We Didn't Start the Fire but it's Medieval History

[@orange88623]

18:31 "Lombards are a fringe group of Christianity who are declared to be heretics." I think you might be mixing them up with the Lollards there.

[@motionpictures6629]

The Lombards are a subgroup of the Swabians that conquered northern Italy.

[@beckycaughel7557]

Yes, the Lollards were the followers of John Wycliffe who translated the first English Bible.

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

You're correct, I was definitely thinking of the Lollards.

[@sebe2255]

@@motionpictures6629I think you mean a subgroup of the Suebians, not Swabians. Swabians are descended of the Allemanic tribes. Basically a different sub-group of the Suebians All these names hahaha

[@jimb9063]

@@beckycaughel7557 I always confused "the Lollards being the followers of John Wycliffe" with "the Levellers were the followers of The Fugees". Now I see where I went wrong.

[@xenialafleur]

The channel's name is a nod to Hildegard of Bingen aka Saint Hildegard. She was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner.

[@chrisvickers7928]

She also wrote a cookbook.

[@jdotoz]

Benedict XVI also named her a Doctor (that is, "Teacher") of the Church in 2012.

[@ThomasReeves-s7u]

@@jdotoz A real jump as she was not, as I recall, even a canonized saint before his Papacy.

[@Shashu_the_little_Voidling]

She also made the first conlang

[@Cr7Micto]

​@@ThomasReeves-s7uCanonization as a formal process as we know it today is recent. In the beginning, bishops could canonize and the faithful could also canonize by their own and popular will, and so it was with Hildegard. Obviously, she was already treated as a saint by the Church. If I'm not mistaken, she was even included in the Roman martyrology. Pope Benedict XVI created a historical precedent by carrying out an equipollent canonization, just as Francis later did with Gregory of Narek, which is even more historical because Saint Gregory was a member of the Armenian Church during his lifetime, not the Roman Church.

[@Nezumis]

If I remember correctly, when Mansa Munsa went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he gave so much gold to the Egyptian people that is crashed their economy through hyperinflation for at least a century. All because he wanted to be a good man to people of the country that hosted him.

[@EpicRenegade777]

road to hell is paved with good intensions

[@arwengrune]

"The Nibelungenlied (German pronunciation: [ˌniːbəˈlʊŋənˌliːt] ⓘ; Middle High German: Der Nibelunge liet or Der Nibelunge nôt), translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The Nibelungenlied is based on an oral tradition of Germanic heroic legend that has some of its origin in historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries and that spread throughout almost all of Germanic-speaking Europe. Scandinavian parallels to the German poem are found especially in the heroic lays of the Poetic Edda and in the Völsunga saga. " --wiki Wiki isn't always right, but at least it knows the Nibelungen.

[@leandar]

It's also the first epic poem written down in Germany.

[@timnewman7591]

Mostly known from Wagner's Ring Cycle nowadays.

[@motionpictures6629]

@@timnewman7591 And Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@motionpictures6629Siegfried unchained!

[@NoBandwidth-0]

Didn't Wagner make an updated version? The Ring of the Nibelung?

[@littlekuribohimposte]

I think the Constaintople sacked was more a reference to the sacking in 1204. Where the 4th Crusade couldn't afoord to pay Venice for ships to Egypt, so they sacked the city, stole literally everything they could, breaking the back of the empire, and then still didn't actually go on Crusade.

[@Awells89]

Honestly having students do their own version of we didn’t start the fire for any era in history would be a fun homework assignment.

[@craniusdominus8234]

That would be cruel and unsual punishment for people such as myself, who are interested in history, but couldn't carry a tune if our lives depended on it

[@ChristianSirianni]

He starts in 1949 and ends in 1989. My favorite Billy Joel song is Just The Way You Are. Fall Out Boy did a version that continued the song from 1989 to 2023.

[@lusalma5404]

And 1949 was selected because it was the year he was born :)

[@cggc9510]

Fall Out Boy's version is terrible. It mixes up the years so it ruins the vibe.

