3611
Online museum and repository for historical and ancestral knowledge.
Celtiberian iron sword from the necropolis of Val, near Alpanseque, in Soria province, Spain; 5th or 4th century B.C. 🇪🇸
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Hradiště hill in Bohemia, Czech Republic. 🇨🇿 The river Vltava visible in the second photo.
This forested hill located south of Prague was once occupied by one of the largest settlements in the Celtic world (probably the capital of the Gallic Boii, and later the Volcae Tectosages). The last phase of occupation lasted from around the mid 2nd century B.C. to the end of the 1st; about 150 years. Prior to that, there had been settlements there since the Neolithic, which grew into a large fortified town during the Urnfield and Hallstatt periods (middle to late bronze age). This original town was destroyed by fire between 400 and 350 B.C; then rebuilt even bigger after two centuries or so of lying in ruins. Enclosing an area of nearly 200 hectares with murus Gallicus type walls, the Závist Oppidum can only be described as a city. Indeed, the settlement also occupied and enclosed the neighboring Šance hill across the Břežany stream, making it a veritable metropolis. In and around Závist large scale farming and varied craftsmanship took place, while the city’s trade links went as far as Greece, northern Italy, and the Baltic. Given everything archaeologists have uncovered there and at similar sites throughout Europe, it’s become impossible to corroborate Greco-Roman accounts of “uncivilized barbarians” living in and roaming about Europe. It would seem that such notions are silly myths and hubristic propaganda.
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Throwback to one of Sean Connery’s most iconic roles. 🏴😁
Resht in peashe, old fren.
Discussion of the role played by Nassau Senior in engineering the tragic Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852).
Original post: https://x.com/AidenHunterX/status/1843870320798961762
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History of the Scottish Covenanters; part 4 🏴
Image: The death of Hector McLean at the Battle of Inverkeithing; 1873 sketch by James Grant.
The execution of king Charles I Stuart by English Parliamentarians in 1649 came as a shock to many people in Scotland. In the case of the Covenanters, it was a step too far. It caused most of them to again take a strong royalist stance: They signed the Treaty of Breda with the murdered king’s son, Charles II, agreeing to support him in a bid to overthrow the Commonwealth of England and retake the throne. This of course, provoked a war with England and its de facto dictator, Oliver Cromwell, who invaded Scotland preemptively. Unfortunately, the Covenanters were still plagued by the incompetence and divisiveness of certain prominent men within the Kirk Party, although the Marquess of Argyll Archibald Campbell was no longer among them, as he himself had become an ardent supporter of the alliance with Charles. These divisions and poor leadership made the Anglo-Scottish War of 1650-52 a disaster for the Covenanters. For example, before the 1650 Battle of Dunbar, Kirk Party hardliners dismissed the best part of the Scottish army on suspicion of still having Engager sympathies, which caused the inexperienced leftover troops to be defeated by Cromwell’s New Model Army.
In the aftermath of Dunbar, large numbers of Gaelic Highlanders rose out to support the Covenanters and defend Scotland from Cromwell, most notably the staunchly Protestant Clan MacLean. The McLeans had previously been among the principal supporters of the Marquess of Montrose, James Graham during his 1644-46 Scottish campaign to support king Charles I. Thus, chief Hector McLean was killed in a hail of English gunfire at the 1651 Battle of Inverkeithing. Other Highlanders accompanied the Scottish force that invaded England and fought the Battle of Worcester alongside English and Welsh royalists, acquitting themselves well and repelling numerous assaults by the New Model Army at Powick Bridge. Still, the royalists were outnumbered two to one, and the battle was ultimately lost, giving the Parliamentarians another victory in the Third English Civil War. Scotland was subsequently incorporated into the Commonwealth. A royalist revolt —known as Glencairn’s Rising— broke out in the Highlands in 1653, in which Catholics and Protestants combined forces in a bid to free Scotland. But it did not garner enough support and was also racked by division, so that it was suppressed within a year. The failure of the Scottish royalists at this time represents one of the lowest points of Scottish history, as the nation lost both the monarchy and its sovereignty.
