Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2019 i National Geographic History

THE LUMIÈRES not only invented the very first night at the movies, they also pioneered the use of the movie poster. In the Paris of the belle epoque, posters were the best form of advertisement. After their initial screening in December 1895, the Lumières contracted lithographer Henri Brispot to create a poster (right) to promote future demonstrations of the Lumière Cinématographe. The first screening had only attracted 30 people, but after word spread of the incredible experience, thousands wanted to see the moving pictures in early January 1896.…

THE SNAKE GODDESS Meretseger was revered and feared by the people of Thebes who built the Valley of the Kings. The name Meretseger means “she who loves silence,” and she watched over the tombs in the The-ban necropolis. Workers also referred to her as “Peak of the West,” a nod to the pyramid-shaped mountaintop (known today as Al Qurn) above the Valley of the Kings, where she dwelled. The goddess’s appearance varies across different works of art, but snakes feature heavily in her iconography; often she is shown as a coiled cobra with a woman’s head. Meretseger protected tombs from desecration and robbers, and unlike most Egyptian deities, she would strike down criminals. The workers of Thebes believed that the goddess punished criminals and oath breakers with blindness and venomous…

Justice in ancient Egypt encompassed a range of physical punishments: disfigurement, beatings, and floggings. Punishments were typically administered in public and meted out to citizens for crimes such as nonpayment of taxes. Corporal punishment was common for lesser crimes, but in the most severe cases, the Egyptian state would execute offenders. Robbing royal tombs, injuring the pharaoh, and treason were all regarded as the worst crimes Egyptian citizens could commit. If criminals were caught, they would be punished by death. Executions were carried out in a number of ways, most often in public. Members of privileged classes could sometimes opt to take their own lives by swallowing poison rather than undergoing a painful death in public. The harshest punishment was not only death in this world but death in the…

For some scholars, the Renaissance started when Petrarch discovered Cicero’s letters to Atticus in 1345. Overjoyed with his find, Petrarch was one of the first to worship at the altar of Cicero, whose orations and defenses of liberty against tyranny would inspire generations of philosophers. Perhaps no generation would be as inspired as the Enlightenment thinkers, like John Locke, David Hume, or Montesquieu, who stated that “Cicero is, of all the ancients, the one who had the most personal merit, and whom I would most prefer to resemble.” He was also a guiding light for the Founding Fathers who took Enlightenment ideals and put them into practice in North America. In 1744 Benjamin Franklin published M. T. Cicero’s Cato Major, or His Discourse of Old-Age, the first classic work translated…

EARLY 1300S The legend of Fulk III FitzWarin, a rebel against the 13th-century King John emerges, a possible model for the Robin Hood tales, which are emerging at this time in oral form. CIRCA 1377 William Langland’s Vision of Piers Plowman includes the first known literary reference to Robin Hood. Social tensions between rich and poor will burst into the open with the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. 1450 An early ballad about the outlaw finds its way into print. “Robin Hood and the Monk” portrays the archer and his men as brutal tricksters hiding out in Sherwood Forest. 1598 Elizabethan playwright Anthony Munday publishes two plays about Robin Hood in which the former outlaw is now ennobled as the Earl of Huntington, a chivalrous courtier, loyal to his king. 1820…

THE ROBIN HOOD LEGEND was a perfect fit for the silver screen in the 20th century, when more than 40 films were shot featuring the noble outlaw with a heart of gold. His most iconic moment on film came in the 1938 Technicolor movie The Adventures of Robin Hood, the Warner Bros. classic packed with sword fights and medieval costumes. Errol Flynn’s Robin is an impoverished nobleman and honest-speaking Saxon “cockerel,” chafing under the taxes of corrupt Prince John and Guy of Gisborne—who is wooing the beautiful Marian, played by Olivia de Havilland. Closely modeled on the novelist Walter Scott’s version of the noble Sherwood Forest outlaw, Robin takes on the prince and the greedy Norman barons in a guerrilla war, redistributing wealth from the rich to win over both…

