Rediscovery Channel

Knights appeared during the early dark ages around the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire. In the 19th and 20th centuries they were romanticized a great deal, but when they first appeared they had no concept of chivalry. Here we discuss the appearance of knights and the origin of chivalry, as well as the rules of it. For this video we have a first time guest speaker (Blue Hour). Blue Hour's background is in film and script writing, but she does conduct historical research as inspiration for writing and for creating more realistic content.

In this episode we have a closer look at Ethiopia's glorious history and gory present. This once powerful empire withstood external pressures for centuries and is one of the earliest foundations for the Oriental Orthodox church but also Christianity altogether. We also take a look at the gory war in the Tigray, that not many people know about.

Athanasius of Alexandria a.k.a. “Athanasius the Great” lived from 296 to 373 AD. He took part in the Council of Nicaea, where the Arian Heresy was addressed, and played in important role in it’s refutation. Athanasius also studied under St Anthony the Great, who was the father of Egyptian Monasticism and Christian monasticism in general, and he is credited for writing “The Life of St Anthony the Great.” Additional Reading: Gregory of Nazienzen on Athanasius: https://www.elpenor.org/gregory-nazianzen/athanasius-alexandria.asp Epistle of Marcellinus (by Athanasius): https://stshenoudamonastery.org.au/st-athanasius-marcellinus-psalms/ https://orthodoxwiki.org/Athanasius_of_Alexandria#:~:text=Works%20by%20St.%20Athanasius%201%20On%20the%20Incarnation,Called%20-%20Manchester%2C%20England.%20Psalm%2022%20Psalm%2086 Books by Athanasius: • On the Incarnation • Against the Heathens • History of the Arians • Against the Arians • Life of St Anthony the Great • Defense of Dionysius • Commentary on the Book of Psalms

Halloween has it’s origins in the ancient Celtic holiday called “Samhain.” Samhain was originally a fall festival, which marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark half of the year. It was believed that on the night of October 31st, the veil between the realm of the living and that of the dead would weaken, and the dead would return to the world of the living. The Catholic Church made attempts to sanitize or erase Samhain, which resulted in it’s morphing into Halloween and appealing to a wider range of people. Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain https://www.history.com/news/halloween-samhain-celts-catholic-church https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samhain https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/samhain-0014478 http://kespwriting.blogspot.com/2015/10/hist-myth-samhain-goddess-tlachtga.html Stingy Jack - https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins http://kespwriting.blogspot.com/2015/10/hist-myth-samhain-goddess-tlachtga.html https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/samhain-0014478 https://www.worldhistory.org/Samhain/ https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1456/history-of-halloween/ https://www.worldhistory.org/Hill_of_Tara/ http://kespwriting.blogspot.com/2016/06/hist-myth-aos-si.html Halloween Comes to America (p664) https://books.google.com/books?id=GYFPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA664&dq=history+of+halloween++pope+boniface&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiG8ong1rLsAhWLhHIEHSqgDcYQ6AEwCXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20halloween%20%20pope%20boniface&f=false

The Ptolemaic Cosmology was the official scientific worldview in the area of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East from roughly 150 AD to 1543 (when it began to be replaced). It was a geocentric model which attempted to mathematically justify older ideas put forth by Aristotle. The notion was that the Earth was in the center of the universe, and composed of the four elements which moved with imperfect motion (wind, water, fire, and earth). The heavenly bodies were composed of aether/quintessence, which was mostly transparent, completely smooth, and moved with perfect motion. The greatest weak point of the Ptolemaic Cosmology was the aspect of “retrograde motion” which attempted to reconcile how planets appeared to be moving backwards at certain times of the year (from the perspective of the Earth) with the Aristotelian assertion that the motion of the heavenly bodies were always perfect, constant, and regular. Galileo Galilei’s “Dialogue of the Two Chief World Systems”: https://archive.org/details/GalileiGalileoDialogueConcerningTheTwoChiefWorldSystemsEN155P. Sources: http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/medievalcosmology.htm “The Sphere of Sacrobosco” (downloadable): https://williammorristile.com/assets/pdfs/De_Sphaera_English.pdf https://www.britannica.com/science/Ptolemaic-system -Retrograde Motion explained https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/nicolaus-copernicus http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/plato.html#forms http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/aristotle8.html https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristarchus-of-Samos - Aristarchus of Samos (early heliocentric model) https://web.archive.org/web/20161220230803/http://aether.lbl.gov/www/classes/p10/aristotle-physics.html -Aristotle’s elements https://physicsinmyview.com/2020/08/model-of-aristotelian-universe.html#:~:text=In%20Aristotelian%20cosmology%2C%20everything%20was%20made%20up%20of,made%20up%20of%20fire%2C%20air%2C%20water%2C%20and%20earth. http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec02.html -Eratosthenes, Aristarchus, Ptolomy https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy - Claudius Ptolemy https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/february-2016-400-years-ago-catholic-church-prohibited-copernicanism?language_content_entity=en -Galileo

