The discovery of France
by Graham Robb · first published 2007
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4HN commenters
2018–2024first – last mentioned
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"From maps, migration and magic, to linguistic differences and tribal disputes, The Discovery of France tells the whole story of this remarkable - and surprising - country."--Jacket.
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This sounds similar to "The Discovery of France" by Graham Robb. Recommend
on “A Vanishing World: On Europe's Disappearing Peasantry” ↗…like the Pyrenees and the Alps, people essentially "hibernated" during the winter: they stayed indoors, lived off their food stores, and expended as little energy as possible. Citing Graham Robb's The Discovery of France: 'An official report on the Nièvre in 1844 described Burgundian day-laborers thusly: '“After making the necessary repairs to their tools, these vigorous men will now spend their days in bed, packing their…
on “Medieval peasants got more vacation time than modern workers (2013)” ↗…interesting hypothesis, even though on first blush it seems obviously wrong. I'm glad the article was more nuanced than the headline. This reminded me of an interesting tidbit from Graham Robb's book 'The Discovery of France'. He mentions the pre-industrial peasantry (in some extremely rural areas) living in a similar manner. During the winter when there were stretches of time where it was too harsh to do any productive work,…
on “Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating” ↗I read the same "fact"* in Graham Robb's 'The Discovery of France". *scare quotes because I've only seen one reference
on “Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating” ↗…governance or evolution! > With enough of these gaps, where is "American" or "French" culture? Such cultural identities take centuries to coalesce - France did not speak French until the 1900s (as The Discovery of France recounts), and Han China is still digesting & assimilating its many minorities & outlying regions. America, of course, had it easy in starting with a small founder population which could just exterminate…
on “Surviving Jonestown” ↗