1184 Pope Lucius III lays the groundwork for the Inquisition throughout Europe. 1478 The Spanish Inquisition begins. Persecution of Jews will extend to Muslims and Protestants. 1808-09 Napoleon suspends the Inquisition in Spain. After his 1814 withdrawal, it is restored. 1834 Following several suppressions and restorations, the Spanish Inquisition is abolished.…

Described as a “radiantly beautiful woman” in her youth, Zerelda James Samuel (1825-1911) stood nearly six feet tall. More imposing than her height, though, was her personality. At a time when women were expected to tend to the children and keep their opinions to themselves, the strong-willed Zerelda didn’t hesitate to speak her mind. It was said she was “not afraid of the devil himself.” It was also said that Jesse James took after his mother. Zerelda’s life was filled with tragedy, but the hardest of all to bear occurred on January 26, 1875. In the dark of night, a small force of men employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency attacked her farmhouse in the belief the James boys were home (they weren’t). The Pinkertons forced an incendiary device through…

WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL (1837-1865), a teacher who turned to banditry before the outbreak of the Civil War, began forming a guerrilla force after deserting the Confederate Army in 1861. On August 21, 1863, Quantrill swooped down on Lawrence, Kansas, with more than 400 men, among whom were Frank James and Cole Younger. This attack was claimed to be in retaliation for the deaths and maiming of several young women, guerrilla supporters, who were being held in a makeshift prison when it collapsed. In what became known as the Lawrence Massacre, Quantrill and his followers slaughtered more than 150 men and boys, most of them civilians. “We knew he was not a very fine character,” recalled Frank James, “but . . . We wanted to destroy the folks that wanted to…

Jesse James was already a legend when he was killed, the subject of countless news articles and several blood and thunder books recounting the purported exploits of the bandit and his gang. Irish playwright Oscar Wilde was in St. Joseph, Missouri, a week after Jesse’s death and witnessed firsthand the mad clamor for relics of the outlaw at an auction of Jesse’s household belongings, commenting that “Americans are certainly great hero-worshipers, and always take their heroes from the criminal classes.” That hero-worshipping climbed to even greater heights in the decades that followed. The mythical Jesse would become America’s Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, overlooking the fact that the real Jesse stole from the rich and gave to himself. He became the hero of dime…

1870 Antoine Lumière arrives in Lyon with his family. He opens a photographic studio, where two of his sons, Louis and Auguste, will one day work. 1881 Louis’s new, improved dry plates are a runaway success. Lumière will soon be Europe’s biggest photography brand. 1895 The Lumière brothers patent the Lumière Cinématographe and hold the first ever public film screening at the Grand Café in Paris. 1903 The Lumières patent plates to produce color photographs, which they call autochromes. The plates go on the market in 1907.…

The violin is arguably the world’s most popular instrument. Its expressive tones suit a variety of musical styles, from fast and furious to slow and sanguine. Becoming popular in the 16th century with both commoners and nobles, the violin has remained a democratic instrument, universal and versatile. The development of the modern violin was gradual and complex, evolving from a variety of other stringed instruments. The pear-shaped lira, found in Europe as early as the ninth century, was played in an upright position and bowed. The influence of the two-stringed rabab, an Arabian fiddle introduced to western Europe in the 11th century, and the three-stringed rebec, which appeared in Spain between the 11th and 13th centuries, likely as a result of the Crusades, is also reflected in the modern violin.…

circa 1900 b.c. Anatolian Old Hittite (above) circa 1600 b.c. Greek Mycenaean (above) circa 1000 b.c. Indo-Iranian Vedic Sanskrit (above) circa 900 b.c. Italic Old Latin (above) circa 500 b.c. Celtic Lepontic (above) circa a.d. 500 Tocharian (above) circa a.d. 500 Balto-Slavic Old Church Slavonic (above) circa a.d. 600 Germanic Runic (above) circa a.d. 600 Armenian Classical Armenian, Grabar (above) circa a.d. 1450 Albanian Tosk dialect (above)…

