/r/askhistorians

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Were knights on foot feared by normal men-at-arms? Were they in a sense "elite" fighters and avoided in combat?

1347 upvotes • Broyourfacegoddamnit

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Before 1AD, how accurate was Chinese knowledge of "Daqin", the Roman Empire? Did they have myths about it?

1347 upvotes • [deleted]

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British monarchs claimed the title of "King of France" until 1801 — did Jacobite pretenders continue to claim this title while in exile in France? Wasn't this a bit awkward?

1347 upvotes • dean84921

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Our tour guide at Auschwitz said that, as a final act of defiance and a show of strength, some of the people condemned to die in the gas chambers spent their last moments singing together or praying/chanting. Are there any records of this happening?

1346 upvotes • LessWeakness

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What is the historical verdict on Clarence Thomas vs Anita Hill? Who was telling the truth?

1346 upvotes • premeddit

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The song “I’ll make a man out of you”, from Disney’s animated film Mulan, depicts an ideal of martial masculinity that is easily recognizable to western audiences. Is the song accurate in its depiction of chinese ideals for soldiers?

1346 upvotes • Horapollo

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How did the term "Indians" persist for hundreds of years when even the earliest explorers knew the New World was not India?

1346 upvotes • TemoSahn

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I’m Dr. Luke Reynolds, author of Who Owned Waterloo? Battle, Memory, and Myth in British History, 1815-1852. Here to talk about Waterloo commemoration, Battlefield tourism, 19th century British cultural history, The British Army Officer Corps, or the Duke of Wellington’s funeral. AMA!

1345 upvotes • lureynol

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Is there any historical precedent for a pre-modern culture constructing elaborate mechanical traps (as seen in many films such as "Goonies" or in various "Indiana Jones" films) that are disarmable by an artifact or by a sequence of actions? Where does this common film trope come from?

1344 upvotes • bigmapblog

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Is the social category of "nerd" a necessarily modern phenomenon? What might an ancient Roman or medieval European "nerd" have looked like?

1344 upvotes • WileECyrus

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Were knights on foot feared by normal men-at-arms? Were they in a sense "elite" fighters and avoided in combat?	1347	Broyourfacegoddamnit
Before 1AD, how accurate was Chinese knowledge of "Daqin", the Roman Empire? Did they have myths about it?	1347	[deleted]
British monarchs claimed the title of "King of France" until 1801 — did Jacobite pretenders continue to claim this title while in exile in France? Wasn't this a bit awkward?	1347	dean84921
Our tour guide at Auschwitz said that, as a final act of defiance and a show of strength, some of the people condemned to die in the gas chambers spent their last moments singing together or praying/chanting. Are there any records of this happening?	1346	LessWeakness
What is the historical verdict on Clarence Thomas vs Anita Hill? Who was telling the truth?	1346	premeddit
The song “I’ll make a man out of you”, from Disney’s animated film Mulan, depicts an ideal of martial masculinity that is easily recognizable to western audiences. Is the song accurate in its depiction of chinese ideals for soldiers?	1346	Horapollo
How did the term "Indians" persist for hundreds of years when even the earliest explorers knew the New World was not India?	1346	TemoSahn
I’m Dr. Luke Reynolds, author of Who Owned Waterloo? Battle, Memory, and Myth in British History, 1815-1852. Here to talk about Waterloo commemoration, Battlefield tourism, 19th century British cultural history, The British Army Officer Corps, or the Duke of Wellington’s funeral. AMA!	1345	lureynol
Is there any historical precedent for a pre-modern culture constructing elaborate mechanical traps (as seen in many films such as "Goonies" or in various "Indiana Jones" films) that are disarmable by an artifact or by a sequence of actions? Where does this common film trope come from?	1344	bigmapblog
Is the social category of "nerd" a necessarily modern phenomenon? What might an ancient Roman or medieval European "nerd" have looked like?	1344	WileECyrus