[@badgerman2229]

Yeah the song is about all the notable historical events throughout Joel's life being born in 49' up until the creation of the song in 89'

[@JoelBlackCat]

Yeah and the fall out boy one pales in comparison to many amateur ones here on KZbin

[@theparadigm8149]

Yeah, 1949 to 1989 is significant because Billy made the song around his 40th birthday, which just so happened to be in 1989. I heard he made the song because someone told him not much happened in those fourth years, so Billy was trying to prove him wrong. However, I’m now skeptical of that story’s authenticity! Might just be another Taft getting stuck in the bathtub kinda deal

[@nrrork]

Guttenberg was to the printing press what Henry Ford was to cars. He didn't invent it, but he perfected the process of producing it at scale. Which is just as critical as being the inventor. If there's no way to manufacture and distrubute it, the greatest invention in the world isn't going anywhere.

[@Zapparapski]

8:29 Sack of Constantinople is refering to the end of the fourth crusade in 1204, when the crusader army and their Venetian allies first sieged and later looted the city for 4 days. After that the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist, becoming the Latin Empire under crusader control. Eventually the Byzantine Empire came back, but it was far weaker and ultimatley fell to the ottomans, as mentioned, in 1453. Glad you react to this song, i really enjoyed their content!

[@dylanbailey2812]

The Fourth Crusade was a shameful display, the knights being coerced by the Venetians into doing their dirty work for them and attack Zara, and again by Alexios IV to put him on the throne of Constantinople. ...Rome, you do little harm to the Saracens, but you massacre Greeks and Latins. In hell-fire and ruin you have your seat, Rome. -Guiot de Provens

[@jdotoz]

​@@dylanbailey2812 Rome had absolutely nothing to do with the Sack of Constantinople; Innocent III condemned it in no uncertain terms but was ignored.

[@dylanbailey2812]

@@jdotoz I know he did. I believe the author of that poem was referring to the soldiers themselves, a lot of whom left the crusading army when they heard of the plan to attack Zara and Constantinople.

[@anderskorsback4104]

Yeah, I too thought the song referred to 1204, not 1453.

[@anderskorsback4104]

@@dylanbailey2812 saying that they were coerced by Venice to attack Zara is a misrepresentation at best. Venice had an agreement with the crusaders to transport and provision them, but as the crusaders couldn't pay, Venice offered the opportunity to do the attack on Zara on Venice's behalf as payment. Arguably Venice took advantage of the financial situation of the crusaders, but arguably Venice was also a conciliatory party that tried to work out a solution.

[@ryantannar5301]

I'm pretty sure the Gutenburg press was the first movable typeface printing press at least in the Western world. There were printing presses before but they used plates that couldn't be easily changed to print other things. This meant it was very expensive to do a run of any publication since each page needed a plate made just for it. Movable typeface meant you could just have a collection of blocks that could be rearranged to print literally anything on demand

[@ashleypenn7845]

Was also one of the first ones to use metal. Chinese had wooden moveable type for centuries but it was brittle, inconsistent, and subject to rot.

[@MTTT1234]

@@ashleypenn7845 Yeah, Gutenberg worked on the right alloy for quite some time until he found the right mixture of various metals that would not shrink too much after being poured into a mold, so that the sizes of the letters would stay consistent.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Etaoin Shrdlu approves!

[@jamesfetherston1190]

@@ashleypenn7845 I think Chinese would also be somewhat difficult with the sheer number of calligraphic symbols needed. Having an alphabet made the moveable type incredibly useful.

[@IowanMatthew683]

@@ashleypenn7845 Also Chinese languages in general use up to thousands of distinct Chinese characters, which made printing on large scale virtually impractical in a good chunk of East Asia. By contrast, most Europeans used the Latin alphabet - i.e. the one we use today - which in the 15th century roughly had around 24 letters (depending on the country), which allowed blacksmiths and artisans to easily make a component for each letter for movable type.

[@marchostrich]

Speaking of Habsburgs, I learned recently that one of the still living Habsburg descendants, Ferdinand Habsburg, is a Endurance Racing Driver in the World Endurance Championship.

[@McBeard1987]

Nibelungenlied was a German poem about Siegfried, a mythic hero that killed a dragon. Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle is heavily based on it and other Germanic myths. Where we get Ride of the Valkyries

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Siegfried’s funeral march is the other absolute banger of that set of operas. A famous critic noted that Wagner had wonderful moments but bad quarters of an hour, unfortunately. Give me Verdi any day.

