Category Archives: History

Our Favorite Things in 2015

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: In a nice bit of symmetry, three of my favorite albums from last year had sequels this year. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys gave us more retro rock n’ roll grooves with The Arcs’ Yours, Dreamily, Chavurches … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History, Movies, Music, The Good Life, Theater | 6 Comments

I was Surprised at a Scythian Speaking Greek

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: When Attila entered the village he was met by girls advancing in rows, under thin white canopies of linen, which were held up by the outside women who stood under them, and were so large that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged Attila the Hun, Huns, Priscus, Roman Empire | 3 Comments

Scholarly Writing and “The Fall of Rome”

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Though I have a doctorate I am not a scholar. That’s partly because I got a doctorate late in life, well past the time I might have developed good, or at least acceptable, scholarly habits. It is also … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged Bryan Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome | 7 Comments

Juxtaposin’: Refugees

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: There will be more calls in the coming days to close the United States’ borders to refugees, and in France and the rest of Europe, those voices will likely be deafening. Already in the midst of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, History, Politics and Economics | Tagged Ancient Rome, Edward Gibbon, Gothic War, Goths, Juxtaposin', Rolling Stone, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire | 2 Comments

Quote Du Jour: Selling Out The Provincials

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Because the military position of the imperial government in the fifth century was weak, and because the Germanic invaders could be appeased, the Romans on occasion made treaties with particular groups, formally granting them territory on which to … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged Ancient Rome, barbarian invasions, late antiquity, selling out the provincials | 1 Comment

Listing Books: Anti-Modernism

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: It’s funny how after over a century of a near-stranglehold on elite sensibilities, modernism refuses to give an inch in the art world. Whether in novels, gallery art, architecture, fashion, or music, the implicit (or even at times, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books Publishing and Writing, Education, History, Philosophy and Religion | Tagged modernism, postmodernism, traditionalism | 7 Comments

A Magnificence Suitable to a People Who Styled Themselves the Masters of the World

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: The only merit of the administration of Carinus that history could record, or poetry celebrate, was the uncommon splendor with which, in his own and his brother’s name, he exhibited the Roman games of the theatre, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Books Publishing and Writing, History | Tagged And you complained about Cecil the Lion, Carinus, Edward Gibbon, Roman Empire, Rome, the Colosseum, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire | 5 Comments

Quote Du Jour: Revolution, Architecture, and the Law

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: The most important consequence of the Papal Revolution was that it introduced into Western history the experience of revolution itself. In contrast to the older view of secular history as a process of decay, there was introduced a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, History, Law | Tagged Gothic architecture, Harold Berman, legal history, medieval history, Papal Revolution | Leave a comment

Law Without Lawyers in Ancient Greece

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Lawyers never secured a stable foothold in the societies of ancient Greece. Athenians showed little enthusiasm for the practice of law, although they enthusiastically indulged in philosophical speculations about the nature of legal systems. Indeed, they sought to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law | Tagged ancient Greece, law without lawyers | Leave a comment

Random Notes on Spengler’s “Decline of the West”

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Sir Barken Hyena

Sir Barken Hyena writes: Like a snake slowly digesting a fat rabbit, I’ve been working my way through this massive and challenging work for the last 4 or 5 years. While I’m not ready to write the Cliff Notes version, … Continue reading →