Footnoting History

(Nicole)  Most people think of modern campaigns, such as propaganda posters during World War I, when they hear the word 'propaganda'. But did you know that during the Reformation Protestants and Catholics alike used images in their own propaganda campaigns? Find out more about Protestant Propaganda.

(Kirsti) For 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a monument to the division between East and West. In the summer of 1989, a the borders of Hungary, then Czechoslovakia opened, and thousands of East Germans fled westward. On the 9th of November, East Germany opened the Berlin Wall and the border, allowing free passage for the first time since 1961. What was it like to live in Germany at the time? This week, we explore history within living memory!

(Christine) How could a priest in medieval England, who was single at the time of his ordination, be guilty of bigamy? Can a person actually cheat on Jesus? Join us today as we discuss the ins and outs of this curious clause of canon law and how it brought the dreaded sentence of excommunication down on priests like William Gybbvuns.

(Esther) Country roads were rough, tough, and uneven. But the agile, handsome, and (sometimes) opulently dressed running footmen traversed these treacherous roads to scout, deliver messages, and honor their masters with their ultramarathon endurance. Holding a staff, an egg, and maybe a little white wine, was the running footman the first professional runner of the modern age?

(Lucy) In the 16th century, high taxes and fears of apocalypse went hand in hand, and from the fairly common practice of calling for church reform emerged a series of movements which have become known as the capital-R Reformation. This week we’ll be discussing insults to the Pope, the problem of identifying Lutherans, and how civic and ecclesiastical leaders accidentally created an agreement that was called the most important event in the history of the world.

(Lucy and Elizabeth) From the early to mid-twentieth century, queens of crime Sayers, Christie, Marsh, and Wentworth reigned supreme over British detective fiction. Their works not only reveal whodunit but give insight into how queer women lived in and were viewed by wider society from capital to countryside.

(Lesley) In the middle of the Reformation, Parliament passed a law criminalizing some forms of sexuality. This became known as the Buggery Law of 1533. Why would the government be interested in regulating sex? An investigation into official records reveals that it had less to do with the bedroom and everything to do with power, privilege, and piety.

(Nathan) An elephant may seem a strange thing to give as a gift, but these exotic animals--along with giraffes, lions, polar bears, and hyenas--were prized inhabitants of medieval and early modern menageries.  Join us as we look at the history of five pachyderms, including, Abul-Abbas, given as a gift to Charlemagne, and Hanno, the pet elephant of Pope Leo X.

(John) How did Hernán Cortés and his “300” soldiers topple the Aztecs? What motivated these conquistadores, and what legal justifications did they use to legitimize this conquest? Find the answer to these questions and more as we explore the clashing of the Aztec and Spanish empires.

(Kirsti) What’s the best approach to consolidating power and land within your family? The ambitious Habsburgs achieved greatness through marrying close relations—surely a sound policy that could have no consequences at all! This week we’ll talk about love (or the lack thereof), marriage, and the chin that sparked a war.

(Nicole) When many people think of Late Antique society, they think of powerful secular and ecclesiastical rulers; mighty emperors and archbishops. While the Archbishop of Ravenna certainly was a powerful person within the city, answering in theory only to the emperors' representative, the exarch, he had his fair share of problems with both the lay people of Ravenna and even his clergy! Find out more about the archbishop and exarch's struggles.

(Elizabeth) The Jesuits were tasked with a large order: convert the Chinese to Christianity. Their nontraditional methods ended up getting them in a lot of trouble.

(Christine and Nathan) What on earth is a city of smugglers? Why did Napoleon like to tease his Second Consul so much? And what would you have seen if you attended Napoleon’s coronation? This week we move beyond Napoleon the man to the experiences of his subjects answering these questions and more!

(Esther) The story of the most popular long-distance event, from its origins in ancient literature to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and how a young farmer, Spyridon 'Spyros' Louis (1873-1940), became an unlikely national hero.

(Samantha) In June 2013 the British government agreed to pay approximately £20 million in reparations to individuals tortured during the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya in the 1950s. But who were the Mau Mau? What was the emergency? And why do the British feel they should owe a debt?

(Lucy) In Don Giovanni, Wolfgang Amadeus and Lorenzo da Ponte created opera's most famous antihero. Find out how Mozart and Da Ponte were influenced by the philosophical ideas and social concerns of their day in forging a tale of class conflict and libertinism, violence and seduction, private passions and public space... and find out why this opera without a genre had different endings in the two greatest cities of the Holy Roman Empire.

(Lesley) The religious consequences of the European Reformation are often part of our education. But the 16th century saw reformations across the globe: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Aztec beliefs. At the heart of this change was Mughal Emperor Akbar, who combined all of these beliefs into a single new global religion: Divine Faith.

(Elizabeth and Christine) The Kingdom of Great Britain is celebrating today because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have welcomed their first child, a son! In this special edition of Footnoting History, we discuss the history of royal baby names in Great Britain from the most popular to those you are not likely to see on the throne again any time soon. What must a future king and queen consider when naming their child? If your child was going to rule a country, what would you name him or her?

(Nathan and Christine) It's Bastille Day weekend so we make a return to France for today's topic.  In the third installment of our Revolutionary France series, we'll talk about the scandals, intrigues, and tragedies of Napoleon and his inner circle.

(Kirsti) The people of Prague have a unique approach to the resolution of religious and political arguments: throwing the opposition out of windows! Listen as we explore this odd tradition throughout history, starting in 1419 and continuing to 1948.