The Column of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius:

Between AD 113 - AD 193 the attitude of Rome shifted from an having assured right of conquest to questioning the ethics of "empire".

Looking at these two columns we can literally see the Roman Empire losing their taste for expansionism. The Column of Trajan (CoT) depicts his conquest of Dacia in the AD 100s. In the following years Trajan would expand Rome's border to its maximum extent.

These were likely the empire's best years and the optimism of her people along with their resolve showed they wanted more.

In Defense of Wagner, the man:

This thread will explore some popular criticisms of Richard Wagner and attempt to dispel them.

First, I'm unapologetically a great admirer of Wagner. I think his genius is unmatched not only in opera but in the artistic realm.

I'll explain... Wagner is a great example of the Heideggerian confluence of history and progress. His art is monumentally spiritual.

Drawing deeply from German lore, Wagner poured his soul into creating his operas. The outflowing passion was so genuine and touching it had an ethnogenic effect.

Sigmundur Brestisson:

His father was butchered before his eyes, he was driven from his home, enslaved by his kin, and forced into destitution. Most men would succumb.

Sigmundur would not.

He would become a renowned warrior and eventually bring Christendom to the Faroe Islands. Sigmundur’s life and actions are recorded in the Færeyinga Saga.

This history records the lives and deeds of important Norwegians and Faroese during the final years of the first millennium AD into the dawn of the second.

It was likely authored during the 1200s in Iceland.

Wagner's Lohengrin:

First performed in 1850, this was his final opera before starting Der Ring cycle.

Come find out why the tale of Lohengrin, "irresistibly attracted and enthralled," Wagner to create a new, "genuine poem of the Folk."

Throw off your shackles! Your Folk calls! First, you must understand Wagner.

He said,
“I am the most German being. I am the German spirit.”

This one quote defines Wagner. His motivations, his character, his essence. Truly his nature is one tied with Germany.

His name and works will be echoed by Germans forever.

Salic Law:

The first codefication took place under the Frankish King Clovis (481-511).

Moving from oral/ancestral legacy of jurisprudence to a literary one heavily influenced NW Europe.

Here are a few of SaxonGurth’s favorite laws: Gallo-Romans trained in the Roman legal tradition assisted the Franks in translating their customs into law.

An important development is the codification of the ‘wergild’ system.

Some laws are required in every just society. Here’s how the Franks dealt with rapists.

Wagner's Christianity and Parsifal:

Wagner is one of the most recondite men our society has produced.

This thread is dedicated to exploring his final opera - Wagner's magnum opus - Parsifal, and his exegesis of Christianity imbued within. First a disclaimer and a suggestion:

1) The thread will not include music theory. Perhaps I will cover that in another post, but it is not my strength.

2) Before continuing, take a second and pull up the overture to Parsifal.

Solti's rendition is great.

Thread: Empire of the Summer Moon (2010) In the final years (1870s) of the Comanche’s effective reign over the Llano Estacado, white settlers had actually started to receed from the region due to the increasingly intense and brutal presence of the Quahadi.