AT THE APEX OF THE EGYPTIAN STATE, often represented as a social pyramid, was the pharaoh, who was expected to rule the country in perfect balance and harmony. This balance matched the concept of Maat. For the ancient Egyptians, the term Maat signified order, truth, and justice. Maat was personified as a goddess who wore a very distinctive headdress, an ostrich feather. According to Egyptian theology, in the underworld the god Osiris would weigh the heart of a deceased person against Maat’s ostrich feather to determine how virtuous their lives had been. Egyptian writings emphasize that the king, as the intermediary between the gods and humankind, had a duty to ensure Maat in Egypt: “Ra has placed the king in the land of the living forever and ever to judge…

Investigations of serious crimes often involved interrogations by court officials, and in ancient Egypt, these interviews could turn brutal. Confessions were often elicited under torture, but ancient Egyptians were frank about using physical pain to extract information. Texts, like the Abbott Papyrus, describe how officials tortured suspects when questioning them. At this time, toward the end of the 20th dynasty, looting royal tombs had become an increasing concern to local officials. In the 16th year of the rule of Ramses IX (around 1100 b.c.), a well-organized network of criminals in Thebes was uncovered. They were known for looting tombs, some of them belonging to eminent government officials and royalty. During their interrogations, the accused were beaten with a stick and their hands and feet were twisted. They confessed to breaking…

As he leaned out of the litter and offered his neck unmoved, his head was cut off. Nor did this satisfy the senseless cruelty of the soldiers. They cut off his hands, also, for the offense of having written something against Antony. Thus, the head was brought to Antony and placed by his order between the two hands on the rostra, where, often as consul, often as a consular, and, that very year against Antony, he had been heard with admiration of his eloquence, the like of which no other human voice ever uttered.” The second-century A.D. historian Appian vividly recreated the moment the Roman Republic truly died: When the great orator Marcus Tullius Cicero was struck down by the forces of his enemies. Cicero’s death between Rome and what…

Cicero unleashed all his rhetorical forces against Mark Antony in the form of 14 written speeches that he entitled Philippics. This name alludes to the speeches made by the Athenian orator Demosthenes against another “tyrant,” Philip II of Macedon, when he looked set to conquer Greece in the fourth century b.c. The second of the Philippics is scathing. In closing the speech, Cicero proclaims that despite knowing the risks, he is determined to fight for liberty as he had done years previously when the senator Catiline had attempted to bring down the Senate. “Consider, I beg you, Marcus Antonius, do some time or other consider the republic: think of the family of which you are born, not of the men with whom you are living. Be reconciled to the republic. However,…

ACCORDING TO THE BALLADS, the place where most of the adventures took place was not Sherwood Forest. It was Barnsdale Forest, which is in South Yorkshire, England. Over time, the legend became more closely associated with Sherwood, a forest lying to the north of the city of Nottingham and belonging to the king, whose sheriff was Robin’s great enemy. In the Middle Ages the area then known as Shire-wood (County Forest) underwent substantial deforestation and the dense oak and beech became interspersed with grassland, heather, and villages. But what defined the forest went beyond the trees and extended to the laws governing it. These laws, which were tightened following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, included extreme penalties for cutting down trees or hunting the king’s deer. The forest…

LITTLE JOHN AND THE COOK In an archery contest, Little John impresses the Sheriff of Nottingham with his skills. The Sheriff then hires him as a servant for 12 months. One day, Little John is hungry. He gets rid of the butler, heads for the pantry, kicks down the door, and begins to eat and drink his fill. He sporned the dore with his fote [foot]; It went open wel and fyne; And there he made large lyveray [livery], Bothe of ale and of wyne. The Sheriff’s cook arrives, scolds him for his gluttony, and springs upon him. Lytell Johnn drew a ful gode sworde, The coke [cook] took another in hande; They thought no thynge for to fle[e], But stifly for to stande. “ WAIT, LISTEN, GENTLE THE KNIGHT’S…

