Austrian history geek-out!!
So, I bought this Austrian history book this winter and have been meaning to read it ever since. But it's in German, and it's kind of academic German, so it takes some time. That and I just haven't been reading much at all lately.
ANYWAY.
I've been reading, and I'm 57 pages in and have read about identity, prehistory, and am up to the year 1246, and I have totally been geeking out. Especially this last chapter. Lots of underlining and notes in the margins. I suppose there's not much in there that can't be found elsewhere, but some things I just hadn't REALIZED.
For instance, A Knight's Tale. Heath Ledger's (RIP) character is called Ulrich von Liechtenstein. I thought this was just a silly name they made up, but no!! He was actually an Austrian poet/minstrel AND the governor of Styria (one of the Austrian provinces) in the 13th century! So that's just....neat.
Other fun anecdotes I just read about include:
The Austrian flag design (red-white-red) is supposed to have come from Leopold V. during the Third Crusade. He was apparently covered in blood and removed his belt, leaving a white horizontal stripe. Whether or not it's true, I think it makes a fun story.
Also, this one IS true - After being shipwrecked on his way home from the Crusades, Richard the Lionhearted had to travel through Austria. He and Leopold had had a bit of a tiff while they were in the Holy Land, and Richard seriously offended Leopold (by taking down his flag after a joint victory and possibly being involved in the murder of his cousin). Sooo when it was discovered that he was in Austria, disguised as a pilgrim, Leopold had him captured and imprisoned. Richard got handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor eventually, and England had to pay a ransom to free him. This money went to found the mint in Vienna AND build the medieval city walls. Pretty sweet, no? Except then Leopold was excommunicated for imprisoning a fellow crusader, and the Babenberg line died out 54 years later. But still! Cool.
So now I'm getting into the part of history I am familiar with. Hopefully it will continue to make sense and repeat some of what I already know, unlike the chapter on the Völkerwanderung, which talked about all the different people who settled in or passed through Austria. I hadn't even heard of some of them in English. Here's the list: Celts, Romans, Marcomanni, Quadi, (Ostro)Goths, Burgundians, Vandals, Huns, Rugii, Lombards (whose were in Lower Austria apparently, and whose graves can still be found around Hollabrunn), Avars, Bavarians, Slavs, Alemanni, Magyars, and the Merovingians. It was really confusing. Bah.
So. Yes. There may be more geek-outs to come. We shall see.
ANYWAY.
I've been reading, and I'm 57 pages in and have read about identity, prehistory, and am up to the year 1246, and I have totally been geeking out. Especially this last chapter. Lots of underlining and notes in the margins. I suppose there's not much in there that can't be found elsewhere, but some things I just hadn't REALIZED.
For instance, A Knight's Tale. Heath Ledger's (RIP) character is called Ulrich von Liechtenstein. I thought this was just a silly name they made up, but no!! He was actually an Austrian poet/minstrel AND the governor of Styria (one of the Austrian provinces) in the 13th century! So that's just....neat.
Other fun anecdotes I just read about include:
The Austrian flag design (red-white-red) is supposed to have come from Leopold V. during the Third Crusade. He was apparently covered in blood and removed his belt, leaving a white horizontal stripe. Whether or not it's true, I think it makes a fun story.
Also, this one IS true - After being shipwrecked on his way home from the Crusades, Richard the Lionhearted had to travel through Austria. He and Leopold had had a bit of a tiff while they were in the Holy Land, and Richard seriously offended Leopold (by taking down his flag after a joint victory and possibly being involved in the murder of his cousin). Sooo when it was discovered that he was in Austria, disguised as a pilgrim, Leopold had him captured and imprisoned. Richard got handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor eventually, and England had to pay a ransom to free him. This money went to found the mint in Vienna AND build the medieval city walls. Pretty sweet, no? Except then Leopold was excommunicated for imprisoning a fellow crusader, and the Babenberg line died out 54 years later. But still! Cool.
So now I'm getting into the part of history I am familiar with. Hopefully it will continue to make sense and repeat some of what I already know, unlike the chapter on the Völkerwanderung, which talked about all the different people who settled in or passed through Austria. I hadn't even heard of some of them in English. Here's the list: Celts, Romans, Marcomanni, Quadi, (Ostro)Goths, Burgundians, Vandals, Huns, Rugii, Lombards (whose were in Lower Austria apparently, and whose graves can still be found around Hollabrunn), Avars, Bavarians, Slavs, Alemanni, Magyars, and the Merovingians. It was really confusing. Bah.
So. Yes. There may be more geek-outs to come. We shall see.