The Norsemen and William the Conqueror (part III).

The load of the centuries: the Colosseum, Rome.
Photo: Daniel Delgado, 2010.

Many men have a natural tendency: it is a wish for trascending, to perpetuate their work and memory. It is somehow as the searching of inmortality. Due to that, we may know many events from ancient times. The commemoration of great victories or impressive achievements, have always been a favorite subject for architects, plastic artists or creators in general. Obelisks, columns, mausoleums, triumphal archs or statues, often are telling us about a glorious past. But sometimes we can find another kind of things, more subtle, such as a stele, painted pottery, some written poem, even a piece of cloth... which may be as important as all the former. But the fragility of these type of historical traces, makes it very hard to find them well preserved. 

The Bayeux Tapestry. Photo: Dennis Jarvis, Halifax, Canada, 2014. Source: France-000668-Tapestry-8-9
Lic. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

If we take a look at the Bayeux Tapestry, very well preserved despite being almost one thousand years old... the medieval way of life and the events shown there, we may understand its significance. But, which is the story depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry? Something seems obvious: it was made for its exhibition in a great hall, maybe into a church. There, many people could behold and admire the triumph of their king, step by step. It was such as a royal publicity.

La Revista del Viajero Entre Historias N° 2

Calle Principal de la ciudad antigua de Dubrovnik, Croacia. Foto: Daniel Delgado

            Editorial.

La tendencia normal de los seres humanos es la de pensar que siempre los tiempos pasados fueron mejores. No hay duda de que vivimos en una época de grandes convulsiones y que a menudo nos hace sentir que no sabemos a ciencia cierta hacia donde vamos. Al revisar a vuelo de pájaro todo el discurrir de nuestra historia, podemos percatarnos de que la violencia y la injusticia han sido una constante.  Tal vez lo único distinto hoy, sea el flujo de la información notablemente superior al de cualquier otra época, unido al poder de las armas de destrucción masiva, que se ha incrementado de manera pavorosa: con solo "apretar un botón" pueden desaparecer miles, tal vez millones de personas en solo unos segundos. Por lo demás no hemos cambiado mucho durante los últimos diez mil años. Países oprimidos por auténticos genocidas, naciones que basan su bienestar sobre la pobreza de otros, guerras, civiles desplazados... ¡nada de eso es nuevo! Es una parte fundamental de nuestra historia, lamentablemente. Pareciera que en medio de una dualidad zoroastriana, por el camino que vamos, tarde o temprano la humanidad se encontrará frente a un callejón sin salida. Esperemos que al final prive la razón, y pueda abrirse la puerta de la esperanza para todos los habitantes del planeta.  

The Norsemen and William the Conqueror (part II).

Map of Normandy, 12th Century.By: Sting... Cartenormandie2.PNG
Modified by: Rowanwindwhistler.
Lic: Creative Comm. Att. Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Towards the year 1036 the Duchy of Normandy had become a very important and influent country in Europe. But they were passing through a deep crisis. Why? The reason was simple: a child had the crown over his head! He was too young to exert the power by himself, and  furthermore, he was a bastard. A child duke, or a bastard duke... both were hard to digest for many people. Then, a bunch of nobles believed to see the opportunity to get to the throne. So Normandy, the land ruled by Rollo and his descendants for more than a century, ended up inmersed into chaos and anarchy.