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb 647 AD to 705 (roughly), and was carried out by the Ummayad Caliphate. It ended with the full subjugation of the indigenous Berber realms, and the near complete eradication of Byzantine presence in Africa (Ceuta survived a while longer as their sole remaining enclave). The Arab Muslims encountered severe resistance from Berber tribes led by Aksel and Kahina. During this period Carthage was also permanently destroyed. Sources: https://www.worldhistory.org/Kahina/ https://www.irrij.com/2015/08/09/aksel-ou-kusila-prince-amazigh-du-7eme-siecle-apres-j-c-chef-de-la-resistance-a-la-conquete-arabe/ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/spread-of-islam/a/the-rise-of-islamic-empires-and-states https://www.siwel.info/taxlijt-lancement-des-travaux-de-restauration-de-la-statue-daksel_63199.html -restoration of the statue of King Aksel https://omniglot.com/writing/tifinagh.htm

The Muslim conquest of the Byzantine and Persian empires was made possible by the last Persian – Byzantine war, which left both sides severely weakened and depleted. The Muslim conquest of Egypt ran from 639 AD to 641. The conquest occurred during the time of the Rashidun Caliphate, with Umar Ibn Al Khattab as Caliph. The Byzantine governor of Egypt was Cyrus of Alexandria, who had no will to fight and surrendered to the Muslim forces multiple time. The Muslim conquest put an end to the monolithic construction industry of Egypt, and probably also the custom of mummification as well. Contrary to what some have asserted, there was no mass replacement of the Egyptian population by Arab Muslims. The process of Islamization was slow, and Egypt did not become majority Muslim until the 14th century AD. Note: I could not find any images of Cyrus of Alexandria, which might be a testament to his unpopularity. I drew my own image so that there could be some representation but I don’t really know how he looked. Sources: https://archive.org/details/arabconquestofeg00butl/mode/2up - “The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion” (Full Text) https://www.egypttoursplus.com/arab-conquest-of-egypt/ https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/muhammad https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/expansion-islam-600-1200 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/spread-of-islam/a/the-rise-of-islamic-empires-and-states https://historiarex.com/e/en/245-the-byzantine-sassanid-war-602-628

Anglo Indians are an ethnic minority originating in India, but can also be found in England and other former English colonies. They are the result of European colonists, workers, and officials mixing with the Indian population during the English colonial period. Today, the government of India officially recognizes them as a native ethnic minority. According to the Government of India Act of 1935, an Anglo-Indian is “a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is a native of India.” Most Anglo Indians have English names, but some also have Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Portuguese family names due to being employed by the British East India Company during the colonial period. In this video, we attempt to give an overview of their history and culture, though this by no means includes everything there is to know about them. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anglo-Indian https://minorityrights.org/minorities/anglo-indians/ https://www.commisceo-global.com/blog/anglo-indian-culture-fading-into-oblivion https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/who-are-the-anglo-indians-and-why-do-they-have-a-quota-in-lok-sabha-and-some-state-legislatures/527529 Australian Anglo-Indian Community - https://melbournerangersclub.blogspot.com/p/membership.html Anecdote (Blossom) https://www.asianz.org.nz/research/being-anglo-indian-in-nz-blossoms-story/ Anecdote (Christine) https://www.asianz.org.nz/research/being-anglo-indian-in-nz-christines-story/ https://waterfordtreasures.wixsite.com/wattreasuresblog/post/concubines-and-lady-wives-the-family-life-of-the-british-officer-in-the-early-days-of-the-raj https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/dec/09/britishidentity.india https://www.thoughtco.com/east-india-company-1773314 https://www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company https://www.britannica.com/topic/Suez-Canal https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569607/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0643353/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm In case anyone is interested, here are some movies featuring Boris Karloff and Merle Oberon. Boris Karloff: Die Monster Die - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Z7Yimf5ek&t=710s British Intelligence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LURgEHMHSNY Merle Oberon: First Comes Courage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGN_EdNFdZ8 Dark Waters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxTguGf92c&t=1s

