History

Before Shakespeare There Was Chaucer 0
- History
- March 11, 2021
Before William Shakespeare there was Geoffrey Chaucer. The Bard borrowed at least one of his plots from his predecessor (“The Two Noble Kinsmen,” was based on the “Knight’s Tale”). Both English greats were, it could be said, refashioning Homer’s Shield of Achilles as they painted elaborate portraits of their entire societies, from the lowliest corners to
READ MORE
Sympathy for the Spartan 0
- History
- February 22, 2021
History—be it that of 1619, or 1776, or some other significant year or event—is often abused in this day and age. One of the latest victims of such historical misrepresentation are the Spartans, whom Lee Smith in a column for Tablet treats rather unfairly. Smith describes the blood-curdling behavior of the antidemocratic Spartans at the end
READ MORE
Political Correctness in the History of the South 0
- History
- December 30, 2020
I was recently gifted “The South Was Right,” by James Ronald and Walter Donald Kennedy, an updated version of a work originally produced in 1994. Seeking an antidote to the PC historiography in which our universities are now awash, I happily plunged into this printed gift. The present “leftist ideologues,” more than their predecessors, hate
READ MORE

WikiLeaks 1941 0
- History
- December 7, 2020
(This story was originally published by Chronicles on December 7, 2010.) Over 2,400 American sailors, soldiers and airmen were killed in Pearl Harbor 69 years ago today. Had we had an equivalent of WikiLeaks back in 1941, however, the course of history could have been very different. FDR would have found it much more difficult
READ MORE
Three Signs of a Tyrant 0
- History
- December 2, 2020
With widened eyes, pursed lips, and a quick intake of breath the woman muttered in whispered tones through clenched teeth, “He is such a TYRANT!” Many of us have likely seen similar displays in recent weeks… or have performed them ourselves. The fact is there have been many actions by our leaders, both elected and
READ MORE
Whither the Tank?0
- History
- December 2, 2020
The five-week offensive by Azerbaijan against the Armenian-inhabited enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh—the Azeris’ internationally recognized territory—has ended in a clear victory for the attacker. Tens of thousands of Armenians have fled their homes in the land they call Artsakh, which they had inhabited continuously for over two millennia. This is yet another defeat of embattled Christendom
READ MORE