History of Central Europe

Welcome to a History of Central Europe, a show we call Between the Seas! In this introduction, we go over what makes studying the history of Central Europe so unique, motivations for starting the show, and how the themes we see in the history of this vast land can be applied to a great variety of subjects.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

In this introductory episode, we discuss just which lands we mean to learn the history of on the show, using geography as a guide. We also again return to some of the themes to expect from the rest of the series, by looking at all the seas which Central Europe lay between.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

In this episode, we rewind our story to talk about the introduction of agriculture to Inner Europe, looking at how agriculture works and how it affects societies based on their surroundings. We then combine the two stories into one, going over the melding of steppe and agrarian influences on early cultural formation in Inner Europe, looking at the convoluted processes that spring the more well known identities of antiquity.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Fort, Joaquim. Demic and Cultural Diffusion Propagated the Neolithic Transition across Different Areas of Europe. PMC, 2015. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4424695/Linderholm, Anna et al. Corded Ware Cultural Complexity uncovered using genomic and isotopic analysis from SE Poland. Nature, 2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63138-wVarying reports of Germanic/Baltic/Celtic origins and traditions

In this episode, we narrow our focus specifically to the Italo-Celts, and their legacy on Inner Europe and the wider world. The Celts would create a decentralized system that would come to lay foundations for many Inner European identities, while Rome would lay the foundations for what was seen as civilization in Europe for millennia to come. Here, we dissect them both.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Arrow of Time. How Italian Allies built the Roman Empire. 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TujGoQjrn3Y&t=1s. (I highly recommend this video for learning more about the Roman confederal system)

In this series introduction, we return to the depths of Inner Europe to go over the fate of the Celts during and after the Roman Conquests, and introduce the groups of people who will form their successors and launch the plots of the Migration Period, the Germans.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

In this episode, we will refocus our scope on Inner Europe, and Carpathia in particular, as we witness the clash of worlds across the Danube. The Romans will take the south, while the Germanic tribes will take the north. With the ebb and flows of the Roman state, its only a matter of time before a major shift occurs...New episodes every Monday! We will return in January from the Christmas break.Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

In this episode, we begin to explore the Germanic order left behind in the ashes of the Roman Dominion, introducing aspects which enabled this change to take place. We also introduce monumental challengers to the stage of the Inner European story - the Slavs. Together with the Avars, they will bookmark the migration periods, and open the door to a new age for Inner Europe.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.M Laser History. The Slavic Venetic Connection. Youtube. 2020.

In this episode, we contract from the sweeping dramas that encompassed the migration periods, to focus on a few fundamental things: What was the village life that now encompassed the majority of Inner Europe like? How did these entities structure themselves? What were the rural roles of villagers in the early medieval ages? How had the institution of slavery changed from the Fall of Rome and the Rise of the Caliphate? In addition to these questions, we also attempt to answer some difficult questions about the nature of warfare, and what made a force effective in the Early Medieval Ages, looking at some case studies from our narrative.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Demetrios, John. Translation by Lemerle, Paul. The Miracles of Saint Demetrius, Book 1. 600s. https://www.jassa.org/?p=9987Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

In this series introduction, we catch up with the story of Christianity since its founding, and talk about the state of the church going into the "long 8th century". In particular, we'll look at what characterized the Latin Church, Celtic/Anglo-Saxon Church, and Byzantine Church, and how they would each aim to influence Inner Europe differently through their shared efforts of converting the pagans. We'll also introduce some context for the world of Inner Europe following the dissolution of Roman presence there.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Here, we move away from Carpathia and on to the plateau, in order to introduce the story since the dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West. Many tribal super-confederations finally settle, and begin to permanently influence the land around them. One particular confederation of the west meanwhile, the Franks, will come to find unique ways to blend the Latin and Germanic populations, through the actions of Clovis and the merging of the old and new elites in Gaul.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Clovis. Salic Law. 5th centuryApostolic Majesty. The Empire of the Franks from Clovis to Charlemagne, YouTube 2022.

