I have mentioned previously that York has a fixation with the Vikings and that around the city there is very little reference to, or even acknowledgement of, the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, well, in the York museum it gets even worse; there appears to be a conscious effort to erase the entire Saxon period out of York's history.
history
Visiting the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, September 2023
I found it profoundly disappointing that there is no provision for disabled people to come to Auschwitz and pay their respects to the victims who died there
Why Does Popular Media Falsify History?
The wilful misrepresentation of that history, either to fulfil a current social-political agenda, or simply to make a media production more appealing to a mixed race audience for commercial reasons, is damaging
Clifford’s Tower, York
English Heritage have carried out a major restoration and improvement programme of Clifford's Tower in York
Fact over Fiction Again
It is not a question of race; it is a question of accuracy in a genre where accuracy should matter.
An attention to fact can improve fiction
In the past I have bemoaned the erosion of fact from historical fiction and period dramas, as seen in books, television, and cinema. This has led to me being accused of being pedantic. I have always enjoyed history. It was one of my favourite subjects at school. I am well aware that today we do … Continue reading An attention to fact can improve fiction
Fake History is as bad as Fake News
I have written previously about my concern that history is being misrepresented in popular media, first in Is Racism in Historical Dramas being quietly Erased? and then in Why Race in a Historical Context is Important. The arrival of Bridgerton on Netflix has not put my mind at ease. The television series departs from the novels by … Continue reading Fake History is as bad as Fake News
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen – Revisited
The final part of my series on Saxon society. As you would expect with any society that was characterised by a hierarchical class system there would be the top class who were defined by their wealth and by the power that they wielded. In the Anglo-Saxon world the upper class were known as the aethelings, … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen – Revisited
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns – Revisited
Following on from my post, The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: the Peasants - Revisited, I decided to continue with the Theigns. Above the ceorls, the peasants of the Anglo-Saxon world, sat the ‘theigns’. They were to all intents and purposes the middle class. To qualify as a theign a man needed to own a … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns – Revisited
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants – Revisited
I originally wrote this post back in 2013 and it proved to be very popular. It was part of a series that resulted from the research that I did for the book, The War Wolf. As well as peasants the series covered the Theigns and the Eorldermen, the middle and upper class of Saxon society … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants – Revisited
Peter C Whitaker 