In this first Rediscovery Reacts we have a look at the 'Ark of the Covenant' in the Tigray region of Ethiopa. A region currently engulfed in a civil war. Original article can be found here: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/christians-in-ethiopia-never-saw-ark-of-the-covenant-they-died-for/ https://nypost.com/2021/02/20/at-least-800-ethiopians-killed-after-defending-ark-of-the-covenant/

In this week's episode Stilgar talks about Saint George, the Military Saint that played such an important role to Christians an entire country was named after him. Stilgar also has a closer look at a forgotten cave in Lebanon where saint George was said to have slain the dragon. Sources: https://www.wanderleb.com/blog/el-batieh-site https://365daysoflebanon.com/2016/05/18/the-patron-saint-of-beirut/ https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/the-story-behind-the-legend-of-saint-george/

This video is a bonus topic, which focuses on literature rather than history. In this video, we will discuss the elves of JRR Tolkien (Ivor Kovac’s favorite author), and provide answers to questions about them. We will discuss immortality, fading, magic, afterlife rules, and delve into some of what happens after the events of Lord of the Rings. We made as a means to celebrate the rapid growth of our channel, and will probably produce more bonus content in the future as our channel continues to grow. Thankyou, everyone, for the feedback and support we have received thus far. Sources: The Letters of JRR Tolkien – edited by Humphrey Carpenter The Silmarillion – JRR Tolkien The Atlas of the Middle Earth – Karen Wynn Fonstad The War of The Jewels – JRR Tolkien, Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring – JRR Tolkien Return of The King – JRR Tolkien Morgoth’s Ring – JRR Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien Sauron Defeated – JRR Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien The Book of Lost Tales 1 – JRR Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien The Book of Lost Tales 2 – JRR Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien The War of Jewels – JRR Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien https://norse-mythology.org/the-wild-hunt/ -the Wild Hunt

Epictetus (/ˌɛpɪkˈtiːtəs/;[3] Greek: Ἐπίκτητος, Epíktētos; c. 50 – c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion. Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not simply a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. You can read his most famous sayings at project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/871

In this video we discuss medieval European mythology, which, unlike the mythology of the ancient and pre-Christian world, is not culture specific. This wide ranging set of beliefs on everything from cosmology to zoology was simply held to be science at the time, but today it looks more similar to the type of fantasy world one might find in a novel or RPG (Tolkien, Narnia, Elder Scrolls, etc.). This mythology involves a geocentric universe consisting of five basic elements, and includes a multitude of sentient non-human species, as well as the fantastic kingdom of Prester John. Many of these ideas continue to pop up in entertainment long after people have ceased to believe in them. CS Lewis, in particular, was heavily influenced by this mythological belief system, and drew from it to populate many of the creatures in Narnia. Sources: -“The Book of Marvels and Travels,” by Sir John Mandeville (translated by Anthony Bale) -“THE SPHERE OF SACROBOSCO,” by Iohannes de Sacrobosco (Translated by Lynn Thorndike, 1949)- https://williammorristile.com/assets/pdfs/De_Sphaera_English.pdf https://www.theoi.com/Phylos/Skiapodes.html History of Animals (Aristotle): http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/history_anim.mb.txt https://www.pygmies.org/about/pygmy.php http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/2020/01/29/blemmyes-headless-men/ https://danarehn.com/2021/05/23/cynocephali-the-dog-headed-race-a-brief-introduction/ Letter of Prester John Transcript - http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/presterjohn.html