In this episode, we rejoin the drama of Carpathia, as the Avars face a serious internal crisis during the 7th century. From this crisis, we get the birth of several states and cultures, some of which will last, and some of which won't. Regardless, their stories will inspire the future of Inner Europe, especially for the Western and Southern Slavs. We also talk about the 250 year reign of the Avars themselves, a society that will prove remarkably adaptable to changing climates, consistent revolts, and powerful external states.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

We turn back to the Franks in this episode, in order to see how Clovis' successors utilize the new political formula which has been created. The Merovingians will have several devastating and fratricidal civil wars, and yet the influence of their civilization will solidify and spread all the same. We will also compare the Merovingians to the Carolingians, who will begin to gain power in the 8th century, preparing the next phase of our story.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Clothar I, Brunhilda, Clothar II, Dagobert I, The World History Encyclopedia

Today, we introduce the 4th series of the podcast, where we will look at the history of the Frankish Empire, focusing specifically on what ideas led to its creation, and how these ideas will interact with the changing Inner European world around them. Would Charlemagne succeed in restoring Rome, the seeming standard for civilization? Or would he, the church, and the rising aristocracy create something new entirely?New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

In this extended episode, we take a look at the life and influence of Charlemagne, the Frankish hegemonic leader who would create the Frankish Empire. HIs reign will overhaul the structure of the Catholic church, kickstart the spread of writing, forge a new christian identity across Europe, and bring the power of the plateau to the level of the Byzantines. We will look at how Charlemagne's armies were so successful and how he secured his legitimacy, as well as examine his several military campaigns of course.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Nicolle, David. McBride, Angus. The Age of Charlemagne. Osprey Publishing. 1984.

In this episode, we dissect Charlemagne's Empire, along with the aristocracies of the time. We look at how his successors attempted to hold it together, and the blend of formal institution and traditional ritual which would dominate its politics. We also follow its inevitable fragmentation, and the tell the story of the final Carolingians of East Francia.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Nicolle, David. McBride, Angus. The Age of Charlemagne. Osprey Publishing. 1984.Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

In this episode, we take a focused look at the tribes and alliances which take place in the fall of the Avar confederacy, specifically along western Pannonia and the Dinaric Range. Here, societies are fully introduced to Frankish institutions, Christianity, and back and forth great power conflict. We also cover origins of political organization among Croats, Dalmatian cities, and the Slavs of Lower Pannonia.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Nicolle, David. McBride, Angus. The Age of Charlemagne. Osprey Publishing. 1984.Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

In this 5th series introduction, we talk about some of the more abstract foundations of state formation, specifically two types of "order", the state, and culture. Both present stated or unstated limitations that promote cooperation between groups of people, but in different ways. Only the state can be changed directly. The 9th and 10th centuries for Inner Europe will be a time of waxing and waning "states", each struggling to find an identity that legitimizes it across the wider region, and this series will focus on some examples.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

In this episode, we pivot north, onto the great plains and swamps of the Riverlands. Here, we examine the Pagan Slavic culture and the patterns of its settlement. The 9th and 10th centuries would bring change to all aspects of the tribal societies, as international trade reopens, a force which will invite both wealth and increased attention from foreign threats on all sides. These forces will then force societies to adapt and stratify, or perish as so many others had.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.Gawell, Donna. Our Galician Ancestors. 2024.Davies, Norman. Moorhouse, Roger. Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City. Jonathan Cape, 2002.Schmidt, Knud Rahbek. The Social Structure of Russia in the Early Middle Ages. University of Aarhus. 1960.

In this episode, we introduce the Rise and Fall of Great Moravia, a 9th century Slavic "Imperial Confederacy" which would attempt to unify several of the frontier slavic tribes of Pannonia and the Carpathians into an organization set against both the East Franks and the Bulgarians. Unlike previous confederacies, this one would be organized also around Christianity, which the missions of Cyril and Methodius would help to spread and make unique for Moravia.New episodes every Monday!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.Hlavica, Michal. Prochazka, Rudolf. Basic Principles of the Great Moravian Economy. Great Moravian Elites from Mikulcice, 2020.Schwerpunkt. Great Moravia (833-907). Youtube, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HAXnTHjw5Q

In this final episode of the Trial and Error Series on the 9th and early 10th centuries, we focus on two Balkan identities which are created in the tumultuous wars of the era: the Serbs and the Bulgarians. Both will find a way to unite many Slavic tribes of the Balkans, and both will incorporate Christianity into their new identity, though one will be built for autonomy, and one for imperial glory.The Series will take a few months break, but will return in late June with Series 6!Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.comSourcesIntro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tuneOutro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.Schwerpunkt. Principality of Serbia (780-960). Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPKPwOWZ6CU