[MrHayden]

There have probably been countless threads about this before, but I can't really find any. What is whose preferred period of history? It will be interesting to see what the forum's interests are compared to what we study.

[navarre]

Dammit! I'm torn between Ancient and classical. I LOVE Ancient Egypt, and would give anything to experience life in the ancient, mysterious civilisation for one day. Waking up on a baking hot Egyptian morning, saying the prayers to the gods, then going about my business in trade would be fantastic.

Yet the Roman period is also very, very interesting to me. I like the Roman Empire and anything to do with the Roman Empire (and the Republic before it). I'd love to experience life there too.

In the end, I have to go with Ancient. The Egyptian and Mesopotamian civlisations are so interesting purely because we don't know nearly as much about them as more recent periods in history. Plus, I'd love to experience the mystical religion, with all its fascinating myths and stories.

[MrHayden]

I meant to give us the option to choose multiples but I didn't click on it, so I had to choose between Dark Age and Medieval! Almost killed me.

[CUFCDan]

Went for Late 19th but quickly regret it. Industrial Revolution. But the 19th Century is sick too.

[ShadowCat29]

Hard to pick just one. I'm enamoured with about 6 of those. I'll just list them here:

- Pre-History
- Ancient
- Classical
- Medieval
- Renaissance
- Victorian and Industrial Revolution

Just as well I intend to take History of Art and Classical Studies at Uni, I guess.

[M4LLY]

I'd say 1930's in the Bonnie and Clyde era if i really had to choose anywhere from the past. But tbh i'm cool with right now

[Tudball]

My interests are more geographic than chronological.

[hellopip1]

I like them all :O But I choose weimar/ww2 because the devastation of the second world war was so immense that it cannot be comprehended.

To live... ancient Rome Or in Itlay or France during the rennaisance.

[OurSeaBee]

(Original post by MrHayden)
I meant to give us the option to choose multiples but I didn't click on it, so I had to choose between Dark Age and Medieval! Almost killed me.

Ditto.

Does anyone still actually use the term 'Dark Ages' in academia?

[MrHayden]

(Original post by OurSeaBee)
Ditto.

Does anyone still actually use the term 'Dark Ages' in academia?

Yeah, it is the official title for that period of time, in the same way the Middle Ages is the title for a period after that. The term is a bit disputed though, as many people would say that the unbelievably impressive levels of Germanic and Celtic art and metalworking merit the era a slightly more respectful name. What a wonderful era it was!

[OurSeaBee]

(Original post by MrHayden)
Yeah, it is the official title for that period of time, in the same way the Middle Ages is the title for a period after that. The term is a bit disputed though, as many people would say that the unbelievably impressive levels of Germanic and Celtic art and metalworking merit the era a slightly more respectful name. What a wonderful era it was!

Is it the 'official' name, however? Everything recent tends to call it 'Early Mediaeval.' The topic of debate now seems to be whether or not Britain had a Late Antique period, or if it leapt straight into EM when the Romans pulled out. Nobody in archaeology calls it 'the Dark Ages' any more!

[MrHayden]

(Original post by OurSeaBee)
Is it the 'official' name, however? Everything recent tends to call it 'Early Mediaeval.' The topic of debate now seems to be whether or not Britain had a Late Antique period, or if it leapt straight into EM when the Romans pulled out. Nobody in archaeology calls it 'the Dark Ages' any more!

Hmm, that's interesting. I must admit that I haven't quite worked my way into the academic world yet - still stuck in the realm of A levels - so I'm not sure what is commonly used. Traditionally the period has been known as the Dark Ages, but there are loads of different ways of classifying historical periods, many of which overlap, and so people may well use a different one these days. EM might mean anything post Roman and pre-Plantagenet for example, which would incorporate the DA, but other people might be happier to talk about a period of Late Antiquity, as you pointed out, which would end earlier than that. It must all depend on who is talking, in what context the discussion is taking place, and where it is they are talking about. If people are discussing the availability of British religious records around the 5th C then the "Dark Ages" are certainly a suitable title, but if they were discussing the power structures and politics of continental Europe at the same time then "Late Antiquity" would be more appropriate. Very interesting discussion

[AntisthenesDogger]

It's not called the Dark age. It's rather shamefully an inapt title for a age which isn't poignant in it's decease of "culture", in academia if you called it the "Dark ages" You'll usually be mocked or just told otherwise. MOSTLY that is, there are some people that would still call it the Dark ages but, none of them would be Historians that have studied it well enough.

It's the same with the "Byzantine Empire" I've never actually talked to or studied anything in which someone who has researched the Eastern Roman Empire long enough, called it that pseudo namesake. It's simply an invention by Rousseau and for some odd reason, people cling to it.

[Dennerers]

I like dinosaurs, they're my favourite...

[Jamsebob]

Regency - absolutely obsessed with the Napoleonic/peninsula wars!!

[Heavenly_Blues]

I love the clothes of the Pre-WW1 and WW1 era.

Though I'm mesmerised by the crusades, like the crusades era Byzantium.
I'm talkin' Varangian warriors and the awesome golden cities.

[MrHayden]

(Original post by Heavenly_Blues)
I love the clothes of the Pre-WW1 and WW1 era.

Though I'm mesmerised by the crusades, like the crusades era Byzantium.
I'm talkin' Varangian warriors and the awesome golden cities.

The Varangians were magnificent! I'm considering making some alterations to my Viking reenactment kit in order to be able to recreate the Varangian style - not that I'm even nearly tough enough to portray them accurately. I do have an axe of their style though - it's a mean bastard of a weapon. Planning on sharpening it up and testing it out on watermelons.

[Heavenly_Blues]

(Original post by MrHayden)
The Varangians were magnificent! I'm considering making some alterations to my Viking reenactment kit in order to be able to recreate the Varangian style - not that I'm even nearly tough enough to portray them accurately. I do have an axe of their style though - it's a mean bastard of a weapon. Planning on sharpening it up and testing it out on watermelons.

Pics of Viking kit?
Also you have to post a video of that axe in action. Varangians are absolutely beastly, I just love the concept, giant, powerful barbarians employed as the personal bodyguards of emperors and kings.

[MrHayden]

(Original post by Heavenly_Blues)
Pics of Viking kit?
Also you have to post a video of that axe in action. Varangians are absolutely beastly, I just love the concept, giant, powerful barbarians employed as the personal bodyguards of emperors and kings.

Yeah, I will Youtube it once I get it done - which will probably take quite a long time. I don't have any pics of me in Viking kit but here's one of most of my weaponry and armour stacked in a massive pile. You can see the beasty axe resting against my roundshield!

My youtube account name is ASaxonAtHeart if you want to see the video, I will probably forget to post it on here! There's some pretty good medieval combat and weapons demo stuff on there now if you're at all interested (please say you are, I need views!)

[Captain Haddock]

(Original post by MrHayden)
There have probably been countless threads about this before, but I can't really find any. What is whose preferred period of history? It will be interesting to see what the forum's interests are compared to what we study.

A correction: Early modernity starts at around 1500 with the discovery of the Americas, the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the Gutenberg press being some of the key events and includes the rise of mercantilism, the Columbian exchange, the decline of feudalism, the rise of colonialism and so on. The Regency was around the start of what I guess we just call 'modernity' (though by no means marks its beginning). The Renaissance was a late medieval-early modern cultural phenomenon rather than a time period. The term 'Dark Ages' has already been discussed above.

My personal interest lies in the medieval and early modern periods, and that's what my degree was on, with particular interest in the European witch trials (another early modern phenomenon).