Hello everyone! I’m popping up in your feed today... not to begin Season 3 - that’s still a little ways off yet! No, what I’m hoping to do today is to introduce you to a new friend of mine and his show, History of the Germans. I’m talking of course about Dirk Hoffman-Becking; I’ve mentioned him on several recent episodes, and with good reason, so let me give you a few:

First, Dirk’s podcast is simply very well done. He starts off in 919 with Henry the Fowler, and will gladly explain to you why he chose this date in his four-part introduction to the history. Now, Dirk and I have a difference of opinion on start dates, but that’s okay! He makes a compelling argument for why 919 makes more sense to begin with than 476, for German history anyway, and I appreciate that. Beyond the history and where to start, Dirk’s delivery is spot-on and he has clearly done his research. And he does a really, really good job of bringing his passion for the past into his storytelling, and he hits the right notes along the way. You can tell that he cares about what he’s talking about.

Now personally, I have to admit that I have a bit of a backstory about why I especially love the History of the Germans podcast. Long story short, over the past two years of T+M I have realized that so much of the history that we’ve covered is not really so much just French history as it is European history. There’s just no way to tell the story of a single group without a discussion of how they interacted with outsiders, and well, the Franks have a very long and storied history of trading, intermarrying and fighting with the groups on the east side of the Rhine. There would be no France without a Germany and the multiple kingdoms that comprised that country prior to its full integration in the mid-19th century. Honestly, Charlemagne - who we’ll dwell on at length when we get to Season 3 - is a figure who both sides can arguably look at as having been “theirs.” I think that listening to History of the Germans alongside of T+M will give you a really well-rounded view of Western European history, and will do so with a lot of similarities - but also with the enough points of friction to allow you, the listener, to form your own opinions. 

Now, beyond the grand history, I have to say, I’m moving to Germany myself in just a few months now and there’s no small amount of serendipity in finding myself talking to and listening to another podcaster who is looking at a very similar place and time to myself. And to hear discussions of Aachen and Cologne while actually driving through Aachen and Cologne is something that kind of made the hair on the back of my neck kind of stand on end! Serendipity... it’s a thing.

Alright, with all of that as intro, please let me stand aside and introduce to you Episode 1 of the History of the Germans and Dirk Hoffman-Becking. We hope you enjoy it, and when you do, be sure to give Dirk all of the appropriate ratings, reviews and subscriptions. Both of us thank you in advance, so please enjoy. Dirk, take it away...

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Links to social media and the website:

Academia.edu: Life After Rome

Kindle Vella: Queens of Blood

Site: https://www.thugsandmiracles.com/

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Twitter: @thugsandmiracle (with no “s” on the end)

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Listenable: History of the Merovingians, 451-613