Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#66282 04/19/02 08:19 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
B
old hand
OP Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
I read a very interesting book last night about the odyssey that these historically maligned Teutonic people took from the Oder valley round through the Roman province Gaul through Spain, then along northern Africa, and eventually to Italy, all in the space of a couple of generations. This, perhaps biased article held the belief that the use thereafter of 'vandal' to mean 'someone who wilfully destroys or defaces property' was a quite unfair term to cull from the group. They were only, after all, a group of people looking for a peaceful home, so the article. The fact that 'they have no other land' clearly entitled them to a lot of bloody unrest though. Seems to be a common excuse for justifying all sorts of occupations and wars I guess. After taking Italy the wars did not stop either - their 'empire' grew and quickly collapsed in on itself.
Oh well, thought it an interesting story behind quite a common word.


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
What's the title of the book, by?


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
B
old hand
OP Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
Oh, I don't know now - s'not mine see. I didn't get to read it all, just about this long trip by the Vandals. The book's title was something about the Vandals and the Huns and the Fall of Rome and belongs to this Spanish bloke I know. He is quite interested in Europe's non-Greek and non-Romanic history and has all sorts of thick books on the subject. I just opened a page :-)


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Huns, Vandals and the Fall of the Roman Empire
by Thomas Hodgkin

Could that be it?

Conceptual detection exquisitely subtle


#66286 04/22/02 10:39 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
B
old hand
OP Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
Guess that's the one :-) It's quite famous, is it?
Looking at the thread now I realize what I originally wrote about where the Vandals come from is nonsense - they're Germanic - I just checked now and they originally came from Juetland then wandered down to the Oder valley. Sorry 'bout that. Only ca. 2,000km off hey. I got them mixed up with the first groups in Europe that the Huns displaced. I'll edit that. Apparently the Huns were just kind of hungry (not Hungery!) and they wanted something to eat. Look at the trouble they started, huh - the first mass displacement of people.





#66287 04/23/02 10:42 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
It's quite famous, is it?

Dunno how famous it is. I jus oney stuck "hun vandal rome" into amazon.com and that's what it came back with.

And I doubt if the Huns precipitated the *first mass displacement of people, just the first one we have decent documentation of.


#66288 04/23/02 01:28 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Italy got invaded a half dozen times as result of mass displacement of people. The Vandals just didn't know how to put the right spin on the media.


#66289 04/23/02 11:48 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409

#66290 04/24/02 12:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear Max: not a chads.


#66291 04/24/02 04:20 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
D
addict
Offline
addict
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
No one to tampa with the evidence...

There's norway I'm going near that one.


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 285 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5