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La Hermida Gorge in Cantabria, Spain. 🇪🇸
La Hermida is the longest gorge in all of Spain. It is located in the Ándara massif in the Picos de Europa, along the course of the Deva River (a name of Indo-European origin meaning "goddess"). Until very recently, the folklore of Cantabrian peasants still spoke of a creature that made its home among the cliffs and slopes of the gorge: The Bear-Woman of Ándara (Spanish: La Osa de Ándara). It was a creature resembling both a human woman and a brown bear, which hibernated during winters and emerged to forage every spring. Some folklorists have claimed that the Bear-Woman of Ándara was an actual person who lived in the 19th century and suffered from hypertrichosis (a.k.a. “werewold syndrome”), being forced to live a feral existence in the wild due to social stigmatization (source).
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Iron weapons recovered from a peat bog at Lisnacrogher, in county Antrim, Northern Ireland; 1st century B.C. On display at the British Museum in London.
Shown are a La Tène style short-sword, a spearhead, a scabbard-chape, and six knobbed spear-butts. These and other items are believed to have been deposited in the bog as votive offerings. The spearhead is 24 cm long and was said to have been found with remains of a wooden shaft that measured 2.4 m.
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Bronze horse fibula, from the ruins of the Celtiberian city of Numantia, in Soria province, Spain; 2nd century B.C. 🇪🇸
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Coastal heath in Exmoor National Park; Somerset, England (formerly the Kingdom of Dumnonia). 🏴🏴
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Bronze decorative mount made in La Tène style, found at Sutton-Scotney in Hampshire, England; 1st century B.C. 🏴
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Silver coin (1 drachma) of the Gallic Ruteni people, found near Rodez, in Aveyron (formerly Rouergue), France; 2nd or 1st century B.C. ⚜️🇫🇷
The obverse bears an apparently abbreviated inscription: VIIRIA, while the reverse displays: BIRACOS. The Gallic Ruteni were vassals of the Arverni and fought alongside Vercingetorix against Caesar, being noted for their specialty as archers. Their capital city of Segodunum later became Rodez, which name is derived from that of the tribe.
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Conques, in Aveyron (formerly Rouergue), France. ⚜️🇫🇷
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The Third Crusade’s forgotten Celtic warriors: Pictured: Crusaders battling Muslims at the Siege of Acre (AD 1189-1191); art by Angus McBride. 🏴⚜️🇫🇷🇩🇪🇫🇷🏴⚔️🏳️🌈
The Third Crusade was launched in 1189 to recover Jerusalem after the devastating defeat suffered by the Christians at the 1187 Battle of Hattin. Its principal leaders were Richard I “the Lionheart” of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick “Barbarossa” (of Germany). After the Siege of Acre, Richard ended up being the principal protagonist after Philip quarreled with him and abandoned the campaign, while Frederick had fallen from his horse and drowned before reaching Palestine. Richard’s army was mostly French, having been primarily recruited from his Angevin Empire dominions in western France and also including 7,000 soldiers left behind with him by Philip. But it also included large numbers of Bretons and Welshmen. The Welsh cleric Gerald of Pembroke told in his treatise Itinerarium Cambriae of how he accompanied archbishop Baldwin II of Canterbury through Wales, successfully recruiting soldiers for the campaign.
The Third Crusade was a smashing success, although it ultimately failed to take Jerusalem. Richard’s fleet —which included a large Breton contingent— stopped in Portugal and helped king Sancho I win several engagements against the Almohads before continuing to Palestine. Upon arrival, the crusaders helped break up a Muslim counter-siege during the Siege of Acre, defeating the Ayyubid Sultan Saladdin and capturing the city. During the combat operations there, a Muslim jihadi challenged a Welsh soldier named “Mardoc” to an archery duel. The Welshman won the contest and killed his opponent. Richard also famously executed 2,700 Muslim prisoners after Saladdin failed to negotiate. From then on, Richard was more or less on his own, yet still managed to defeat Saladdin in spite of being outnumbered 3 to 1 at the Battle of Arsuf (AD 1191). Another major victory was gained the following year at the Battle of Jaffa. Only inclement weather, divisions among the crusaders, and matters requiring Richard’s attention back in Europe prevented them from retaking Jerusalem. The humiliated Kurdish sultan (Saladdin) was forced to accept defeat and negotiate a truce. Prior to these events, Barbarossa’s German crusaders had also enjoyed a hugely successful venture crossing Anatolia en route to Palestine: They defeated a much larger Turkish army at the 1190 Battle of Philomelion and then sacked the Seljuq Sultanate’s capital at the Battle of Iconium 11 days later, again defeating a much larger Turkish force. Barbarossa died before reaching Palestine and his troops mostly turned back after Acre, due in part to quarrels with Richard.
