History of the World According to the Movies: Part 94 – General History: Daily Life

Do you really want to time travel? Maybe the past wasn’t as perfect as we sometimes think. Check this out to find some surprises.

The Lone Girl in a Crowd

If you think Barry Lyndon is too boring or depressing outlook on life in the 18th century, here is the 1963 Oscar winning film Tom Jones which is based on the 1749 comic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding. Though it doesn’t really provide an ideal portrait of life at the time, it nevertheless shows an accurate one. Still, even so, it continues to remind us that people living in the 18th century (or any other time in history) were just like everyone else, whores, bad table manners, and all.

Of course, I couldn’t end my movie history series without doing a post on daily life. Let’s just say while movies could show our perception of history, this doesn’t mean it played out like it actually did. Let’s just say if we used Smell-O-Vision in the historical film standpoint, you’d probably wouldn’t be able to…

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The Last of the Legions – A brief look at the armies of Rome’s Twilight

Rome’s Legions: All-Conquering? Invincible? Think Again!

Think of Rome’s armies and you’ll probably conjure up an image of the typical 1st century AD legionary. In that era, the empire was bold, brash, burgeoning and seemingly unstoppable. The iconic lorica segmentata (segmented armour vest) symbolised the empire’s military might and technical superiority. But Rome’s dominance was not to last . . .

Continue reading at:

http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/thelastofthelegions-abrieflookatthearmiesofromestwilight

Myth America–True or False

In a previous article, I extolled the virtues of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. One of my favorite sections is entitled Myth America, which describes the history we never quite learned right. Here are some favorites, taken from pages 28-29, 67.

1. Myth: Indians invented scalping as a method to terrorize settlers.