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KB

KB

@historydetective.bsky.social

3 followers 11 following 70 posts

History detective. Collector of stories. Still walker.

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KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 17

An excellent read 👌

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 11

Six Nations and a beer or two or research into the Swabian Trade Routes of the 16th Century 🤔

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 10

There is a fresco in Vejby church near Aarhus and shows how butter churning was associated with magic. This reminded me of the German word for butterfly - Molkenstehler, whey-stealer. You would cover the pail to protect the milk. The milk did not spoil and this was taken as evidence against witches.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 10

Had a productive morning despite red wine head ....

Fleshed out a chapter on the man who put out the fires of the witch trials in Norway.

A reminder to never forget the power of the individual.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 10

How my head feels this morning. Red wine ... ugh

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 8

What if history is a lie?

What then?

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 7

This is a prompt good enough for a first draft, not for a finished article. You ARE going to have to do some work. It's a tool nothing more.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 7

I think my view on Generative AI is that it is a useful tool for the creative but not for the creator.

There is a huge difference between the two.

The creator is a grifter.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 7

ChatGPT loves the word 'nuance'

If I ever see this in the body of a work, I will assume the work is AI generated.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 6

Learned today that I have 485 citations from my papers uploaded to Academia. Which while brilliant is somewhat perplexing as I haven't uploaded any papers .......

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

Waller draws parallels between the dancing plague and modern trance states, where suggestibility and shared beliefs can induce collective hysteria. The dancing plague of 1518 remains a fascinating and perplexing chapter in history, a bizarre dance into the unknown.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

The cause of this bizarre episode remains a mystery. Paracelsus suggested it was a ploy for attention, while modern theories like ergot poisoning have been debunked. Historian John Waller proposes a mix of social, cultural, and environmental factors, suggesting a form of psychic contagion.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

Prohibiting almost all dance and music until September, the authorities bundled the worst-affected into wagons, sending them to the shrine of Saint Vitus for a cure. The ritual involving crosses, holy water, and incantations seemed to work, eventually bringing an end to the dancing plague.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

However, the plan backfired spectacularly. Onlookers, viewing the frenzied movements as a manifestation of Saint Vitus' fury, joined in. The dancing plague intensified, reaching a peak of 15 deaths per day. The council, desperate to contain it, ordered the stages dismantled.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

The Privy Council, influenced by humoral theory, believed it was an overheated blood issue. Instead of bleeding the afflicted, they took a drastic approach—ordering the construction of dance floors in the market and employing musicians to encourage the dance to "exhaust itself."

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

The epidemic started with one woman, Frau Troffea, who danced for days on end without rest. Ignoring pleas to stop, she sparked a frenzy. Within a month, over 400 citizens were affected. The authorities, perplexed, sought a solution.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 5

In the bustling horse market of Strasbourg, 1518, a strange phenomenon unfolded. Scores of people, seemingly carnival revellers, danced uncontrollably in the July sun. But this was no celebration; it was the infamous "dancing plague" or choreomania.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Feb 3

I have been largely unimpressed with AI for research purposes. Google's Bard being the worst offender.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 28

Not only influential in witch hunts but also cultural Marxism from his concept of the heavenly city.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 28

Augustine of Hippo.

Now there's an interesting theologian.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 27

The Tempestarii

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 27

I do find it odd that Anne of Denmark's age on her marriage to James VI is never mentioned. She was 14.

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 27

Many theories about why the European witch hunting craze began. But is it a coincidence it occurred just after the invention of the moveable-type printing press?

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 25

The context for the European witch hunts is complex with no singular reason for their beginning but I did not expect one major cause to be Roman Law .....

KB @historydetective.bsky.social · Jan 21

The dangers of Wikipedia:

The so-called Woman of Lübeck on Wiki is German. However when we read the actual letter from Robert Bowes to Lord Burghley (4 July 1590) she is in fact Dutch.

Always check your sources/citations.