[@McBeard1987]

@@Justanotherconsumer they're not wrong. I'm biased as a former brass player so I still put my cards on Wagner, but you're right, Siegfried's Funeral March is an amazing piece

[@ik6non712]

@@Justanotherconsumer the critic is absolutely right lmao, I could not sit through the entirety of Tristan und Isolde, but there are several excerpts from it that I listen to on a daily basis (prelude, curse, love duet, warning, love-death), unlike strauss’ one act operas or some of puccini lmao

[@dustinsavage2832]

The Normans in Italy reference is most likely about actual Normans from Normandy who established Norman rule in Sicily snd Southern Italy. The sons of Tancred d’Hauteville, some made names for themselves, such as William Iron Arm, Robert Guiscard, and Roger de Hautville (who would become King of Sicily). Robert’s son would be Bohemund of Crusades fame.

[@PuntinoNero]

As he said those were descendants of Vikings that had moved to France.

[@dustinsavage2832]

@@PuntinoNero yes, the way he said it though sounding like he was referring to general Viking raids throughout the Mediterranean, rather than specific Normans from France.

[@CoD4MWPL]

First king of Sicily was son of Roger - Roger II Roger I was only the count

[@dustinsavage2832]

@@CoD4MWPLyeah, remembered that a day or two after posting, haha

[@IowanMatthew683]

The main, western part of Czechia that surrounds the historical and modern capital of Prague is Bohemia. You’re thinking about Moravia, which is the eastern part near Slovakia.

[@SwordlordRoy]

"The Song of Roland" is one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) surviving pieces of French Literature. It is basically the French "300 Spartans": it takes a Historical Battle (the Ambush of Charlemagne's Rear-guard at the Pass of Roncevaux), changes some details to fit the narrative (like turning the "Pagan" Basques into Muslim Saracens), and was used to inspire people to go to war (the Song was written at the Outset of the First Crusade for Jerusalem). That said, the Epic Poem and the Stories of King Arthur were both where a lot of our pop-culture concept of Medieval Chivalry come from.

[@TheAkwarium]

I'm from Poland and we read the Song of Roland in high school here

[@craniusdominus8234]

8:27 I'm pretty sure "Constantinople sacked" is not a reference to 1453, but to the earlier 4th Crusade

[@ThomasReeves-s7u]

Huh. I also thought 1453 as it does go into the fifteenth and sixteenth century elsewhere.

[@markokostelac7282]

Think it's the Ottomans.

[@craniusdominus8234]

@@ThomasReeves-s7u The hint is not in the time period covered by the song. it's in the terminology being used. Sacking a city usually is an event where the city gets looted, robbed and slaughtered, but ends up still in the hands of its original owners. Whereas a fall (which is what happens in 1453) is practically the end of the line for that city (or state) Like, Rome was sacked a few times, but it only fell once. First, the Gauls sacked Rome in 387 BC, while it was still a relatively young republic. Then it was sacked by the Visigoths in 410 AD. And then by the Vandals in 455. Those were all events where Rome was invaded by and looted by foreign powers, but the city still remained in Roman control after all of these events. That's why the 476 event is considered a fall, not a sack, because - while Rome still existed as a city, and its population wasn't completely wiped out - its management literally changed hands

[@ThomasReeves-s7u]

@@craniusdominus8234 Oh of course. Now I feel kind of dumb.

[@citamcicak]

@@ThomasReeves-s7u song has encompases a very long time. To quote the description of the song the author: "It very loosely spans from around 400 to 1600" song jumps very much in time in favor of rhyme.

[@adamantu]

The Nibelungenlied, translated "the Song of the Nibelungs" is the title of the most influential written down version (around 1200 in Passau) of an epic mythical tale centering around the the family and the treasure of the Nibelungen.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

The basis of Wagner’s ring cycle. Fun fact, in some performances a Wagnerian (aka “thicc”) soprano is not in fact the last one to sing - Wotan sometimes adds in “Zuruckt dem ring” at the very end.

[@cmlemmus494]

@@Justanotherconsumer Actually, no. Wagner's opera was based on the same Old Norse sources that the German poem was based on. So the two are connected, but are better thought of as two different adaptations of the same material, the opera isn't based directly on the poem.

