Integrating Lessons in History

As Austin and I drove to Academie Duello together today, we had an interesting conversation about history, intermingled with present-day events and human behaviour.

I told Austin about the recent news story of a South Korean oil tanker seized by Somali pirates about 690 nautical miles north of the Somali coast. When I read about the desperation that drives some Somalian men to become pirates, it seemed similar to the desperation that drove some Norsemen to become Vikings. They needed to find a means to provide for their families, so some resorted to violent attacks and raiding.

Austin's view was that people need to do what they're good at, be it diplomacy or violence, to keep their Empire alive. He went on to explain that not only did the Vikings choose violence and surprise attacks, but they were good at it, too. He explained that the Persians used diplomacy to expand their empire, because they were particularly good at that.

I talked about how modern-day Persian leaders may not be viewed by the world, as diplomatic. For instance, the president of Iran wants to do nuclear testing and build nuclear arms. Austin feels that world powers may be against Iran doing these activities, only because it could make Iran stronger. I said, "Yes, they wouldn't want another nation to be more powerful." Austin interjected, "Unless they are an ally..." and I countered, "No, even if they are an ally, the United States wants to be the strongest world power." Austin expressed an opinion that the United States is the modern-day Roman Empire.

Austin told me about the Persian "immortal" army of 10,000 men. Anytime a Persian fighter was killed, he would be immediately replaced. Aynsley (teacher at Academie Duello) explained that Austin has remembered correctly, what he learned. Aynsley described it like a machine. The Persian army was always 10,000 men. No more. No less.

Austin explained that when the Persians employed democratic means to grow their empire, they would invite other groups to join them. If the other groups declined (opted to keep their religion and culture), the Persians would attack. The other groups were not aware that this would be the result of their decision not to join the Persians.

I asked Roland (teacher at Academie Duello) about the claim in Austin's Barbarians book, that "the Thing" was the earliest known lawmaking body in Europe. He feels there may be a distinction between "legal" matters and "theological" guidelines set down by the Church (which would have been in place earlier than Viking laws). Europe was not a region yet, during times of the Roman Empire, so Austin's inquiry about Roman laws being in place prior to "the Thing" makes sense.

Aynsley was impressed by Austin's statement about the U.S. being the modern-day Roman Empire. He laughed, saying that they hadn't taught that in class, and he can't say he disagrees with Austin ;)

Aynsley and I talked about the Viking settlement at the northern tip of Newfoundland, at L'Anse aux Meadows. It sounds like a great place to visit, and I am very keen to find out if there is any way we could go there this summer, when we are visiting the maritimes. This would be a trip spanning several days, however, and could be quite expensive.

The Vikings

Austin and I were reading his Barbarians book together last night. We read about the Goths, the Huns and the Vikings. I commented that Austin is a descendant of the Vikings on his Papa's side of the family - the Swedes. One of my dad's cousins has done some genealogical research and thinks that we may be related to Erik Eriksson. My maiden name is Olson (changed from Olsson in the late-1800s, when the family immigrated from Sweden to Canada).

Skye was listening in as I read the book aloud, and drew our attention to the possible route the Vikings took, to the "New World," or North America. Skye showed us that if we change our perspective of how we look at the globe, from looking at it with the north pole at the top, and viewing the distance between Scandinavia and Greenland across the Atlantic Ocean, to looking at the globe from "above," ie. looking down at the north pole, it doesn't appear to be as great a distance. Particularly, as Skye pointed out, if there are significant stretches of ice to bridge the gap.

The book explained that the Vikings traded furs and hides, wax and amber. I wondered what amber is, and Skye described it as petrified sap. It is sold/traded as a jewel. We discussed how it would have been likely for amber to be found in regions where they found coal deposits. Skye explained that coal deposits are found in bogs, and Austin has some understanding of bogs. Austin suggested that large trees would be able to live in regions of decaying biomatter.

One internet definition of coal is: "the world’s most plentiful fossil fuel. It is a mineral formed from the remains of land-based plants buried hundreds of millions of years ago and subjected to tremendous heat and pressure."

