Book Review: Terry Jones' Barbarians

One of the drawbacks of living on this side of the pond is that North Americans do not always get to see the best of British television programming such as BBC2's Terry Jones' Barbarians. Luckily for us, however, the inevitable companion book to the series is appearing in bookstores.

First of all let me say, "Yes, it is that Terry Jones." In addition to his work as a member of Monty Python, Jones has written children's books and books on medieval England, including Who Murdered Chaucer? and Chaucer's Knight. This particular book is co-written by Alan Ereira, a producer and writer of history programs.

The book itself has an ambitious goal: it seeks to correct the impression that most of us have of the "barbarian" societies that competed with the Roman Empire. Let's face it, the impression most of us have of barbarians is that of illiterate, ill-clothed tribes with no culture other than a savage love of war, violence, and plunder. We may no longer believe in God, but we do certainly believe it when ancient writers referred to Attila as "the scourge of God".

The book looks at nearly a millennium of Roman interaction with the Atlantic Celts, the Germans, the Greeks and Persians, and the Vandals and Huns. Regardless of which group they are talking about, Jones and Ereira provide an alternative portrait of the so-called barbarian societies as cultured, enlightened, and, in many cases, more tolerant than the Roman behemoth with which they contended. Among the books many claims:

• the Atlantic Celts not only made superior weapons to Romans, they also built extensive networks of roads much earlier than the Romans;
• the Celts were so far advanced in astronomy that their calendar is still accurate today, whereas the Roman calendar had to be adjusted several times to re-align it with the actual seasons;
• the Goths were Christians whose sacking of Rome destroyed only one building;
• Vandals were also highly moral and educated Christians, and their sack of Rome did not destroy a single building;
• Roman-era Greeks were sophisticated mechanics who constructed elaborate machines that were not replicated until the Renaissance.

If you are a big fan of the Roman Empire, you will probably not like this book, but if you are interested in an alternative approach to ancient European history, I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of this book.

Terry Jones' Barbarians

Terry Jones and Alan Ereira

BBC Books, London 2006

ISBN: 0-563-49318-6

Help, I'm Becoming My Mom!

They say that the older we get, the more we become like our parents. I have just discovered this to be true, at least in the kitchen.

When I lived at home, my mom used to cook a lot with dill. Now I don't have any problems with dill in pickles, but the thought of dill-draped potatoes never sat well with me. Imagine my surprise, then, when I found myself purchasing a large bunch of fresh dill at the grocery store last week.

Ostensibly, I was going to use the dill with a salmon recipe that I had seen in a newspaper. Unfortunately, I forgot to clip the recipe out so it is wherever they take recycled newspapers. Not wanted to waste food, even if it is only $1.09 worth of fresh dill, I scrambled to find something to cook that would permit me to use the ample sampling of dill that I had acquired.

In the end, the only thing I could think of was to make a cucumber salad. I sliced up a large cucumber, added a bit of diced red onions, blended in some plain fat-free yogurt, and added some chopped dill, parsley, and chives. (In other words, I took advantage of my predicament to rid my refrigerator of other unused herbs and foods.)

I couldn't help noticing, as I ate the salad, that I actually liked the way the dill enhanced the flavour of the cucumbers and red onions. In fact, I am actively seeking out other recipes to use up the rest of the dill. After that, who knows? I might even try cooking with parsnips.

The Price of Art

One of my favourite Johnny Clegg songs is "Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World", an upbeat tune whose chorus goes, "Its your world so live in it."

Recently, I decided to take this advice and today that meant going out to take some photographs at one of the local conservation areas.

I had been there numerous times in the spring, summer, and fall, so I had a fairly good idea of what sort of shots I could get. Unfortunately, I had never been there in the winter, especially when the road was covered with snow. As you can see, I ran out of road and stranded myself for a while until the tow truck came.

An hour later, I was on my way home, embarrassed but all right. The car was undamaged, and I had several nice photographs.

Hot Off the Press

Modern technology can be wonderful. Take this photograph, for example. I took it at 7:01 and here it is posted on my blog already. The fact that I could have printed this photo a minute after I took it is impressive enough, but now it is available for people throughout the world to see. That, my friends, is truly cool.

And Then There Were Two

Lloyd Clemett died the other day at the age of 107.

It was not his age that made Lloyd special, although 107 is remarkable. Rather, Lloyd has become known to Canadians because he was one of the last three living Canadian veterans of the Great War.

Lloyd joined in the army in 1916. Despite his best efforts, he was not sent to the front lines until November of 1918. Any chance he had of seeing combat evaporated when the armistice was declared on November 11th.

Last year when Members of Parliament were floating the idea of a state funeral for the last remaining veteran, Lloyd came out against the idea. He felt it would be more appropriate to have a memorial service for all of the chaps who served. I think he was right.