In this episode, we catch up with the development and Christianization of Rus Civilization, and discuss its hybridization with the other societies of Inner Europe. In doing so, we introduce some of the dynastic conflicts, rapidly changing peripheral strongholds, and family ties that the non-imperial powers of Inner Europe would develop amongst themselves just prior to the flourishing of the High Middle Ages.

New episodes every Monday! (Excepting this October!)

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1948.

Schmidt, Knud Rahbek. The Social Structure of Russia in the Early Middle Ages. University of Aarhus. 1960.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Davies, Norman. Moorhouse, Roger. Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City. Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

In this episode, we continue the political narrative of the Renewed Roman Empire in the West by talking about the later Ottonians and the early Salians, the "Holy Emperors" who would transform the empire into its second major phase of political development, that of Imperial Autocracy, the "Salian Command Monarchy". We will also look at the gradual transformation and development of Imperial Identity. The general trend would be territorialization in the west, and the pursuit of hegemony in the East...

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

Apostolic Majesty. 5. Formation of the Holy Roman Empire. Youtube.com, 2021.

Schwerpunkt. Conrad II and his Time. Youtube.com, 2023.

In this series, we begin to see Inner Europe as a more defined society, interacting with entities as recognized entities, and with a shared Romano-German and Romano-Greek approach to relations. This will lead to the next chapter of development, and a new struggle for identity between public and private powers in the 11th century.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

In this episode, we investigate the political overhauls that occurred after the end of the Magyar time of adventures. These would come hand in hand with the christianization of the clans, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary with the concurrence of the pope and Emperor Otto III. The newly honored king though, St. Stephen of Hungary, would have a momentous challenge of reconquest ahead to stand a chance at successful consolidation. Around Hungary, other powers, namely the Kingdom of Croatia, would also undergo immense change as a result of the fates of the Empires around them.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Moravcsik, Gyula. The Role of the Byzantine Church in Medieval Hungary. Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 1947.

In this episode, we weave together the few sources of the Riverlands in the 10th and early 11th centuries with what we have already learned about Slavic societal development to tell a narrative of Poland's foundation and consolidation under Mieszko I, Bolesław the Brave, and Mieszko II. In a mere half-century, they would go from a single semi-consolidate tribe under the Piasts in greater Poland, to a northern hegemony taking on and gaining victories over such powers as the Holy Roman Empire and the Rus. Of course, this would not happen without much difficulty, near total collapse, and permanent implications for the future.

Source List

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.

Davies, Norman. Moorhouse, Roger. Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City. Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Reports of the Slavs from Muslim Lands Part I, Ibrahim Ibn Ya'Qub's Account. Jassa.org, 2015.

In this episode, we focus in on the subregion of Bohemia, surrounded by the Sudetan mountains. We will summarize the early growth of its societies, specifically focusing on the period following the dissolution of Great Moravia and consolidation of the Bohemian Basin under the first Christian Přemyslid Dukes in the 10th century. Through their stories, we aim to learn how Bohemia was able to be consolidated into a strong and autonomous power for centuries to come, and what models will come to be applied to the other growing powers of Inner Europe.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Davies, Norman. Moorhouse, Roger. Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City. Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

In this series, we introduce finally the stories of the native-led conversions of the influential dyansties of eastern Inner Europe, namely, the Přemyslids of Bohemia, the Piasts of Poland, and the Arpads of Hungary. With them will come the "birth" of their unique societies and written histories. To set up these stories in this introduction, we summarize a few of the important parallels in worldview between the traditional beliefs of Inner Europe and 10th century Catholic Christianity, which help to explain why these rulers underwent such sweeping change, and why this change was largely successful.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

In this episode, we focus once more on the southern frontier of Inner Europe, to see the bloody resolution of conflict between the First Bulgarian Empire and a revived Byzantium. This includes the rule of the tsar Peter I, but also the unexpected rise of the Cometopuli, led by the ambitious and talented conqueror and later Tsar Samuel. We will also discuss Byzantine administration during this time, the "Byzantine Golden Era", and how it was adapted for rule in the Balkans, and what influences it would begin to show within Inner Europe.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Krsmanovic, Bojana. The Byzantine Province in Change (On the Threshold Between the 10th and the 1th Century). Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Byzantine Studies, 2008.

Moravcsik, Gyula. The Role of the Byzantine Church in Medieval Hungary. Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 1947.

Heath, Ian. McBride, Angus. Byzantine Armies 886-1118. Osprey Publishing, 1979.

Schwerpunkt, Basil II Porphyrogenitus. Youtube.com, 2023.

Apostolic Majesty, The Byzantine Golden Age. Youtube.com, 2021.