1530 Leonor Barzana Daughter of the Burned Man Leonor Barzana was a native of Toledo in central Spain, a city that once held a vibrant Jewish community. Her ancestors were Jewish, but she was living as a Christian. Her father, a money changer, was burned at the stake, accused of secretly practicing the Jewish faith. Her paternal uncle was convicted of the same offense but ordered to wear a penitentiary tunic. She lived in the same medieval town of her ancestors and was often referred to as the “daughter of the burned man.” As she grew older, Barzana attracted the attention of Toledo’s network of spies and Inquisition informers: A neighbor testified that she had heard Barzana say several times that the inquisitors who had killed her father were “scoundrels…

THE FOUR YOUNGERS, Cole, Jim, John, and Bob, were the sons of the prosperous Missouri farmer, merchant, and mail contractor Henry Washington Younger. A slave owner who opposed secession, Henry fell victim to both the Kansas jayhawkers, who seized goods from his business, and the Missouri militia who put three bullets in his back in July 1862. At the time of his father’s murder, Cole, aged 18, was already riding with Quantrill, where he met Frank James. Jim Younger joined the bushwhackers two years later. After the war, the Youngers, along with the Jameses, would be named in several bank and train robberies. Although the core of the “gang” eventually formed around the two sets of brothers, robbery participants varied with each holdup (for some, the exact identities still remain…

From far away, the Lalibela church complex is invisible, blending into the highlands of northern Ethiopia. To see the impressive medieval churches carved from igneous rock centuries ago, visitors must move in closer and venture high into the hills. Moving Mountains Christian roots in Ethiopia run deep, extending as far back as the fourth century A.D. Two missionaries, Sts. Frumentius and Aedesius, are credited with bringing Christianity to Ethiopia. They converted a king of the powerful Aksumite empire. The young faith took hold, and houses of worship were built including St. Mary of Zion, first built in the fourth century and rebuilt several times since then. Today it is one of the world’s oldest churches. The Aksum dynasty ruled a powerful kingdom from the first to the eighth century. Commerce…

Life in a Stone Age City Çatalhöyük, an archaeological site in modern Turkey, was one of humanity’s earliest urban centers, built about 9,000 years ago when people first began living in honeycombs of houses. Egypt’s First Christians In the early years of the Roman Empire, Mark the Apostle founded a church in Alexandria that would combine a new faith’s teachings with the rich culture of ancient Egypt. Copernicus’s Scientific Revolution In 1508 Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus had an idea, one that he would finesse for more than 30 years before publishing a theory that would reinvent the heavens. The Composer and the Emperor In early 1804 Ludwig van Beethoven was one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s biggest fans, but after the French consul turned tyrant, the composer changed his tune.…

WHEN THE DRUMBEATS OF WAR began to sound between the United States and Spain in 1898, American newspapers quickened the tempo. During a heated circulation battle between publishing titans William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, the New York Journal and the World churned out story after story about Cuba, then an outpost of the Spanish Empire. After the U.S.S. Maine sank in Havana Harbor, the imperial ambitions of the United States rose as yellow journalism pushed the two nations toward war.…

THE TWO ELDEST sons of Antoine Lumière—Auguste (born in 1862) and Louis (born in 1864)—shared a deep interest in science. Brotherly solidarity even extended to marriage: The men’s wives were sisters. Louis was the driving force behind both the improved dry plate and the Cinématographe. After both men developed the color autochrome in 1907, their interests began to diverge. Louis continued his work in photography while Auguste increasingly focused his time on medical studies, researching and publishing extensively on asthma, tuberculosis, and renal conditions. Auguste died in 1954, six years after the death of Louis.…

Circa 1510 Andrea Amati is born. His work will establish Cremona, Italy, as the center for violin making in Europe. 1523 Records from the Alpine region of Savoy notes payment for the services of “trompettes” and “vyollons.” Circa 1535 Gaudenzio Ferrari paints one of the first depictions of a violin in the Saronno Cathedral in Lombardy, Italy. 1644 Master violin maker Antonio Stradivari is born. His instruments will become treasures, valued for their acoustics.…