[@rickwrites2612]

​@cmlemmus494 good point. I wonder how much these sources influenced Tolkien too

[@rickwrites2612]

Skipped over children's crusade?

[@andrewcrockett4780]

No joke; when this song premiered, I posted the comment. "VTH would adore this."

[@MindlessWanderings]

Genuinely laughed out loud when your video popped up in my feed as I got recommended this song yesterday and thought it would be cool to see a history reaction.

[@marcusw210]

Wasn't expecting this today. My favorite history reacts channel makes a reaction to my favorite bardcore cover channel. What a great day!

[@uncleheavy6819]

What a brilliant version. The chronology was all over the place, but that does not detract from the song. Possibly a "Beverage Warning" might have been useful. 🤣 I sprayed a mouthful of tea over my laptop during the first verse.🤣

[@piontekova]

A Bohemian here. There were many Wenceslaus in Bohemia. The most famous was Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, who was murdered by his younger brother Boleslav I., the Cruel. Following his death, Wenceslaus became a revered patron of the land, and his statue stands in the centre of Prague. During times of crisis, such as the Velvet Revolution which marked the fall of communism, people would gather at his statue, sometimes singing the Saint-Wenceslaus' Chorale (Svatováclavský chorál), which was an unofficial hymn for many years. If anyone likes medieval music, I would definitely recommend, it is very captivating. ♥ I was wondering whether Bohemia, such a small region of the Czech Republic, would get mentioned, and I am so surprised. Thank You!

[@Vampirecronicler]

The Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas was inspired by him

[@craniusdominus8234]

Oh, I totally did not expect to be spoiled twice this month by the same song. Like, yeah, I woke up one day last week to find that this gem was uploaded only a few hours before. And now, not even a week later, you do a reaction on it...

[@michaelaburns734]

The Kalmar Union is the Kingdoms of Norway Denmark Sweden basically united united under a Nordic Empire.

[@lasarus1989]

ahh yes... the dark times of danish rule.

[@matthewgallagher8491]

@@lasarus1989 Was it really bad?

[@PingvinAnd1]

@@matthewgallagher8491 i mean, our king erik of pommerania is in danish erik af pommeren (direct translation) and if you today her a dane say ''det gik af pommerens til'' he/she meens what ever he/she is refering to went terible so do with that knolage what you will. edit: nor her but hear edit 2: i forgor to say that he also killed the swedish population of stockholm

[@lasarus1989]

@@matthewgallagher8491 Well it had a thing known as The Stockholm Bloodbath. Basicly the red wedding exept no wedding. All the Swedish nobles were invited to stockholm and once there, they were all killed by the danish king.

[@matthewgallagher8491]

@@PingvinAnd1 That's wild, thanks for filling me in. Also, all the swedes or a great many in Stockholm?

[@Subutai_Khan]

For anyone curious the Kipchaks is referring to a dual confederation of Kipchaks and the Cumans (the latter are more famous thanks to Kingdom Come Deliverance) that controlled much of modern South and Western Russia as well as Ukraine in West-Central Asia They are famously destroyed by the Mongols in about 1241 and the Cumans tribes either were destroyed or fled to Europe. Famously to Hungary in the 13th century which upsets the Mongols when the Hungarians famously refused to turn the "traitorous" Cumans over to the Mongols. The Cumans do manage to live on despite the devastation of the subsequent Mongol invasions and are an important military arm of the Hungarians as well as an important cultural group of whom some descendants still live today in Hungary and some Hungarian towns have Cuman names.

[@themandan4000]

Unironically, Chris has a good singing voice.

[@samrevlej9331]

I'd suggest more of Hildegard von Blingin', her Bardocre songs are on top, though they aren't always so directly filled with hstory, rather adapting modern songs to a medieval "vibe" (the adaptation of "Jolene" is great).

[@velvety2006]

somebody i used to know XD That poor bard

[@ss5ringo]

Fallout Boy also did a cover/updated version of 'We Didn't Start the Fire'. I don't think it flows quite as well as Billy Joel's but it hits so much closer to home having actually lived through everything they touch on. I imagine the feeling I got listening to their list is similar to what previous generations felt listening to Billy Joe's original.