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Castilian troops execute prisoners after the Siege of Málaga; August 1487. 🇪🇸⚔️🏳️🌈
The last conflict of the reconquista was the Granada War of 1482-1492, which was provoked by a Muslim raid —in violation of a truce— on the Christian town of Zahara. The siege of this once Phoenician city in 1487 by a large joint-army of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragón was one of the main engagements of the war. The city was offered to negotiate a surrender by king Ferdinand II of Aragón, but refused. For that reason, the inhabitants were treated harshly when they surrendered later on, after a three month siege and numerous battles. Large numbers of Muslim defenders were executed, including the commander Hamad al Tagrí. A group led by the merchant Ali Dordux held out in the citadel for some time and negotiated a different surrender, being spared and allowed to remain after the conquest. Around 15,000 of the inhabitants were sold into slavery, while the city’s Sephardic community was led into captivity and held for ransom. They were forced to surrender all their wealth and even send representatives elsewhere to beg for more funds in order to complete the demanded payment. The Castilians subsequently repopulated the city and surrounding region by giving land grants to soldiers and settling around 5,500 native families from Extremadura, León, Castile, and Galicia there.
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Addendum (History of the Scottish Covenanters) 2: Did Cromwell bring the Jews back to England?
The answer is… well… YES. The decision to allow the Jews back in England came at the 1655 Whitehall Conference. Cromwell convened this gathering of lawyers, merchants, and clergymen so that he and his adherents could argue for readmission of the Jews. They ended up concluding that the 1290 Edict of Expulsion issued by king Edward I “Longshanks” was invalid (reflecting again, their anti-monarchical thinking). Notably, Cromwell stopped the discussion to avoid a result adverse to his aims after many clergymen raised compelling objections. Cromwell had been advocating for the Jews’ return since 1651. He even provided lodging to Jewish merchants to come to England and make their appeal at the conference. Historians have discussed his motives, which seem to have included a desire to attract Jewish merchants following Parliament’s 1651 Navigation Acts, as well as to use them as spies (source: Wolf, Lucien, Cromwell’s Jewish Intelligencers; a Paper Read at Jews’ College Society; 1891). As a result of his advocacy, small numbers of Jews began moving to England with informal permission during Cromwell’s lifetime. More came afterward with the approval of kings Charles II Stuart and William III of Orange, both of whom had become heavily indebted to Jewish financiers as a result of the civil strife in the Isles. By the 18th century, the newcomers had fully integrated with English elites and London had become the center of European and Jewish finance. While not a formal act of parliament or royal decree, the findings of Whitehall Conference were effectively the legal precedent that enabled this. Cromwell’s advocacy was thus instrumental in creating this reality, a reality under which the whole world chafes even to this day. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇮🇱
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Silver coin from Dublin, Ireland, minted during the reign of king Murchad mac Diarmata of Dublin (AD 1052-1070). 🇮🇪
Murchad is the eponymous ancestor of the Irish Meic Murchadha dynasty of Leinster. He was the son of the High King of Ireland, Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, who had conquered Norse Dublin and placed him on the throne in AD 1052, expelling the previous king, Ecmarcach mac Raghnaill. Diarmait is notable for having been the only Leinster king to attain the High Kingship in historic times.
Diarmait and Murchad were also notable for having launched two invasions of England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. The sons of the slain Saxon king Harold Godwinson, Godwin, Edmund, and Magnus, had fled to Ireland and been given asylum by king Diarmait. They returned to England with a Norse-Irish fleet of 52 ships —likely commanded by Murchad— and landed near Bristol in 1068. An attempt to storm the town was unsuccessful, whereupon they moved to Somerset and were confronted by an Anglo-Saxon army led by Eadnoth the Staller. Eadnoth was defeated and killed at the violent Battle of Bleadon, and it’s thought Magnus may have also fallen. The invaders had taken heavy losses and so decided to return to Ireland with their spoils. The sons of Harold would return from Ireland the next year with over 60 ships, landing at Appledore in Devon. Their forces advanced to Northam and began raiding the surrounding countryside. They were surprised there by a mixed Saxon-Breton force commanded by Brian of Brittany, a son of count Odo of Penthièvre. After an initial clash, the Norse-Irish retreated to their ships and were forced to make a stand at the beach, as the tide was out and their ships could not be launched. They fought and kept the Bretons and Saxons at bay there until the rising of the tide, losing 1,700 men killed in action before finally retreating to their ships and returning to Ireland. After those Battles of Northam, king Diarmait was no longer willing to help the sons of Harold and they went elsewhere to seek aid. Murchad and Diarmait would eventually be killed fighting the Irish of Meath (in 1070 and 1072 respectively).