When Napoleon came to power in Europe, Spain still controlled most of it’s colonies in the western hemisphere. Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s older brother) ruled Spain from 1808 to 1813, after Napoleon deposed King Ferdinand VII of the Bourbon dynasty. During that time, the New World colonies were functionally independent, as they were cut off from Spain. In this video we discuss the state of affairs Latin America in the time of Napoleon, and the beginning of the Mexican independence movement. This topic was requested by a viewer. Sources: “The Independence of Latin America” – Edited by Leslie Bethell https://shannonselin.com/2014/07/joseph-bonaparte-king-spain-new-jersey/ https://smarthistory.org/mexican-independence/ Audiencia definition - https://www.britannica.com/topic/audiencia

In this episode we have a closer look at the history of the Frisians, an ethnic minority in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Recent discoveries show that they were much more closely related to and intertwined with the viking world than previously thought.

In 1867 the United States purchased the Alaska territory from Russia. The purchase was negotiated by Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The Russian government had it’s own reasons for wanting to sell Alaska, but at the time it was perceived as useless territory by many in the US. Alaska was referred to derisively as “Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden” and more famously “Seward’s Folly.” William Seward was vindicated after his death, when gold was discovered in Alaska, and later oil. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/event/Alaska-Purchase https://todayinconservation.com/2019/03/march-30-the-united-states-buys-alaska-1867/ https://www.history.com/news/why-the-purchase-of-alaska-was-far-from-folly https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/seward-william-henry https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vitus-Bering https://lincolnconspirators.com/picture-galleries/seward-attempt/ https://www.britannica.com/place/Alaska https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/assassination-of-president-abraham-lincoln/timeline/ Gold Rates - https://nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/historic_gold_prices_1833_pres.pdf https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1994/winter/alaska-check

The Coptic Orthodox Church is the original church of Egypt, founded by the Apostle Mark in the 1st century AD. Saint Mark is also considered to be the first Coptic Pope. The Coptic language is the last stage of the original Egyptian language, and is still used in church liturgies to this day. This video features our first guest speaker, Great Pharoah, who is a mutual friend of Ivor Kovac and Stilgar. Great Pharoah discusses early church history, and then goes into detail answering some questions. Great Pharoah is a deacon in his church, which means that he is part of the worship team and knows many of the ancient songs. If you have any additional questions for Great Pharoah, please leave a comment. This is the Golgotha Hymn which was mentioned in the video, sung in the Coptic language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdf9ArUfQn4

Vladimir's father was Prince Sviatoslav I of Kiev of the Rurik dynasty. After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976 after his brother Yaropolk murdered his other brother Oleg of Drelinia and conquered Rus'. In Sweden, with the help of his relative Ladejarl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, he assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk. By 980, Vladimir had consolidated the Rus realm from modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized the Kievan Rus'. He is thus also known as Saint Vladimir.

Sigiriya is home to an ancient complex of gardens, fountains, caves, and the ruins of a palace built by King Kashyapa I, who ruled Sri Lanka from 477 AD to 495. During his reign, he relocated the capital to Sigiriya over security concerns. Sigiriya is also thought to be the home of Ravan (the main antagonist from Ramayana), and the site is also mentioned and described by Sir John Mandeville in “The Book of Marvels and Travels,” written in roughly 1350 AD. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya https://sigiriyatourism.com/ https://www.greenholidaytravels.com/sigiriya-and-the-great-king-ravana/ https://www.slsigiriya.com/history-of-sigiriya/ https://www.sigiriya.info/about-sigiriya/ https://medium.com/@gilliann91/all-about-the-king-who-built-sigiriya-846c8a9982a3 Translations of some of the graffiti - http://www.lankalibrary.com/heritage/sigiriya/graffiti.htm https://mylifelk.com/pages/senarath-paranavithana Thanks to these guys for the images of Kashyapa I and Moggallana: https://www.talesofceylon.com/destinations/sigiriya/tales-of-sigiriya/