[@jdotoz]

My chief complaint about their iteration is that it jumps around *a lot* compared to the original, which was relatively chronological.

[@crazymusicchick]

​@@jdotoz maybe so it rhymes I've not herd it yet

[@jdotoz]

@@crazymusicchick That's probably part of it, but I would argue that you need to make the timeline flow as well as the verses.

[@tmmaster6904]

they literally didn't even mention covid

[@YAH2121]

VTH reacting to Bardcore? oh hell yeah

[@TheMelbournelad]

FYI it’s called Bardcore. It took off during COVID. Hildegard is one of the biggest names in the genre.

[@maunz5791]

Amazingly dense review! :D Btw, the "Niebelungenlied" is to the germans kind of what the story of Beowulf is to the anglosphere. It's a widely known tale that had a lot of influence on the common identity as "german peoples" amongst the people of the holy roman empire. A reaction to something about this might be interesting. Or about the Hanse, as it was a very influencial factor in medieval europe and made e.g. Lübeck one of the richest cities on earth of the time.

[@xerpenta]

Gutenberg didn't invent the printing press but he invented moving font which made printing much much more efficient. Before you had to basically carve a matrix for printing, that was the mirror image of the text to be printed. Moving font meant carvings of individual characters that you could form into a page and then change into another one.

[@evildude109]

I was under the impression that moveable type was first used in China but was found to be impractical because you needed tens of thousands of pieces to be able to write a page in hanzi. Alphabets lend themselves to being printed much more than logographic languages.

[@xerpenta]

@@evildude109 I knew that Chinese invented it first (around XI century, if I recall correctly) but I thought that Gutenberg reinvented it for Europeans. Or did he simply import it?

[@mutecryptid]

I love this rabbit hole so much. Please do Hasten to Church, that’s in my daily playlist.

[@jenssylvesterwesemann7980]

Love this video. Stephen Fry made a very informative video about Gutenberg's printing press, I think its title is "The machine that made us". The Nibelungenlied is the Song of the Nibelungs, the German tale that was written down in the early 13th century. The one Richard Wagner made most of his operas about.

[@rickwrites2612]

There were letterpresses, but Gutenberg was significant because of casting movable type. This worked well because the Roman alphabet used through Europe had only 26 letters. You could quickly say anything or change it and print it off, with very little time prep, maybe a day. Things generally happened on a weekly or monthly cycle then at least so needing only a day or two to design a message and to arrange the type was really fast

[@gakster29]

Oh, goodness. Chris found out about Bardcore. It's Joever

[@Justanotherconsumer]

How does that work now that Dark Brandon has stepped aside? Joever is joever.

[@WizardToby]

I like all the bardcore stuff. Really creative takes on modern songs in a medieval renaissance form.

[@glamourweaver]

I love a lot of Hildegard’s work. This one is a miss for me because it failed the basic test to understand that We Didn’t Start the Fire is chronological to create the experience of being dragged inescapably forward in time. Without that it’s just a random list of things.

[@boborappa]

Kinda connected; an interesting video would be watching Farya Faraji's 'Ancient Greek and Roman Music - A Beginner's Introduction'. It's a really interesting channel for the intersection of music and history.

[@CrisSelene]

Farya Faraji really knows his stuff about historical music from around the world. I watched the video you mentioned and some of his music videos. Really good! P.S. also, his cat is cute

[@ashleypenn7845]

We just wrapped our Rome to Reformation study and used this song as a handy little review. It's so catchy!

[@Thraim.]

I just watched this yesterday. I'm not a historian, so a lot of the references went over my head. Thanks for enlightening me.

[@paddypleiner5518]

With "Barons oust a sovereign" I was immediately thinking of Edward II, Battle of Clontarf was 1014 in today's North Dublin at the Tolka River, when the Irish High Kings drove the Vikings who settled there out

[@rainbowappleslice]

I’d love to see VTH do a reaction to the video ‘know your allies: Britain’. It’s an informational video made by the war department to educate their troops on who they’re fighting with and against and it’s a really interesting insight into how 40’s America viewed Britain and in some ways how little Britain has changed.

[@simeon9506]

I did not expect that song to be nearly as good as it is.

[@kensuter57]

One of my favorite books growing up was a humorous American history book and the entire Cold War era section was just discussing all the parts of this song.