Long periods of imprisonment as punishment for crimes was not practiced in ancient Egypt. Texts do mention the kheneret, an institution originating during the Old Kingdom (ca 2575-2150 b.c.). All traces of it had disappeared by the start of the New Kingdom, which began around 1539 b.c. Scholars debate the exact function of the kheneret; many believe them to be forced labor camps. As of this writing, archaeologists have not positively identified any sites as being a kheneret, so all information about them comes from inscriptions and texts. Depending on the gravity of the crime, the accused were sometimes sent to forced labor camps situated in other countries or on Egypt’s borders. A decree dating from the 5th dynasty states: “You must send him to the Great Mansion and he…

63 b.c. Cicero’s speeches are crucial in dismantling a conspiracy led by Catiline, an aristocrat who wanted to bring down the republic. Catiline is later killed, and Cicero is hailed as “father of the fatherland.” 49 b.c. Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon with his army and starts the civil war against his rival, Pompey the Great. Cicero, who regards Caesar as an enemy, flees Rome along with a majority of senators and withdraws to his country retreat. 48 b.c. Cicero is reunited with Pompey in Greece. After Pompey’s forces are defeated at Pharsalus, Cicero returns to Rome and is superficially reconciled with Caesar. He retires to his rural villa, where he writes poetry. 44 b.c. Five months after the assassination of Julius Caesar, Cicero releases the first of his Philippics,…

In his correspondence, Cicero criticizes Brutus for letting Mark Antony take the initiative after the death of Julius Caesar. He believes that the subsequent power struggle is a consequence of the conspirators’ lack of determination. He writes to his friend Atticus: “Do you remember me crying out on that first day on the Capitol that the Senate should be summoned to the Capitol by the Praetors [Brutus and Cassius]? Immortal gods! What could have been effected then to the rejoicing of all good men . . . Do you remember how you cried out that the cause was lost if he had a state funeral. But he was even cremated in the forum and given a pathetic eulogy, and slaves and paupers were sent against our houses with torches.” Brutus…

It sounded simple and fair: The people of Kansas Territory would decide if it became a free or slave state. That was the intent of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of No 1854. But neighboring Missouri, which had entered the Union 33 years before, was largely settled by people from slave states. The state’s central Missouri River corridor, from St. Louis to Kansas City, became known as Little Dixie. Pro-slavery Missourians poured into Kansas to sway the vote. Parties of Northern abolitionists—including John Brown—did the same. Open warfare soon followed between the Missourian “border ruffians” and the Kansan “jayhawkers.” A small army of Missourians sacked Lawrence, Kansas, a Free-Stater stronghold, in May 1856. Brown and his followers retaliated by murdering five pro-slavery settlers near Pottawatomie Creek. The violence of Bleeding Kansas, as…

FEW MEN IN POSTWAR Missouri had as much popular influence as newspaperman John Newman Edwards (1839-1889). A former Confederate officer and staunch Democrat, Edwards made the James and Younger boys heroes to Missouri’s pro-Southern population chafing under the bitterness of defeat. “They are outlaws, but they are not criminals,” Edwards wrote. Without naming names, he described the perpetrators of one robbery as “men who risk much, who have friends in high places, and who go riding this over sidebar the land will , taking be replaced all the created chances the that myth come of in the Jesse way, man spending Edwards lavishly & Mark tomorrow has a what is won today at the muzzle of a revolver.” Exactly when and how Edwards’s relationship with Jesse James began is unknown,…

LEGEND SAYS THAT the greatness of the future king of Ethiopia was evident from the beginning: A swarm of bees surrounded the infant prince, but he emerged unharmed. He was named Lalibela, which means “the bees recognize his sovereignty.” Lalibela’s older brother ordered that his sibling (and rival) be poisoned. Lalibela fell into a deathlike sleep and had a vision. He saw extraordinary buildings and heard the voice of God who instructed him to build them in the capital.…