Now into the story of Eng and his spoiled bride-to-be, Isabella Kardashian-Hilton. Woman sounds awful.
-
-
Here we go. Looting and explosions and sirens and choppers in DTLA outside as we pick up the story in 1360s Italy.
Show this thread -
Another boom outside my window. Fireworks? Meanwhile in 14th century Italy Duke Lionel of England dies after marrying Violante Visconti at a lavish wedding and elsewhere Philip of Burgundy marries Marguerite of Flanders which will apparently have consequences later.
Show this thread -
“The amount the rich could squander on occasions like these in a period of repeated disasters appears inexplicable, not so much with regard to motive as with regard to means. Where, in the midst of ruin and decline... did the money come from to endow the luxury?”
Show this thread -
France and England back at war. Eng begs neutrality and goes off to fight in papal-Visconti wars instead. Wins glory in future war that changes nothing and returns with honor to a France that’s winning. Plague back for third wave, Petrarch and Boccaccio dead. 1374.
Show this thread -
This section is a bit of a slog. Tedious chapter in the 100 years war. Very grimdark wind-down of futile shit. Age of chivalry slowly dying, nobody achieving any strategic aims. Key figures aging and dying. Eng has had a charmed career so far.
Show this thread -
Second half of book is turning into a bit of a drag. First half was going brrrr. Not author’s fault. The material is like our time. Running out of manic pandemic energy. Eng off to fight a war in Austria to claim some title. Financed by French monarchy to get rid of companies.
Show this thread -
This is the Gugler war. The mercenary army was barely in control, pillaging along the way. Half the intent was to lose them. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gugler
Show this thread -
So this was an attack on Switzerland against a dowry claimed from Austria. Swiss peasants beat back French-English mercenary knight brigands and this battle paved the way for Swiss independence later. Kinda interesting. Swiss and Flemish peasants were rare commoner non-losers.
Show this thread -
Dowries and marriages were like corporate board memberships looks like. High nobles all had claims on all sorts of titles all over Europe, via succession calculus. Church exercised power by sanctioning some consanguineous marriages but not others. Everybody was cousins.
Show this thread -
Fairly decent system for keeping ownership circulating in a fixed elite class of nobles since they didn’t marry out of the class. Feudal estates = crony corporations. Distant claimants of titles via dowries etc = activist shareholders. Buncha Carl Icahns basically.
Show this thread -
Most of the wars were carefully justified as just wars. Paper trails for religious-legal reasons. The church was sort of a spiritual SEC. Ransom ops make sense as stock and debt deals. This was just a very violent and inefficient capital market.
Show this thread -
Humanity has always been depressingly stupid, violent, and apathetic. Earth should just be demolished by Vogons to make the hyperspace bypass. On some key fronts we’ve learned nothing of importance in 700 years.
Show this thread -
Funny how they endowed perpetual rents on monasteries for perpetual prayers for their souls while going off to fight in constant corporate raider type wars. Hobbesian eternity with afterlife insurance. They really thought nothing would ever change on earth or heaven. Grimdark.
Show this thread -
Today’s equivalent: corporate barons endowing universities in perpetuity to eternally keep the family name laundered and clean forever.
Show this thread -
Back to this slog. Coucy returns to England in dual role as son in law to Edward looking in on lands, and emissary of France on the DL to broker peace. England is now in same shit of depopulation, brigandage, and restive peasants. The legend of Robin Hood is growing in popularit.
Show this thread -
Kinda interesting. The knights had their Arthurian legends, the peasants their Robin Hood and William Tells. Never noticed the Europe-wide pattern.
Show this thread -
Now reading about John Wycliffe who laid the seeds of secession from Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism to come centuries later. Never heard of him. Doh realization that Brexit is not the first English secession from an EU. It all makes sense now. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe …
Show this thread -
Damn everybody of importance in this story is really young. Under 40 mostly. We are such an old society.
Show this thread -
Alright back to this slog. Can’t really read more than 20-30 minutes/night so I’m essentially live tweeting the 14th century at about 400x speed. 90 days to read about 100 years? I’m beginning to suspect this story won’t have a happy ending.
Show this thread -
My mansion must have a robot seneschal. Wtf how do I not have a seneschal. This is unfair. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneschal
Show this thread -
Tables turned. France ascendant, Edward and Black Prince both dead. Eng finally picks a side, the winning one, forfeiting both English allegiance and property and wife Isabella. French raudcEngkand triggering peasants rebellion. Karmic meat grinder here.
Show this thread -
Apparently this was when nationalism began superseding feudal allegiances crafted by marriages. Eng’s divorce was symbolic. This was when the channel became basis of boundary between England and France rather than noble family land titles. Nobility= tax-haven corps today.
Show this thread -
I’m struck by how much religion was an economics theory back then. Indulgences, confession. absolution, heaven/hell, grace: these were all monetary concepts in 14th century with church being spiritual bank. Even used metaphor of Jesus paying off debt of sins, treasury of merit.
Show this thread -
Modern idea that economics is a religion is false. Traditional religion when seriously believed and practiced is an economics. Modern half-assed religiosity is more like a fandom hobby. Abrahamic and karmic religions are schools of afterlife economics. With fiscal/monetary policy
Show this thread -
Very interesting chapter on the visit of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV to Paris in 1377 to visit his nephew Charles V. Dog and pony show to legitimate former’s resumption of hostilities with England. Lots of pomp.
Show this thread -
Segues into account of mystic sects like the Bretheren of the free spirit. Wikipedia has a page on everything. I’d never heard of this. Church was basically a bank so people looked elsewhere for spiritual needs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brethren_of_the_Free_Spirit …
Show this thread -
Magic, black magic, witch burning and some early rational philosophy. 1370s were basically intellectual bankruptcy proceedings. This guys seems alright. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Oresme …
Show this thread -
Finally at halfway point of book. Lengthy telenovela type chapter on papal succession conflict, return of papacy from Avignon to Rome, Catherine of Siena, and much else. This is deep inside baseball of European history. Kinda tedious. Pope Urban vs Pope Clement schism splits EU.
Show this thread -
Still working through this book. Now into commoners revolts in England, Netherlands and France. Pattern: they revolt over taxes, are suppressed brutally, bunch of executions, ceremonial apologies and heavy fines follow, king distributes fines to nobles doing the suppressing.
Show this thread -
Big lesson from this book: never bet on the commoners. They get their periodic opportunities to blow up violently but pay a heavy price later. Being a countryside noble is good. Being a town noble is sketchy. Being upper bourgeoisie is dangerous. Being Jewish is very dangerous.
Show this thread - Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.