[@Why-D]

Shocking, you don't know the "Song of the Nibelungs"? With Siegfried, the dragon slayer, Hagen von Tronje (Hagena), Kriemhild (Gudrun) ...

[@richeybaumann1755]

You should take a look at Cody's video about "10 alternate history scenarios that are actually dumb." It's really good and pushes back on some of the common misconceptions around them.

[@Davanthall]

Fall Out Boy recently made a sequel song to that, it picks up right where the first one left off and goes all the way to the late 2010s.

[@MarkoKostelac]

Paul o' Sullivan band's version is in chronological order so it's better.

[@caseclosed9342]

Of course VTH would turn a 4 minute song into a 20 minute reaction. And I love every minute…

[@sebe2255]

Just a very minor point, Charlemagne was not “Holy” Roman Emperor, he was just Roman Emperor. The Holy part is a 12th century addition. And technically it is not Charlemagne’s Empire either. Charlemagne’s Imperial title went defunct in 924. It isn’t until 962 that Otto the Great (a Saxon, not a Frank but still king of East Francia at the time) creates what would become known as the Holy Roman Empire. However even Otto the Great would have just been a Roman Emperor, and not yet holy But these are very minor and feudal points, a great video as always!

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

Yes, and the "Holy" wasn't even always used. Even after the adoption of it, most people living in the HRE would've just thought of themselves living in the Roman Empire. And while it was not technically the same Roman Empire as the one of Charlemagne (although such formalities like a title going technically defunct wasn't such a deal back then, there weren't super strict international rules around as it's the case nowadays, you just had to convince people), what would become the HRE was certainly founded in the idea of being in the tradition of Charlemagne. Which is interesting anyway. Like for the medieval Emperors, their ideal type of a Roman Empire was not Caesar (who wasn't even Emperor) or Augustus or anywhere else, but Charlemagne. That was for them THE Roman Emperor who mattered, who symbolized what a Roman Emperor had to be like.

[@rickwrites2612]

Oh i wish you didnt skip over Childrens Crusade 7:49 that shit was CRAZY. I know its incredible you covered what you did, its so dense.

[@nancyomalley6286]

There was even a movie about it with Eric Stolz

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

It's not even really clear if the Children's Crusade was even done by Children. The Latin term used could also have been used for slaves, servants, farmhands ect. . Also, the term "crusade" was not used in medieval sources, they refered to it as "peregrinatio" (pilgrimage), iter (the way) or expeditio (which can mean a military march, but can also just refer to a Christian mission). The only medieval sources who may prove the idea of a "Children's Crusade" were actually written more than 40 years later, mostly second and third hand and are therefore not very trustworthy. Think about how many bullshit people tell about the 80s nowaday, even though we today can literally just fact check it by using a search engine for 20 seconds. One of the earlier, more trustworthy sources even explicitely mentions they "left the plows or carts which they were driving, [and] the flocks which they were pasturing", really reinforcing the idea that they were farmhands and such, often like thirdborn sons and such who didn't inherit any land, basically the lowest class of the lowest class, not even full farmers.

[@tombreon]

I love Hildegard! Her stuff is great.

[@JamesA.Garfield]

8:29 I'm pretty sure this is referring to the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. The Fall of Constantinople was in 1453.

[@sebe2255]

It fell in 1204 too, it wasn’t just a sack. The Eastern Romans lost control of the city for a good while and the crusaders established their own Empire in the East

[@ronmaximilian6953]

This was a lot of fun. There have been many remakes or songs paying homage to the original, but one thing I really liked about the original song was that it went year by year. I really wish that people paying homage to it would be chronological or go region by region. I haven't studied European history in 30 years, not since I decided to blast through AP European history myself over the summer between Junior and Senior year. I definitely had to think about a few of these to remember what they were.

[@AndersJohnsson-d1t]

Hi greetings from Falkenberg Sweden great Channel

[@holyheretic3185]

Finally! Was waiting for someone to break it down lol thank you!

[@sjinnie_boy4988]

The sack of Constantinople lyric is definitely not referring to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, but instead it’s sack by Latin crusaders during the Fourth crusade. Also the Lombards weren’t a Christian heretical group, they were a Germanic people who settled in todays Italy in the sixth century after Justinians war with the Ostrogoths. I believe you might be thinking of the Lollards, who were a heretical group.