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Weapons and accoutrements (swords, scabbards, spearheads, chain-belt, shield-boss, brooch, bracelets) recovered from the ancient city of Avaricum (now Bourges, in the Cher department of France); 1st century B.C. ⚜️🇫🇷 The items belonged to Gallic warriors who defended the city against the 52 B.C. siege by Julius Caesar.
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☝🏻Should have one more episode of this coming… if I were ever to cover the history of the Jacobites, I would need to cover the history of the Covenanters first. The events that occurred in their time and in which they were principally involved set the stage for, and tie into, the later events which saw Jacobitism take center stage in Scottish history. It was all very complex, so…
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Hoard of bronze objects, including a broken sword, an armlet, and a mysterious set of disks, interpreted by some as a sort of musical instrument, found near Vaudrevange, in Saarland, Germany; 10th century B.C. 🇩🇪
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The river Eden in Fife, Scotland. 🏴
The name of this river (and other similarly named ones throughout Britain — most notably the one that runs through Cumbria in England) is not related to that of the Biblical Garden of Eden, but rather, to a Celtic word —Ituna— which means “rushing water”. The upper course of the Scottish Eden was known as Strathmiglo, from a Pictish word —mign— which means “a bog”. There is still a village called Strathmiglo along the middle course of the river.
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Bronze bracelets, anklets, brooch and toe-rings, from the burial of a young Gallic woman found near Slaný, in central Bohemia, Czech Republic; early La Tène, 4th century B.C. 🇨🇿
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Looking toward the Black Cuillins from Minginish on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. 🏴
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Addendum (History of the Scottish Covenanters) 1: The motive for entering into the Solemn League and Covenant was that the Parliamentarians agreed to reform the church of England by implementing Presbyterian government. Covenanters rightly guessed that this would solve the problem of the King of England —who was also the head of the Church of England— trying to forcefully impose Episcopal polity and other Anglican peculiars on the Scottish Kirk. They were essentially trying to guarantee Scotland’s religious freedom, as well as a healthy separation of church and state.
The English however, reneged on this deal, after the colonel George Joyce kidnapped king Charles at gunpoint —with the approval Oliver Cromwell— in June of 1647, and then Cromwell used his New Model Army to stage a coup and purge the English Parliament of Presbyterians (Two years later, Cromwell and Joyce would also play a key role in moving Parliament to execute the king). Unwilling to be coerced, Charles escaped from where he was being held in November of 1647, and entered into negotiations with the Scots to get their help in restoring him to power. The way the English Puritans and Baptists of the New Model Army had held Charles captive and tried to force him to accept terms that left him and his supporters powerless in many respects showed early on a disdain for, and inclination to nullify the monarchy. Their subsequent move against Parliament would have also been seen as a violation of the Solemn League and Covenant. The Covenanters were thus motivated to sign The Engagement with the king, again demanding that Charles implement Presbyterian governance in England, though he only agreed to do so for a period of three years.
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Meanwhile… somewhere in Poland… 🇵🇱😁 (how did I know this was Poland, you ask? well… 😏)
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View over Brittany from the heather-covered top of Ménez Hom; Finistère, Brittany. 🇫🇷
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How can anyone not love France? How can anyone not love Europe? Not possible for me.
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The Marais Poitevin (French: “Poitevin Marsh”), a.k.a. “The Green Venice”; in Poitou, France. ⚜️🇫🇷
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Lough Leane (Irish: Loch Léin) looking toward the McGillicuddy’s Reeks, in Killarney National Park; county Kerry, Ireland. 🇮🇪
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Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. 🇮🇹
In the year 283 B.C; this city (at that time ‘Arretium’) was besieged by the Gallic Senones people who inhabited parts of the Marche and southern Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy (the same ones who’d sacked Rome about a century earlier). The local Etruscans were vassals of the Roman Republic, and so a Roman army was despatched to the city’s aid. A battle was fought outside the city, in which the Gauls defeated the Romans with heavy slaughter, killing around 13,000 of them including the commander, the praetor Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter. A cruel war broke out between the Romans and the Italian Celts as a result, but accounts of the subsequent events are suspect, with Polybius and Appian contradicting one another, and the latter’s account even sounding entirely fictitious.
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