Barbarians

[Pertinax]

Yes the Terry Jones aka Mrs Cohen mother of Brian. An interesting small review in todays Sunday Times mentions Celtic roadbuilding technology, (oak planks on birch runners) .Jones often tries to do some useful lateral thinking so this might be a provoking and entertaining read.

 

Terry Jones' Barbarians

 

will be released soon.

[Pantagathus]

I'll definitely read it.

 

He's been gravitating towards the world of a scholar lately and I quite appreciate it.

[Pertinax]

Terry Jones's "Barbarians" (as TV presentation) has just screened here and tries to make two points:

 

Caesar went into Gaul looking for glory and money-I think we got that one already.

The Celts were happy to follow high ranking females as head of state/clan.No one would argue really but he puts forward some interesting dig finds from Northern Gaul.

 

Worth a watch if its passing but really another modern deconstructed post-feminist history.

Edited May 27, 2006 by Pertinax

[Guest TheTwoMinutesHate]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=933137298405651703

 

Can be watched here.

[Pertinax]

and gets a poor review at the Sunday Times:

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2101-2205264.html

 

 

"Jones uses the homespun, organic, green barbarians as a sensitive, peace-loving analogy for us, with Rome standing in as the cruel, decadent, industrialised superpower America."-I quote(oh no not again).

Edited June 4, 2006 by Pertinax

[Ursus]

I wish people would stop comparing us to the Romans. One, it's becoming a worn out cliche. Two, the Romans had more class than we do.

[Virgil61]

I wish people would stop comparing us to the Romans. One, it's becoming a worn out cliche. Two, the Romans had more class than we do.

 

Drives me up a wall when I see it, and I see it a lot. Even read an article by a classicist whose lecture I enjoyed once that did the same thing, but a bit more intelligently and focusing on the Republic, which, if you're going to do it is the era to focus on I think.

 

On the link provided by TheTwoMinutesofHate--nice chilling Orwellian reference--to the documentary, it does work! You can either watch it on your browser or download a new Google Viewer and the file for the documentary. I recommend the second way as the resolution and sound is much better. Five minutes into it.

[Pertinax]

The dedicated viewer is very good- follow Virgil's advice -it improves the quality enormously.

[Virgil61]

Terry Jones's "Barbarians" (as TV presentation) has just screened here and tries to make two points:

 

Caesar went into Gaul looking for glory and money-I think we got that one already.

The Celts were happy to follow high ranking females as head of state/clan.No one would argue really but he puts forward some interesting dig finds from Northern Gaul.

 

Worth a watch if its passing but really another modern deconstructed post-feminist history.

 

I just finished it.

 

Well-made and all with some decent information, but essentially it was zero-sum history. In other words in order to build the Celtic world up Rome has to be torn down in Terry Jones's method of presentation. All you posted above is correct. It also includes the fact that the Celts made roads out of planks, but the way Jones makes it sound their construction was akin to engineering the Great Wall or the Pyramids. It seems to be an exercise in Roman bashing for general consumption. There's really little new for anyone here who has acquaintance with the Celts; big on trade, mining important ores with help from Roman demand and a certain level of culture and civilization.

 

I noticed the same 'dissing' of Rome in favor of the 'barbarians' in "The Battle that Stopped Rome' as I did with the professors waxing poetic about the Celts. It seems like the thing to do if Northern European tribes of the classical era is your specialty. This may rile more than one person on this board. The 'noble savage' of history theory rises again with a touch of civilization this time.

[Furius Venator]

[q]The 'noble savage' of history theory rises again with a touch of civilization this time.

[/q]

 

No mention of their head-taking activities then?

 

Or human sacrifice...

 

Or reputation for alcoholism.

[AEGYPTUS]

If I recollect correctly Terry Jones did mention alcholism. Also that Rome had to expand its wine idustry to keep up with demand from Gaul.

Edited June 5, 2006 by AEGYPTUS

[Skarr]

Talking of Caesar and Gaul, I finally got my copy of "Vae Victis" a graphic novel which follows a group of Celts, Gauls, etc. as they try to get the better of Caesar at each of his key battles - at Avaricum, at Gergovia and finally, at Alesia. The series also covers Caesar's brief campaign in Britain with sub plots (of course, entirely fictional) that follow a love triangle between a young girl from Britain, an Etruscan doctor and a devoted Gaul (giant guy but a little stupid).

 

I will be reviewing this in detail on my site shortly. The art is fantastic and the accuracy with which the battle scenes have been drawn is simply amazing, even breathtaking. The complex formations of the Romans, their remarkable feats of engineering and construction in the worst weather imaginable, the disarray of the various tribes assembled by Vercingetorix and his ineptness as a leader, everything is brought out vividly in the art and I think, in my mind, this is the best graphic novel series I have ever read and plan to re-read it again, as it is so detailed and so rich in its imagery.

 

The only drawback is that it is entirely in French, which may be an incentive for some to learn the language. I don't think a translation is being planned and even if you just have a rudimentary knowledge of French, it may be well worth your while to read this, along with a dictionary .. Simply amazing ! [ For those interested, you can check it out on Amazon.com [ click on the France link to get to its french site and then type in Vae Victis].

[WotWotius]

I wish people would stop comparing us to the Romans. One, it's becoming a worn out cliche. Two, the Romans had more class than we do.

 

Yeah, if your average julio-claudian arrived in modern times, the would probably be shoked by the lack of decadence. Though they may feel at home in Amsterdam

[Primus Pilus]

I wish people would stop comparing us to the Romans. One, it's becoming a worn out cliche. Two, the Romans had more class than we do.

 

Yeah, if your average julio-claudian arrived in modern times, the would probably be shoked by the lack of decadence. Though they may feel at home in Amsterdam

 

Or since obesity was once a sign of vast wealth, perhaps he'd be stunned by the huge numbers of incredibly wealthy people shopping at Walmart.

[Neos Dionysos]

I wish people would stop comparing us to the Romans. One, it's becoming a worn out cliche. Two, the Romans had more class than we do.

 

Yeah, if your average julio-claudian arrived in modern times, the would probably be shoked by the lack of decadence. Though they may feel at home in Amsterdam

 

Or since obesity was once a sign of vast wealth, perhaps he'd be stunned by the huge numbers of incredibly wealthy people shopping at Walmart.

 

 

That's just wrong PP...

 

 

Ursus, you think it's old? For back to back Political Science classes over the course of a couple semesters I had to deal with Lecturers and Profs who loved compared the US to Rome. I felt like shooting myself...