/u/UnderwaterDialect's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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Why is fantasy set in the Middle Ages? Where does that connection come from?

4019 upvotes

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Did Romans notice/remark on cognate words in Latin and Germanic languages, due to their common Indo European ancestry?

1957 upvotes

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I see a lot of alt-right folks trying to say that the Nazis were socialists. Was this a common talking point after WW2?

1687 upvotes

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Was there a lot of individual variation in medieval knights' sword fighting technique? Were any knights famous for very unique sword fight styles?

763 upvotes

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How did patronyms ever make it to a second generation?

279 upvotes

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What did medieval farmers do all day in the dead of winter?

210 upvotes

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The Night they Drove Old Dixie down laments the loss of the war by the south. Did people lament the loss of some “southern culture” apart from the ability to hold slaves? What would that have been?

137 upvotes

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When “barbarians” were recruited into the Roman army, did they use the same armour and weapons as the Roman-born soldiers? Or did they use their traditional weapons?

134 upvotes

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I've read people say that the reason for English's poor spelling-sound correspondence is that the printing press froze spelling while sounds still changed. But shouldn't that apply to all European languages?

105 upvotes

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In The Fall of Rome, Peter Heather says that there was a third Indo-European group living between the Celts and Germanic peoples. What do we know about this third group, and did they have any lasting impact?

73 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Why is fantasy set in the Middle Ages? Where does that connection come from?	4019
Did Romans notice/remark on cognate words in Latin and Germanic languages, due to their common Indo European ancestry?	1957
I see a lot of alt-right folks trying to say that the Nazis were socialists. Was this a common talking point after WW2?	1687
Was there a lot of individual variation in medieval knights' sword fighting technique? Were any knights famous for very unique sword fight styles?	763
How did patronyms ever make it to a second generation?	279
What did medieval farmers do all day in the dead of winter?	210
The Night they Drove Old Dixie down laments the loss of the war by the south. Did people lament the loss of some “southern culture” apart from the ability to hold slaves? What would that have been?	137
When “barbarians” were recruited into the Roman army, did they use the same armour and weapons as the Roman-born soldiers? Or did they use their traditional weapons?	134
I've read people say that the reason for English's poor spelling-sound correspondence is that the printing press froze spelling while sounds still changed. But shouldn't that apply to all European languages?	105
In The Fall of Rome, Peter Heather says that there was a third Indo-European group living between the Celts and Germanic peoples. What do we know about this third group, and did they have any lasting impact?	73