Category: interview

Viking culture and warfare history book – “Valkyrie” – (Bloomsbury, 2020) – Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir studies and teaches Viking era poetry and literature. She recently wrote a book on the idea of the Valkyrie in Viking culture. We spoke about this subject, Viking warfare, Viking sagas and the process of writing the book itself.

(Audio player at the end of the post.)

0:41 – Johanna talks about how she got into writing on Valkyrie.

1:45 – Johanna talks about how she broke the book down.

3:19 – Johanna talks about the date ranges, areas at issue, and the idea of the Valkyrie.

6:01 – Johanna talks about the Valkyrie.

7:45 – Johanna talks about the image of blood covered Valkyrie.

9:58 – Johanna talks about the meaning of Viking war poetry.

13:53 – Johanna talks about where the idea of the Valkyrie first started.

19:02 – Johanna talks about evidence or lack of women fighting.

26:04 – Johanna further addresses the idea of female warriors.

29:07 – Johanna talks about blacksmithing.

31:28 – Johanna talks about the ideas of Valkyries in different places and time periods.

37:37 – Johanna discusses interesting facts about Viking sails.

41:27 – Johanna talks about her written sources and the archaeological evidence.

44:09 – Johanna talks about which stories were passed down over the centuries.

48:38 – Johanna talks about how much the written material supports the archaeological evidence.

50:35 – Johanna talks about the process of writing the book.

51:28 – Johanna talks about the goddess Freya.

57:37 – Johanna talks about crows and battlefields.

58:57 – Johanna mentions crows, eagles, and wolves as images of battle.

1:00:00 – Johanna talks about evidence of women riding horses.

1:03:00 – We discuss the resources a Viking chief needed for success.

1:04:33 – Johanna talks about a touching moment in the sagas.

1:10:38 – Johanna talks about the Viking languages she knows and Viking poets.

1:14:22 – Johanna can be found at vikingwomen.org and on twitter @sagaknitter

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/valkyrie-9781788314770/

https://vikingwomen.org/

https://twitter.com/sagaknitter

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, valkyrie, , vikings, Iceland, Scandinavia, England, Battle of Stamford Bridge, York, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Greenland, Odin, Valhalla, Ragnarok, Raven, Game of Thrones, Saga, Gotland, Freya, Skaldic, dragon, rune stones, wolf, giantess, Eddic, Christianity, ships, sails, Snorri, Vinland, Newfoundland, Freya, Thor, Oseberg, grave, tomb, crows, undead, zombie, reenactments, Beforeigners, Sammi, maritime

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Greek Warfare beyond the Polis” – (Cornell University Press, 2020) – David Blome interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

David Blome became interested in Ancient Greek warfare while in the Marine Corps. He later earned his doctorate degree while also doing archaeological research in Greece. His first book is on Ancient Greek warfare and we discussed his work.

1:01 – David talks about how his interest in Ancient Greek warfare started when he was in the Marine Corps and he read the Iliad.

3:16 – David talks about the focus of the book on the classical period.

4:16 – David talks about upland Greeks versus lowland Greek.

5:58 – David talks about how he incorporated military history into Greece’s mountainous regions.

7:52 – David talks about what was usual and unusual in Greek warfare.

10:40 – David talks about military activities at night.

13:50 – David talks about the two types of heroes in Greek literature. He discusses how different groups lived their lives.

16:19 – David talks about other differences in military approaches in Greek culture.

18:04 – David talks about hierarchy in the Greek military.

19:49 – David touches on naval warfare and Homer’s catalogue of Greek ships.

22:12 – David talks about differences in weapons, armor, and food.

24:45 – David talks about the differences in crop availability in different parts of Greece and where people can maneuver in the mountains.

27:09 – David talks about the lack of fortifications during the classical period.

30:19 – David talks about how territorial lines were established in classical Greece.

32:10 – David talks about the resources and archaeological evidence he used for his research.

35:02 – David talks about the ancient historians he used.

37:11 – David talks about his own archaeological research and work in Greece.

46:13 – David talks about wanting to know more the governments of these Greek groups.

50:23 – David talks about the importance of the word “league.”

51:56 – David talks about originally being very critical of the Spartans.

58:15 – David can be found on academia.edu.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501747526/greek-warfare-beyond-the-polis/#bookTabs=1

http://independentscholar.academia.edu/DaveBlome

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: David Blome

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, ancient war, ancient greece, Illiad, Iraq, Troy, marine corps, military, deployment, Persia, Athens, Sparta, Thebes, polis, city-states, phalanx, Phoecians, Odysseus, Diomedes, Xenophon, Arcadia, Homer, hoplite, Atolia, Thessalians, plutarch, Thucydides, Macedonia, Bronze Age, iron Age, Atolian league, Founding Fathers

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Who Really Won the Battle of Marathon?” – (Pen and Sword Books, 2020) – Constantinos Lagos interview

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Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

Dr. Constantinos Lagos is a Greek historian who teaches at the Hellenic Air Force Academy in Greece. He’s written two books on Greece in World War II but he has also recently co-authored a book on the very famous ancient Greek battle of Marathon. The book offers a reappraisal of the location, details and political outcomes of the battle. We spoke about the book and what it took to write it.

0:57 – Constantinos talks about his early studies in ancient history.

3:03 – Constantinos talks about how he breaks down the book and it’s analysis of the battle and discusses the Persians.

6:04 – Constantinos talks about previous errors of reconstructing the battle of Marathon and why the errors were made.

10:37 – Constantinos talks about the marsh phase of the battle.

12:43 – Constantinos talks about the battle and the strengthening of democracy.

14:39 – Constantinos talks about the site where people think the battle took place.

18:38 – Constantinos talks about other differences between established thinking and new findings about the battle.

22:12 – Constantinos talks about the archaeological discoveries they applied to their analysis.

25:17 – Constantinos talks about the Greek military camp at issue in the book.

29:33 – We discuss established versus new archaeological ideas and the archaeologists who studied Marathon.

35:52 – Constantinos talks about the archaeological evidence related to the battle of Marathon.

40:47 – Constantinos addresses the question of Persian records of the battle.

41:55 – Constantinos talks about the events before the battle and the discoveries made during the research.

He also touches on the ancient terrain at the time of the battle.

47:53 – Constantinos talks about the German scholars who studied classical Greece.

51:33 – Constantinos talks about his desire for archaeologists to excavate the battle and the marsh in the area.

58:35 – Constantinos gives mroe details about the Greek camp he found and the connection he felt with ancient Greece.

1:05:53 – Constantinos talks about what the weather [would] might have been like during the battle.

1:08:54 – Constantinos remarks about how many people have written about the battle over the centuries.

1:16:36 – Constantinos can be found on the web by googling his name “Constantinos Lagos” or by checking the book out at Pen & Sword Books.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Who-Really-Won-the-Battle-of-Marathon-Hardback/p/16501

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Dr. Constantinos Lagos

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, marathon, persia, darius, athens, greece, democracy, Attica, cavalry, hoplites, Platea, ostracism, thetis, demos, platea, Persian Wars, archaeologist, classical, archaic, fort, bronze, arrowheads, acropolis, british museum, geologist, Pericles, world war two, WWII, Philip of greece, duke of edinburgh

Check out this book here https://amzn.to/2y56tEs

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.