In this final episode of the Trial and Error Series on the 9th and early 10th centuries, we focus on two Balkan identities which are created in the tumultuous wars of the era: the Serbs and the Bulgarians. Both will find a way to unite many Slavic tribes of the Balkans, and both will incorporate Christianity into their new identity, though one will be built for autonomy, and one for imperial glory.

The Series will take a few months break, but will return in late June with Series 6!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Iorga, Nicolae. A History of Romania. Center for Romanian Studies, 2018.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Schwerpunkt. Principality of Serbia (780-960). Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPKPwOWZ6CU

In this episode, we introduce the Rise and Fall of Great Moravia, a 9th century Slavic "Imperial Confederacy" which would attempt to unify several of the frontier slavic tribes of Pannonia and the Carpathians into an organization set against both the East Franks and the Bulgarians. Unlike previous confederacies, this one would be organized also around Christianity, which the missions of Cyril and Methodius would help to spread and make unique for Moravia.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Rady, Martyn. The Middle Kingdoms. Basic Books, 2023.

Fine, John VA Jr. The Early Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Hlavica, Michal. Prochazka, Rudolf. Basic Principles of the Great Moravian Economy. Great Moravian Elites from Mikulcice, 2020.

Schwerpunkt. Great Moravia (833-907). Youtube, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HAXnTHjw5Q

In this episode, we pivot north, onto the great plains and swamps of the Riverlands. Here, we examine the Pagan Slavic culture and the patterns of its settlement. The 9th and 10th centuries would bring change to all aspects of the tribal societies, as international trade reopens, a force which will invite both wealth and increased attention from foreign threats on all sides. These forces will then force societies to adapt and stratify, or perish as so many others had.

New episodes every Monday!

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland Volume 1: Origins to 1795. Columbia University Press, 2005.

Gawell, Donna. Our Galician Ancestors. 2024.

Davies, Norman. Moorhouse, Roger. Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City. Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Schmidt, Knud Rahbek. The Social Structure of Russia in the Early Middle Ages. University of Aarhus. 1960.