Part 8 (1/2)

There is an increasing realisation that our knowledge of world history and how it all fits together is far from perfect. We might all know about the odd event, but there is a good chance that if we had to talk about what was happening in the world before or after, or even at the same time, we would not be quite as knowledgeable.

A Short History of the World aims to fill the big gaps in our historical knowledge with a book that is easy to read and a.s.sumes little prior knowledge of past events. The book does not aim to come up with groundbreaking new theories on why things occurred, but rather gives a broad overview of the generally accepted version of events so that non-historians will feel less ignorant when discussing the past.

To help readers put events, places and empires into context, the book includes 32 original maps to accompany the text. The result is a book that is rea.s.suringly epic in scope but refres.h.i.+ngly short in length. An excellent place to start to bring your historical knowledge up to scratch!

OPEN.

David Price.

'From every perspective OPEN will open your mind to some of the real implications of digital technologies for how we live and learn in the 21st century.'

Sir Ken Robinson, world-leading expert on education and creativity.

What makes a global corporation give away its prized intellectual property? Why are Ivy League universities allowing anyone to take their courses for free? What drives a farmer in rural Africa to share his secrets with his compet.i.tors?

A collection of hactivists, hobbyists, forum-users and maverick leaders are leading a quiet but unstoppable revolution. They are sharing everything they know, and turning knowledge into action in ways that were unimaginable even a decade ago. Driven by technology, and shaped by common values, going 'open' has transformed the way we live. It's not so much a question of if our workplaces, schools and colleges go open, but when.

Packed with ill.u.s.tration and advice, this entertaining read by learning futurist, David Price, argues that 'open' is not only affecting how we are choosing to live, but that it's going to be the difference between success and failure in the future.

Notes.

1. The modern term for the eastern half of the Roman Empire. It was also sometimes referred to simply as 'Byzantium'. See note On Romans, Holy Romans, and Byzantines.

2. Although originally a late cla.s.sical term meaning 'Arab', by the Middle Ages the word Saracen had become a generic phrase for any (Muslim) subject of the Islamic caliph.

3. Vikings who were seized with an uncontrollable rage in the heat of battle were called 'berserkers'. They would occasionally bite through their s.h.i.+elds, ignore even the most hideous wounds and kill friends and foe alike indiscriminately.

4. Muslim forces entered Spain in AD 711. By the end of the century they had largely conquered it, and would continue to hold parts of it until the Reconquista of Ferdinand and Isabella succeeded in evicting them in 1492.

5. The Northumbrian aella and the East Anglican Edmund. They were subjected to the 'blood eagle', a brutal form of torture where the ribs were broken near the spine and the lungs were pulled out through the wounds to resemble a blood-stained pair of wings. The still-living victim was then left to expire.

6. Historians usually refer to this new state as the 'Holy Roman Empire' to distinguish it from the earlier empire of the same name. See note On Romans, Holy Romans, and Byzantines 7. These numbers are provided by our lone eyewitness source, Abbo Cennus. Most modern historians view this as an exaggeration, however, putting the number somewhere between 10-15,000. In either case, it was the largest Viking invasion yet seen on the Continent.

8. Rollo's ancestry is a matter of some contention between Denmark and Norway. The earliest source refers to him as Danish, but calls all Vikings 'Danes', while the 12th-century Norse sagas claim that he was Norwegian. The Normans themselves were split on the matter. Since medieval sources generally gave him a Norwegian ancestry when they bothered to distinguish between different groups of Vikings, I've sided with Norway.

9. Vikings nearly always fought on foot. Horses were only used to carry arms, and occasionally men, over long distances. Viking ponies, therefore, tended to be undersized by European standards.

10. Charlemagne's empire had crumbled to the point where no emperor was recognized. Charles had been crowned simply as 'king' of Western Francia, i.e. the French-speaking lands of the old empire.

11. After discovering that a free white garment was given to those who received the sacrament, some of Rollo's men were caught having themselves baptized numerous times.

12. This is a clever Anglo-Saxon pun on the king's name. 'Ethelred' means 'wise counsel' and 'Unraed' translates to something like 'un-counseled'. One can imagine an exasperated English farmer thinking 'Wise Counsel? More like Un-Counseled'.

13. One of these was Olaf Haraldsson, the future king and patron saint of Norway.

14. The Fatimid Caliphate was a s.h.i.+a state whose leaders claimed descent from Mohammed's daughter Fatima. Although based in Egypt, they had captured Jerusalem in AD 969.

15. Including a young William de Hauteville who was soon to earn the epithet 'Iron-arm'. See chapter 8 16. So many men were drowned that a mill several miles downstream was clogged with the bodies and had to cease operation.

17. and quite short at four foot two inches.

18. Charlemagne's t.i.tle of 'Roman' emperor was claimed by the German king Otto I in 962. Although it is usually known as the Holy Roman Empire, for the sake of clarity I refer to this state as the 'German' empire.

19. Norman sources argue that Edward always intended William to be his heir. Even given his Norman sympathies, this is hard to believe. In fact, during the course of his reign Edward dangled the promise of succession to a number of individuals. It was a shrewd, if dangerous, way to counterbalance the G.o.dwin family's influence.

20. According to Norman propaganda, G.o.dwin choked on a piece of bread while angrily denying the old charge of his involvement in Alfred's murder.

21. The Welsh Marches were the rugged and notoriously difficult to control border between medieval England and Wales.

22. He arrived to find that Malcom III had recently killed the High King Macbeth.