[@jasonmcintosh3661]

I've got a collection of her stuff saved. Love bardcore stuff. Glad you're enjoying it.

[@cragnamorra]

I took the "Constantinople sacked" line to refer not to Ottoman conquest in 1453, but rather the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

I just watch this yesterday so happy you are reacting to this

[@VokialShekou]

Your knowledge is insanely huge. Respect!

[@joshuasingleton9373]

Loved your singing at the start!!!

[@wearewick7267]

Just seen this the other day it is really well done. Interesting going through video. Great work by you as always.

[@Morraak]

I'm so glad someone decided to talk about this song because it's brilliant!

[@mak6520]

9:08 Grunwald - one of the biggest battles of middle ages, held in 1410. Polish and Lithuanian knights aided with some Tartars, Czech husites clashed with knights of Teutonic Order aided with many knights from Switzerland, Germany, England and many other. It ended with decisive Victory of Polish/Lithuanian troops and death of five most important leaders of Teutonic Order. In German history it is rather called battle of Tannenberg (first, second was during I WW).

[@darthbricksempire3606]

0:40 now we need Chris to do his own cover of the song. Not want, NEED

[@deavenswainey6415]

Love seeing this show up again in my feed! Bardcore is a great intersection of history and classical (well, medieval) music, and Hildegard von Blingin' is an amazing channel for those of us who love both!

[@samrevlej9331]

18:30 Lombards, not Lollards. Lombards were a Germanic people who invaded and settled in Italy from the 550s onwards, just after the Byzantines under Emperor Justinian and General Belisarius had reconquered it from the Ostrogoths. I think the king deposed by his barons is most likely Edward II in 1327. You should take a look at some of Kings and Generals and History Marche or History Dose's videos on Middle Eastern and Central Asian history during the medieval period. Beyond the Mongols themselves, who are plenty fascinating with the largest contiguous land empire in history, there are also the Seljuk Turks, who play a major role not just in starting the Crusades, but also in severely threatening the Byzantine Empire and changing the face of the Islamic world. There are also the Göktürks in Central Asia in the 6th-8th centuries, who create huge steppe empires long before the Mongols and tangle with the Chinese Tang dynasty. And of course there's the whole history of the Islamic world. Epic History TV covered the whole story of the Abbasid Caliphate which ruled at least nominally from 750 until 1258.

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

Good call! Yes I was definitely thinking of the Lollards.

[@italianviking80]

Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" spans the years 1949 to 1989. So much history has unfolded since then that the song deserves an update-a Part Two, if you will. I wish I were a better writer to take on the challenge!

[@guyrogen9911]

As a Scot, what’s with all the Scottish references in the song - we must be greater than I thought lol

[@benjaminmajeski140]

Your Billy Joel impression was on point

[@darthplagueis13]

Gutenberg specifically invented the movable types printing press. Previously when printing, they had to carve or etch whole pages into a plate. With Gutenbergs press, all you had to do was arrange pre-made letters, which saved a lot of time and cost which led to things such as books becoming a lot cheaper, newspapers and political pamphlets being printed and so on.

[@Masonjar94]

YEEESSSSSS!!! I wanted you to do this. I absolutely love this

[@marcinas8942]

Grunwald was a battle in 1411 betweenPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Teutonic

[@Cowpasta]

Bohemia is where Prague is, and makes up the majority of Czechia. You're thinking of Moravia, which used to own Eastern Czechia and Northern Slovakia.

[@PaulG.x]

Cnut was was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire

[@thiamay7927]

I had to do a honors American History final paper on the historical connections to the song... it was nearly 30 pages long with citations. 😂😅

[@dawoifee]

Niebelungenlied is a german legend/poem about Siegfried the Dragonslayer. Wagner made an opera about it and I think, I'm not sure about it, that the Siegfried Line was named for this Siegfried.

[@catotheyounger2689]

Horse Soldier Horse Soldier is another song riddled with historical references if you do another song review. Now that I've finished a book on the Crusades, I have a better appreciation of this bardcore cover.

