/u/ShamelessDistraction's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Did "David and Goliath" style fights, where one on one combat was used instead of whole armies fighting, ever really happen in the ancient world?

803 upvotes

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Where did European nobility come from? Were they really just descended from bandits and robbers?

511 upvotes

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Has there ever really been a society that practiced 'predatory,' non-ritual cannibalism?

44 upvotes

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How closely did they keep track of time in the Middle Ages?

31 upvotes

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How much would Spanish/other European elites know about the progress of early wars in the New World, and the state of the Aztec and Inca Empires?

28 upvotes

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Is it true that the Russians played messages on loudspeakers to demoralize german troops in stalingrad?

27 upvotes

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At the time the Iliad was composed, was it really common or possible for a city to be held under siege for 10 years? Is the nature of the war as described familiar or fantastical to its audience?

24 upvotes

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My history text book mentions a 'Commanche Empire' that existed around the Louisiana purchase during the early 19th century, but I can't find much else ahout them elsewhere. How accurate are the claims?

20 upvotes

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It's a common trope in Nordic inspire media to reference songs being written about great deeds or people. Is or was there actually a large body of poetry or song inspired by the actions of famous Vikings? Who wrote them and when were they performed?

19 upvotes

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In his book on the Russian Revolution, Trostky claims there was disagreement between historians about the existence of a Fuedal system in Russia. Is this true? If so why was it unclear? If not why does he say there is?

19 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Did "David and Goliath" style fights, where one on one combat was used instead of whole armies fighting, ever really happen in the ancient world?	803
Where did European nobility come from? Were they really just descended from bandits and robbers?	511
Has there ever really been a society that practiced 'predatory,' non-ritual cannibalism?	44
How closely did they keep track of time in the Middle Ages?	31
How much would Spanish/other European elites know about the progress of early wars in the New World, and the state of the Aztec and Inca Empires?	28
Is it true that the Russians played messages on loudspeakers to demoralize german troops in stalingrad?	27
At the time the Iliad was composed, was it really common or possible for a city to be held under siege for 10 years? Is the nature of the war as described familiar or fantastical to its audience?	24
My history text book mentions a 'Commanche Empire' that existed around the Louisiana purchase during the early 19th century, but I can't find much else ahout them elsewhere. How accurate are the claims?	20
It's a common trope in Nordic inspire media to reference songs being written about great deeds or people. Is or was there actually a large body of poetry or song inspired by the actions of famous Vikings? Who wrote them and when were they performed?	19
In his book on the Russian Revolution, Trostky claims there was disagreement between historians about the existence of a Fuedal system in Russia. Is this true? If so why was it unclear? If not why does he say there is?	19