Recent comments in /f/history

recycled_ideas t1_jdxnvxc wrote

Reply to comment by vinicelii in Oldest tartan found to date back to 16th Century - A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established. by ArtOak

> is that they actually toned DOWN how crazy Commodus probably was irl.

It's really hard to determine how much of that is true. Roman historians have a tendency to paint emperors they don't like as degenerates regardless of the actual truth and Roman imperial dynasties are so short lived that no one cares enough to stop them.

Commodus pissed off the Senators and a lot of the historians we have accounts of are of or associated with the Senatorial class. He seems to have been pretty popular with the people.

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marketrent OP t1_jdxj9w2 wrote

Reply to comment by velvykat5731 in 19th century impressionistic paintings by Turner and Monet depict realism of air pollution, that increased to unprecedented levels during the Industrial Revolution by marketrent

>velvykat5731

>Are we talking about Joseph Mallord William Turner? Is it correct to describe him as an "impressionist"?

I used the phrase ‘impressionistic paintings’ in the title to refer to an aesthetic effect, mindful of J.M.W.

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quantdave t1_jdxeumb wrote

Reply to comment by thissweetlifeofmine in Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator

The width of a roll of fabric: luckily the length doesn't matter as that varied, so I don't need to see that! Standard widths are a constant issue, and i have one in mind that I want to test: the piece is later than the period I'm looking at, but the measurements may have persisted. It wouldn't prove anything, but it would be suggestive.

It's so easy to lose what we learned at school as life takes its toll of our mental storage space - but oddly I find a lot of it's still buried away, waiting to be re-awakened. I still haven't found a use for the Blanca Manca estancia, but I'm sure one will turn up.

PS. Food and Tudors are each an excellent place to start, with enormous potential for branching out - agriculture, trade, European affairs, empire... and Tudors are always in vogue.

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TheDwarvenGuy t1_jdxbste wrote

Reply to comment by atlantis_airlines in Oldest tartan found to date back to 16th Century - A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established. by ArtOak

A lot of depiction of Celts show them as wearing tartans, but this was more of an addition by later Celtic romantics to align with their ideals of a continuity between the old celtic civilization and their current one. There may have been similar textiles though.

This kinda stuff happened all the time in the Romantic era. It's like how Vikings having horns was done by German romanticists in order to connect the Vikings to the German Bronze age cultures and thus to Germany.

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La_danse_banana_slug t1_jdxbohk wrote

Reply to comment by zappapostrophe in 19th century impressionistic paintings by Turner and Monet depict realism of air pollution, that increased to unprecedented levels during the Industrial Revolution by marketrent

Sadly, Monet also developed cataracts as he aged. However when he first encountered the works of Turner and changed his own work significantly to reflect his influence, Monet's eyesight was still fine. His eyesight only declined after his most famous works were completed. Interestingly, his paintings post-cataract tended to be harsher in contrast, with more red-brown, and with sparser brushstrokes.

I've no idea how Turner's cataracts affected his work.

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FirstChurchOfBrutus t1_jdxa41i wrote

Reply to comment by TiberiusClackus in Oldest tartan found to date back to 16th Century - A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established. by ArtOak

As someone who lived in Charleston when it was being filmed, and as someone who has a special place in his heart for Nathaniel Greene, I do enjoy watching it. It’s just that, like the musket balls they fired, it is not the kind of thing I expect to have any sort of accuracy. If I were a(n) Historian, I would be aghast at the liberties (pun intended) taken by this film.

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