William Henry Harrison was the 9th President of the United States, and a member of the Whig party (which no longer exists). His campaign made heavy use of imagery and slogans, and depended more upon that than discussions of actual policy. As of this posting, he still has the record for having served the shortest term of all presidents, having died a month after being elected. Though his term was short, he caused some significant cultural and political changes which persist to this day. Sources: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/harrison-dies-of-pneumonia https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Harrison/Political-career https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/william-henry-harrison https://www.biography.com/us-president/william-henry-harrison https://www.britannica.com/topic/Northwest-Indian-Confederation https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/battle-of-fallen-timbers https://www.parkspresidentsandparks.com/blog-page/2018/9/18/keep-the-ball-rolling-the-1840-presidential-campaign-of-william-henry-harrison https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/the-election-of-1840.htm https://www.thoughtco.com/the-election-of-1840-1773855 WH Harrison Inaugural Speech: https://www.bartleby.com/124/pres26.html

The Weimar Republic the government of Germany from 1919 to 1933, basically, the interim period between the World Wars. After WWI, Germany was tasked with paying for all of the war damage, while in the meantime the mostly socialist parliamentary government also had to repair Germany, and support the vast amounts of injured soldiers, widows, and orphans. In an attempt to fulfill these tasks, the Weimar Government attempted to pay for everything by printing more money, which resulted in hyperinflation and even worse times. The period was known for economic hardship and unprecedented cultural movements. This video is in response to a viewer request. Some of the images and topics discussed here are graphic, but I was asked to go into detail, and so I did. Sources: https://www.ukapologetics.net/weimar.html https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-police-in-the-weimar-republic https://www.history.com/topics/art-history/bauhaus https://historycollection.com/the-chilling-history-behind-these-18-allegedly-haunted-sites-in-the-united-states/3/ https://www.ranker.com/list/weimar-republic/lea-rose-emery https://hyperallergic.com/275058/the-daring-degenerate-book-jackets-of-the-weimar-republic/ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sex_and_the_Weimar_Republic/tpGhCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false https://www.salon.com/2000/11/22/weimar/ https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/war_losses_germany https://www.history.com/topics/germany/weimar-republic https://jewishphilosophyplace.com/2017/03/19/paul-klee-and-the-spiritual-in-art-dance-you-monster-to-my-soft-song/ https://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/weimar-cinema/ https://broadly-specific.com/2021/05/13/cinematic-era-the-films-of-weimar-germany/

The Olmecs are believed to be the first civilization of the Western Hemisphere, and are credited with the invention of chocolate and rubber. They are the parent civilization for later Mesoamerican civilizations (such as Aztecs and Mayas). In a way, they can be thought of as the Sumerians of the Americas, as they are to subsequent Mesoamerican cultures what the Sumerians were to subsequent Middle Eastern cultures. However, a good deal more is known about the Sumerians than the Olmecs, because the Olmec text has yet to be deciphered. Most of what is known about them either comes from others, or is inferred via study of their artifacts. Sources: https://historyplex.com/olmecs-history https://whatmaster.com/what-was-the-olmec-culture/ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-americas/a/the-olmec-article https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/08/olmec-yogis-with-hindu-beliefs-did-they.html

This episode dives into the history of saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas in the Netherlands and Santa in the United States. Who was the historical figure, what about his companions like Krampus, Belsnickel, Zwarte Piet, Yule lads and how have Christmas celebrations evolved around the world.

How did chariots come in and out of use? With carriages and other horse drawn vehicles the question has a simple and obvious answer; the advent of cars. But chariots were abandoned long before carriages were. Chariots were most likely invented by the Iranic cultures which inhabited the area of western Russia around (supposedly) 2000 BC. At chariots were a devastating weapon, against which there was virtually no defense. Ultimately they became a liability, and were phased out. Sources: https://www.historyonthenet.com/the-wheels-of-war-evolution-of-the-chariot https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/07/07/the-rise-of-chariot-warfare/ https://www.thefinertimes.com/ancient-chariot-warfare#:~:text=The%20War%20Chariot%20The%20chariot%20was%20first%20designed,its%20devastating%20effect%20in%20battle%20were%20quickly%20realised. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/rise-fall-chariot.html https://www.worldhistory.org/article/776/tacitus-account-of-the-battle-of-mons-graupius/ - Tacitus' Account of The Battle of Mons Graupius https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/Aryan/

In this video we look into some of the ancient customs and traditions around New Year's Eve, from the Chinese Celebration, to the ancient Romans and what it is now in many parts of Europe (Silvester). How do you celebrate New Year's Eve in your country?