctly. However; now that it has been configured, it is easy to administer. Hatty; I will shortly send you the URL you can use to grant permissions in future.
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Hatty
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In: Berkshire
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Ishmael has kindly emailed me the link (it works!) so people who want access to the Reading Room section can get in touch either on the AEL site or by private message.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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We'd be much obliged if ya'all would order Forgeries from your local library. No, you don't have to read it, just order it. The point being that there's a certain critical mass that gets a book on the Library List and you'd be surprised, if it does, how many get ordered by such inertial tactics. This even applies to nutjobs -- THOBR is in about 150 libraries worldwide in its various incarnations. And of course nutjobs get borrowed off the shelves far more than the jobsworths that sit there glowering sullenly back at the punters.

As to the fate of the book itself, the picture is mixed -- as the scribe said to the abbot. Out twitterstorm has abated (more's the pity) but individuals are coming back with their verdicts. Mostly ho-hum, a few cautiously enthusiastic. As usual nobody dares to confront the Great Mick with any actual technical objections apart from one observing (quite justly) that my comments about archaeology on Lindisfarne and Jarrow/ Monkwearmouth were rather off -- though he will get his comeuppance once I've run the runes over it. The poor sap doesn't know what's going to hit him. Or after it's hit him of course.

Still a remarkable lack of critiques from the faithful, I see (with noble exceptions, you know who you are). What are you, mice or rats?
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Ishmael


In: Toronto
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Still reading.
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