[@danielroloff9327]

The Niebelungenlied is the most famous Germanic story in Germany. Its about a man called Siegfried who slays the dragon fafnir and bathes in its blood to become invincible. Check it out 😊😉 Great Video by the way 🙌

[@jkr9594]

As a German, it is so funny seeing him coment on even somewhat obscure English history, but then know neither Hildegard von Bingen nor the Nibelungenlied. Really shows how irrelevant the goings-on in Central Europe during the Middle Ages ended up being in the long run.

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

Well, it mostly shows his area of specialization. He is American, so English history is just closer to him, especially because most of the research in that area is in English, while there is a huge amount of research about Central European areas are in German, French ect. .

[@jamesfetherston1190]

The music is far more renaissance than medieval.

[@BarelloSmith]

The Song of the Niebelungs (Niebelungenlied) is probably the most famous Germanic epic with several versions and "spin-offs" throughout the German and Scandinavian world. It is most likely inspired by the victories of Arminius and the European migration period. Also Attila amd Theoderic play important roles in it.

[@Eyrenni]

I didn't know they'd made an older historical cover of this one (or an early 1900s). Not too long ago I found the updated/modern day cover by Fall Out Boy. All three of these are so great.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

This is gonna be one of those "read the room" comments, but to those interested: It's worth mentioning that this cover is bardcore, which is a modern genre meant to evoke a "medieval feel" in modern listeners. It is not actually historically accurate to medieval times. From the surviving manuscripts and later descriptions of the earlier styles, they had completely different ideas of what harmony was, and they would of course not have been using the modern tuning system that we use in the West today. That only came about around the time of Bach (early 18th century). This is not to say that there is anything wrong with bardcore. Just like historical movies can be great no matter their accuracy, if bardcore does it for you, then there is no reason to hate it.

[@matshjalmarsson3008]

About Vikings, you forgot(?) about the ones that sailed South East and were called "Rus", and founded Kyevan Rus. Once they arrived at Bysantine they were hired as Pallace Guards, and were called Varangians.

[@stevencoghill4323]

Hildegard is one of my faves.

[@margretrosenberg420]

The _Nibelungenlied,_ or "Song of the Nibelungs," is an epic poem written in Middle High German ca. 1200.

[@irishsaint89]

1014 as Clontarf mentioned is I believe the battle of high king of Ireland Brian boru defeating the Vikings.

[@thexalon]

For the curious, Guillaume de Machaut is one of the niftiest musicians of the late 1400's, and his stuff is still performed and recorded to this day.

[@Sonicz0]

Found it cool they didn't use contractions.

[@randomfish18]

I just listened to this song two days ago! Glad you're reacting to it. 😊

[@bethschenk2851]

I love this song, too, Chris! I love all Billy Joel songs, but being a history-nerd, I truly feel attached to the lyrics!! Adore it!! Thanks so much for this video, Chris!! Excellent, as you always are!! Gox bless you and ypur family! Prayers! 🙏🏻💙🙂👍🏻♥️

[@PuntinoNero]

I am pretty sure the Lombards in the song are a Germanic people that moved to italy in the very early middle ages.

[@Vampirecronicler]

He was thinking of the Lollards, who was a group of English protestants

[@Chamomileable]

Nibelungenlied is sometimes called the "German Illiad". It's the tale of Siegfried.

[@meredithsmyth7059]

Hi Chris, I don't know if you know this already, but you can sing! This the first time I had to watch the original video before your reaction as someone who's both an old school Billy Joel fan and I used to be a Madrigal singer so i have some familiarity with Medieval music. Fun!

[@coxmosia1]

I don't remember him mentioning the Peasant revolt of 1381, in England.

[@meislouis1381]

Yh he can't mention literally every event that happened

[@coxmosia1]

@@meislouis1381 That was a major event in the history of England. I still liked what he did mention.

[@chrisvickers7928]

The sack of Constantinople could have been the sack of 1204 by the 4th Crusade.

[@chrisvickers7928]

And I love Hildegarde von Blingen.

[@PaulDekleva]

This is entertaining however, it does jump all over the timeline. There are versions of the song that has the actual people mentioned shown at the right moment. It is a good version.

[@wendyhicks4814]

Billy wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday hence “we didn’t start the fire”. Scary that was 35 years ago and I’ve been around for most of his life.