Historical Anecdotes
Short Stories from Antiquity
One of the best ways to explore history in my opinion is through historical anecdotes. No one wants to invest reading in a 500+ page history book about subject matters which they know nothing about and have no reason to care about. I think anecdotes solve this problem by giving a small justification for continued reading and by humanizing the people of history. Humans need to connect with stories to care about them and historical anecdotes provide amazing connections.
Horror (a little comedy too):
The first account comes from a historian named Paracelsus who recorded an event known as the “Dancing Plague” or “St. Vitus’ Dance”. The event happened in 1518 and Paracelsus heard of it and went to the town where it happened and recorded it eight years later. Here is what he said of the first infected.
“She adopted strange moods and manners; and when she came into a state of false pride and turned stubborn against her husband when he told her to do something that she did not care for, she then affected a manner as if she were ill and concocted a disease that would suit her purposes in this regard. So, she adopted the manner of dancing and pretended that she could not stop dancing. For her husband disliked nothing more than dancing”
So, it was believed that the start of the dancing plague was simply a wife trying to annoy her husband and the continued by others who wanted a similar result. It became so widespread that a belief about the dancing arose around it. They believed that the person was being cursed by a saint, St. Vitus.
“That is how so many diseases have emerged, not only the dance but others that are too many to be enumerated. For some people have pretended to be possessed, and ultimately, they have experienced in their pretense that it became true.”
Paracelsus then goes on to explain that the people who have the disease only have the disease because they think they do. Then he does some grandstanding about them not having enough faith in the right things and says, “This is how it happens that so many diseases emerge, a matter of daily occurrence nowadays.”
Some general stats about the “Plague” around 400 people were affected in total with a number of them dying from exertion. They quite literally, danced till they dropped. To be fair it did not help that the leaders of the city thought that more dancing was the answer and they hired musicians to play for them. In the end this is one of the first accounts of mass hysteria and it seems that Paracelsus even at the time knew it to be the case.
Romance:
The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise. These famous letters talk of the love that the two titular people have for each other. They show passion and tenderness which is multiplied by learning of context. Like any good love story, it is a tale about lovers who were kept apart by the society and situations around them. Abelard was a philosopher and a teacher. While Heloise was his student and a noblewoman. Therefore, from the start the tender love was doomed. They wrote letters to each other about their feelings but eventually, their secret love was found out. As a result, the two were separated. Abelard was castrated as punishment and then became a monk. Heloise was forced by her family or out of shame became a nun. Most likely, a bit of both. Now here are some potent excerpts from the letters.
“[I]t is not by being richer or more powerful that a man becomes better; one is a matter of fortune, the other of virtue. Nor should she deem herself other than venal who weds a rich man rather than a poor and desires more things in her husband than himself. Assuredly, whomsoever this concupiscence leads into marriage deserves payment rather than affection.” - Heloise
Following that same thought here is what she said regarding Abelard.
“God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself. I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.” - Heloise
Here are some quotes now from Abelard regarding love.
“Tis a thousand times more easy to renounce the world than love.” - Abelard
“Love is incapable of being concealed; a word, a look, nay, silence, speaks it.” - Abelard
Even just from these quotes it is clear to see that they truly loved each other. That in everything they thought and wished to be with each other. I think the story although tragic is filled with the beauty and affection. I think that everyone can see themselves in them and wishes to know that depth of true love or even better has personally experienced those feelings for themselves.
Drama:
The last historical anecdote is called, “The Empty Fort Strategy.” Now it should be said that while this is claimed to be true. It is impossible to concretely verify but it is still a fun story so worth knowing in my opinion. So, who is our protagonist? His name is Zhuge Liang he lived in the 200s and was known for being one of the best strategists to have ever lived. He would pull victories from losing positions constantly and was known for being able to overpower a large force with very few men in comparison. We are talking 5 to 1 type of odds. During a campaign against a rivel kingdom he and his troops found themselves outnumbered once again and stuck in a fort near the Yanging Pass. Zhuge and his troops managed to get to the fort before the enemy could. however, in a daring move he ordered that his troops hide and leave the gate open to the fort. This perplexed many as it seemed like suicide. But the troops trusted their leader and did as he said. Zhuge then proceeded to sit atop the arch of the gate by himself. He played an instrument in a reclined position and calmly drank tea. When the rival army lead by Sima Yi, showed up to the fort and saw Zhuge seeming to be relaxed, he grew suspicious. Then Sime Yi who knew of Zhuge’s reputation deiced to not attack as he thought it was a cunning trap. Really that was the trap, Zhuge was solely relying on the fact that he was cleaver, and his opponent knew he was cleaver to deter the attack. He stopped an army without even needing to fight.
Conclusion:
There is something to be learned from all of these stories. People never change, love is worth the loss, reputation can save your life, and many more. But no matter what the lesson is I hope got a little more appreciation for history and the stories of people from all over the world. History informs the presents and allows us all to have a better understanding of ourselves and the people around us.
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