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King Cnut the Great: The Danish King of the English

“Let all men know how empty and powerless is the power of kings, for there is none worth of the name but God, whom heaven, earth, and sea obey.”

—Cnut the Great

Video Above: ‘History Time’ – King Cnut’s Letter to the English People (1019 A.D.) / Primary Source In 1016 after the conclusion of a successful invasion, Cnut of Denmark became the new king of England. This letter, which survives only in the York Gospels, is addressed to Earl Thorkell, regent in England during Cnut’s absence in his Danish kingdom. Parts of the letter have been subjected to Archbishop Wulfstan of York’s intervention. The letter refers to the 1018 settlement at Oxford to observe Edgar’s law and essentially promises good lordship in return for fealty.
 

Cnut the Great
Image Above: King Cnut the Great





Medieval English Warfare

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Medievalist section from 2020 through December 18th, 2021:

Image Above: ‘History Time’ – ‘The Lost History of the North’ – ‘Thored, Oslac & Yorvik’ – The North of northern England was brutal, unforgiving place of conflict between Angles, Britons, Danes, and Saxons.
Video Above: ‘Kings and Generals’ animated historical animated documentary series on the medieval battles continue with a coverage of the battle of Bouvines of 1214. In the aftermath of the Third Crusade and the death of the king of England Richard Lionheart, French king Philip II Augustus attempts to restore his authority over France, but this forces the English king John I Lackland and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Otto IV to ally against him, leading to another Anglo-French war and the battle of Bouvines. The battle had a dramatic influence on European history.
In this new Kings and Generals animated historical documentary, we will cover the Wars of the Roses, describing one of the first Civil Wars in English history. The Hundred Years’ War is over and the descendants of Edward III now divided into the houses of Lancaster, York, and Tudor will fight for the crown. This video features the battles of St. Albans, Wakefield, Towton, Barnet, Tewkesbury, Bosworth and Stoke Field.

Byzantine History and Culture

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Medievalist section from 2020 through December 18th, 2021:

Video Above: ‘TedEd’ – The Rise and Fall of the Byzantine Empire explained in an animated video documentary.
Video Above: ‘Kings and Generals’ – ‘Bulgar-Byzantine Wars’ – An animated historical documentary series about the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars covers the battle of Pliska (Varbitsa) pass between the Roman emperor Nikephoros I and the Khan Krum of the Bulgarian Empire. 
Video Above: ‘Kings and Generals’ – ‘Varangians – Elite Bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors’ – An animated historical documentary series on the armies and tactics of the past with a video on the Varangians, who served as the elite bodyguards of the emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire. These loyal and skilled warriors, mostly of the Norse and Saxon ancestry saved the emperors on many occasions, both in battles and in peace.
Video above: Kings and Generals – “Great Schism: The Bitter Rivalry Between Greek and Latin Christianity.” – We will talk about the rivalry between the Catholic and Orthodox churches in the Middle Ages and how it shaped the history of Christianity and the whole world leading to the events of the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople.
Video above: ‘Kings and Generals’ – Fall Of Constantinople 1453 – Ottoman Wars

Ryan Reeves’ Lectures on Medieval Times

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Medievalist section from 2020 through December 16th, 2021; it captures the culture, life, and history of the ancient Celts of the British Isles (i.e., England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) as well as continental Europe:

Video above: Ryan Reeves (Ph.D. Cambridge) lectures on an introductory overview of medieval culture and history.
Video above: Ryan Reeves (Ph.D. Cambridge) lectures on an introductory overview of medieval culture and society.
Video above: Ryan Reeves (Ph.D. Cambridge) lectures on an introductory overview of medieval knights, chivalry, fealty or liege homage to one’s superiors.
Video above: Ryan Reeves (Ph.D. Cambridge) lectures on medieval life, death, and marriage.
Video Above: ‘Ryan Reeves (Ph.D Cambridge)’ – ‘Who was Charlemagne?’ – Charlemagne was one of the great kings of medieval Europe. He was coronated by the pope in 800 A.D. and spread the faith of Christianity by sword and conversion. Charlemagne therefore is controversial, but this 30-minute video tells his story quickly.

Ancient Celtic History

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Celtophile section from 2020 through December 16th, 2021; it captures the culture, life, and history of the ancient Celts of the British Isles (i.e., England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) as well as continental Europe:

Video Above: History Time – “The Sea-Kingdom: Dál Riata & The Birth of Scotland”
 
A new power emerged in the wild north of Britain after the Roman withdrawal in the Fifth Century AD. It’s name was Dál Riata and it occupied the many islands and archipelagos on both sides of the wild sea between Ireland and Scotland. For a time during the late Sixth and early Seventh Centuries this sea kingdom prospered under the rule of it’s king, Áedán mac Gabráin, who sent his war fleets and trading vessels far and wide throughout the waterways of Northern Britain. Eventually over the centuries the Gaelic inhabitants of Dál Riata merged to a certain extent with the neighboring Picts to eventually develop into the Kingdom of Scotland
Video Above – History Time – “Towers of the North: The Brochs of Iron Age Scotland (3000 BC – 200 AD)”
Picture Above: A statue of the Queen Boudica, the Briton Queen who fought the ancient Roman invasion of Britain.
Video Above: History Time – “Gergovia 52 BC – Caesar’s First Defeat at the hands of the Gauls of present-day Belgium, France, and Switzerland.