Austin made several observations while I read the section on Viking Beliefs and Law. The illustrations are rich with detail on "The Nine Worlds of the Norse Universe," and Austin was intrigued by some of the names ... "Gimle," "Asgard," "Midgard," ... and how they reminded him of names appearing in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Skye and I agreed that Tolkien was influenced by Norse mythology. When I read the claim, however, that "'the Thing' -- the governing group of freemen that met to create and discuss laws" was "the earliest known lawmaking body in Europe," Austin immediately challenged this. "But what about the Romans?" he asked. "They had laws." The Viking era took place between the years of 793 C.E. to 1066 C.E. Austin will bring this question to his history teacher on Tuesday. As luck would have it, Austin knows they will be learning about the Vikings in the next class!

Austin was interested to learn about a famous battle, "The Battle of Stamford Bridge," which took place in England in 1066 and marked the end of the age of the Vikings. In the battle, the King of Norway (King of the Vikings), Harald Hardrada, was surprised by the King of England, Harold Godwinson. Skye had known about this battle, and remembered learning of a huge Viking who single-handedly held back the English forces on the Stamford Bridge, allowing time for the Vikings to run back to their camp, gather their weapons, and return to fight. The only way the English were able to win against the huge Viking, was to attack him from beneath the bridge, from a boat.

I've noticed that Austin enjoys learning about history most, when he can learn about specific historical characters (Alexander the Great, Christopher Columbus, Napoleon, Queen Elizabeth I...), so this book is quite engaging, as it includes stories about individuals in history, among the general overviews of life and events of those times.

A suggestion from Katie: The Code of Hammurabi

Falconry

Austin is being taught by a professional falconer, about falconry, at Academie Duello. I know he is well impressed by this experience, as he continues to talk about it throughout the week.

Last Tuesday (Feb. 16), Skye and I were there with Aaron. We saw Austin wearing the falconer's glove and having a falcon perched on his finger. I heard the teacher compliment Austin on his knots, and praise him in front of the group, on how quickly he is learning the new skills.

Falconers have to practice being able to tie knots with one hand, while the bird is being held by the other hand. I'm sure Austin's experience with knots in sailing class, has served him well with this skill.

Peoples of Europe and North Africa

Over Tuesday's lunch hour this week I decided to stop in and visit Austin at his Academie Duello sword play and history class and see how his day was going. When I got there they were busily pouring over a "map" of Europe and North Africa trying to put it back together again. One of the teachers had traced out a map of Europe where the various regions were based on the various "peoples" or cultures onto different colored bristol board then cut out the individual pieces. The students were then busily putting them back together kind of like a puzzle (without the picture to guide them).

Feedback from the teacher was that Austin really nailed this game and really demonstrated a great sense of geographical awareness.

And for those who are curious. I found the image for this post here: http://www.eupedia.com/europe/maps_of_europe.shtml. Lots of interesting geographical statistics visualized.

Artifacts of Ancient Mesopotamia: Iraq Museum

This morning, Austin and I watched the first lecture of a series called, "Between the Rivers: The History of Ancient Mesopotamia."

Austin wasn't that keen to sit down for the 30-minute lecture, but since I stayed with him, and showed an interest, he stuck it out. The subject matter was quite interesting, though the lecturer isn't particularly engaging. Fortunately, some images were displayed during the lecture.

It was a good introduction to the subject, I feel. She outlined the impact of looting on the Iraq Museum during the time of the fall of Saddam Hussein. More than 14,000 objects were looted, and more than half of these were still unaccounted for in 2006. This dealt a considerable blow to historians and archaeologists. Many objects were destroyed forever during the war.

Austin was able to explain some of what he's learned in the history lessons at Academie Duello, related to the geography of ancient Mesopotamia, features of rulers, and societal structure. I drew a comparison between the characteristic band around the forehead of a ruler's likeness, to the bands on Lego Commander clones. Austin agreed, but pointed out the difference that the bands on the clones run vertical instead of horizontal.

The lecturer raised a question about an archaeological discovery of evidence of a flock of several hundred sheep - did these sheep belong to a communal group, a king, or someone of great wealth and stature?

An ancient vase (the Uruk Vase) was analysed by its parts, showing the base depicting water of the river, grains, then a procession of domesticated animals, and above that, a procession of happy individuals delivering "taxes" to their king.