Wednesday 8 January 2014

WDF 25.4 At Last!

Ah yes it really has been a while, life does tend to ruin my plans at the best of times. I'm not going to roll out all the reasons for why it took so long this time around, you're probably aware of them already if you follow us on Facebook. The most important thing is, we're back, hopefully with a bang, but definitely to deliver you the continuation of the story you now know so well. If you don't know it so well, check out the back catalogue on the 30 Years War.

Yes sir, this special really has dragged on, I thought WW1 was bad! I am not going to set a date for when this'll be done and dusted, but rest assured it's at the top of my priorities list for the foreseeable future. When have you ever heard that before?

So 1620-1623, what's the story with that then? This is really the episode that will introduce you to everyone else's problems, and lead you comfortably towards the widening of the conflict in th next few episodes. It's quite a story to see it all unfold, so I hope you'll enjoy this episode.

Without a doubt, Brennan Purcell's book The Winter King was invaluable for this episode, as you may have noticed. The insight one gets into the period when reading a focused history like this is far more impressive than the kind you get from a general history like those of Geoffrey Parker etc. That's not to say the latter is no use or less valuable, I would in truth be lost without them, I just love at the same time the angled historical books, the ones that try to make us think, rather than just telling us the story that has been handed down over the generations without any real attempts to engage with it. Expect another focused history book along the same lines as Purcell's to cover an important, but controversial figure on the other side of the fence. You'll be introduced to him properly in the next episode. Here's the 411 with Purcell's book anyways;

 Brennan Purcell, The Winter King (Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003).

Now then, a photo for your convenience. Here's the Palatine, shaded in grey in comparison to the rest of Europe. Now you can see why it's hard to describe it geographically in your head, the whole set up of the Palatine is a flaming mess!


This map also gives you a pretty good view of the HRE as a whole, so take a good gander at it! Maybe try and keep it memorized a tad for your future convenience.

Right, now I'm off to plan WDF 25.5, so thankssss for listening! (and reading!)

1 comment:

  1. I love your stuff Zack - I'm gobsmacked that you manage to churn out such quality material while studying for a degree,

    I have an hour-long journey to work and back each day - and it's great to be educated on things I'd otherwise take no interest at all in, like the Dutch revolt and the Thirty years place. Your take on history is much more fascinating than what I did in school.

    Ever thought of doing some episodes picking out common themes from all of the periods of history you've looked at? perhaps you could call it 'Why Diplomacy Fails'?

    One for when you've completed your degree perhaps :)

    Dean Morrison, Hastings, UK

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