tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post7546645472418915477..comments2023-09-27T03:46:36.401-07:00Comments on Piers Gaveston: Argument or facts? Ian Mortimer's Medieval IntrigueAnerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-65123539997674839212013-11-25T05:38:23.710-08:002013-11-25T05:38:23.710-08:00Hi everybody, here is a new novel about King Edwar...Hi everybody, here is a new novel about King Edward II of England, and a website dedicated to an exciting new archival research project aimed at discovering the truth about how he really died. The novel comes highly recommended by Kathryn Warner.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUfoCcNu6GA&src_vid=6KS3IRciYMs&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_635816087<br /><br />http://theauramalaproject.wordpress.com/alicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03391897987449018336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-21057183464855745582010-10-08T11:53:10.688-07:002010-10-08T11:53:10.688-07:00It does make you question things you've always...It does make you question things you've always thought were 'true'. You should always go back to the sources and question what they thnk they knew, and why they thought it.Anerjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-88567459354505522762010-10-07T16:11:12.874-07:002010-10-07T16:11:12.874-07:00I had that experience with Varus being an incompet...I had that experience with Varus being an incompetent general. Once you go and question the sources, it turns out that Velleius Paterculus is deeply biased and was more or less licking Sejanus' behind, and Sejanus was busy destroying everyone connected with Germanicus, including Varus' son. No wonder poor Varus got the 'incompetent, lazy, greedy, and overly trusting those barbarians' treatment. If you read between the lines, it turns out that even Tiberius and Velleius himself trusted Arminius during the Pannonian War (and I bet they didn't see any reason why Varus should not have trusted him). It's easy to say I Told You So 20 years later. ;)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-80575382300369737032010-10-06T11:14:23.292-07:002010-10-06T11:14:23.292-07:00Thanks Kathryn. I've been 'spreading the ...Thanks Kathryn. I've been 'spreading the word' about Edward II by telling friends/colleagues about Ian's book, and everyone has said 'that's the red hot poker king' etc. It has been very hard for me to undo that thinking - well, not so much the poker story, but thinking Edward II survived. It makes you question an awful lot of so-called 'facts'. And I definitely owe you a huge THANKS!Anerjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-65728698462866997342010-10-05T04:31:26.200-07:002010-10-05T04:31:26.200-07:00Fascinating post, Anerje, and thank you for the me...Fascinating post, Anerje, and thank you for the mention! It was great to read about how you got interested in Ed and Piers - and I'm delighted that your interest eventually led to us getting to know each other. Funny, I also wrote an essay on Ed at university, taking his death in 1327 as certain fact. I cringe to read it again now, as it's so obvious that I really, really didn't know what I was on about back then! :)<br /><br />It's so true about these unchallenged 'facts' we learn, isn't it? My mother was quite indignant with me when I started talking to her about Ed's survival after 1327 - said 'but I learnt about the red-hot poker at school' as though this made it certainly true. (She's far more open to the survival now!) It's amazing how so many commentators dismiss Ian's brilliant work on this as 'speculative' or 'unconvincing', translate Berkeley's 1330 statement 'he had never known of the death' in elaborate ways to fit their version of what they want it to say, and keep condemning poor Kent as stupid and gullible when there is <i>not one shred of evidence</i> that he was. As Ian says, he was a brave and honourable man, and it's deeply unfair that his name has been maligned so much.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.com