The early Scots came first from Ireland and established an early kingdom on the western seaboard of Alba, known as the Sea Kingdom of Dál Riata.

Video Above: History Time – “Constantine II – Viking Age Scotland’s Greatest King (900-943 A.D.)”
Video Above: “Lecture by Sir Barry Cunliffe on March 17, 2008” 
 
“The Celts living in the middle of Europe were the fearsome opponents of the Greeks and Romans and in c. 390 B.C. they actually besieged Rome. The classical writers have much to say about their warlike activities but where did they come from? Until recently it used to be thought that they emerged in Eastern France and Southern Germany and spread westwards to Spain, Brittany, Britain and Ireland taking their distinctive language with them which survives today as Breton, Welsh, Gaelic and Irish. But recent work is suggesting that the Celtic language may have developed in the Atlantic zone of Europe at a very early date, and DNA studies offer some support to this. So who were the Celts? We will explore the evidence and try to offer an answer.”
Britain Begins – Author Interview with Barry Cunliffe
 
Author, historian and researcher Barry Cunliffe discusses his new book Britain Begins and the new ideas on the origins of the Celts. His new book covers the early history of the British Isles, a period of nearly 10,000 years – from the time the first men settled while glaciers receded all the way to the Northern Conquest.
Video Above: J.P. Mallory, Emeritus Professor at Queen’s University, Belfast, lectures on The Origins of the Irish.
Video Above: History Time – Flann Sinna: High King of Ireland (879-916)

Viking History

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Scandophile section from 2020 through December 15th, 2021; it captures the culture, life, and history of the Vikings, Danes, and Norse of medieval Scandinavia:

Video Above: History Time – “1000 AD: A Tour of the Viking World // Vikings Documentary”
Video Above: History Time – “Before the Vikings // Evolution of the Viking Longship #1 (10,000 BC-750 AD)”
Video Above: History Time – “Age of the Vikings // Evolution of the Viking Longship #2 (750-975 A.D.)”

The Story of Vlad Impaler

Video Above: Knowledgia – Vlad III, better known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death. Wallachia, a region in eastern Europe, is situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, leading to the creation of Romania. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania. He was the second son of Vlad Dracul, who became the ruler of Wallachia in 1436

This blog archive page is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Historian section from 2020 through December 15th, 2021.

Russian History

This blog archive is a memorial to content originally curated on the main Ryan Setliff Online page under the Historian section from 2020 through December 15th, 2021:

Video Above: Epic History TV – “Russia” – Five episode documentary on Russia from Rurik to the Revolution of the Bolsheviks.

Video Above: “How Rus Survived Mongols and Crusaders – Rise of Novgorod” – Historical animated documentary series on the history of Kievan Rus continues with an episode on the aftermath of the Mongol Invasion of Rus, the northern Rus attempt to keep their independence, fighting off the Crusader threat from the west and trying to placate the Mongols to the south. This episode focuses on Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Republic of Novgorod, and the battle of Ice of 1242, as we try to explain how the Rus survived between the Teutons and the Khans of the Golden Horde.
Kings and Generals – “Battle of Kulikovo 1380 – Rus-Mongol Wars” | animated historical documentary on the history of the Mongols, continues with a video on the late Golden Horde, as Mami and Tokthamysh wrestle for power, while the Rus princes led by Dmitri Donskoi rise in a rebellion peaking in the epic battle of Kulikovo in 1380.
Video Above: Kings and Generals – “How the Rus Became Christian – Vladimir the Great” – Kings and Generals’ historical animated documentary series on the history of Kievan Rus continues with an episode on the reign of Vladimir the Great. This video will cover how he came to power, alliances with the Vikings, wars with Byzantium and the Turks, and Christianization of Rus that happened during his time.
Video Above: Kings and Generals – “Slavs and Vikings: Medieval Russia and the Origins of the Kievan Rus” – The new Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series will cover the history of Russia, starting with the ancient origins of the Slavs, formation of the early Eastern Slavic states, how the Varyag (Varangians) Vikings led by Rurik took over these states and started to expand towards Byzantium and the Khazars.

Russian Leaders

Bronze Age Vikings | Prehistoric Scandinavian Rock Art

Dan Davis offers a video exposition on Bronze Age Scandinavia: “Prehistoric Scandinavian rock art displays scenes of warriors and long, narrow boats. Are these figures showing some kind of Bronze Age Vikings? The world famous ancient petroglyphs in Sweden, dating to the Nordic Bronze Age, portray a world of sword-wielding warriors and their ships. But these figures — holding aloft axes and spears and shields — are usually said to be carrying out rituals, not warfare. Is that true? Are there any scenes of violence here amongst the thousands of weapon-bearers? If this is about ritual then what were the rituals for? And what can all this tell us about the lives of these seaborne Nordic warriors who lived 3500 years ago?”