Wednesday 25 November 2020

The Invention of Scandinavia

 The Invention of Scandinavia

Thanks to Steve and Dave in their comments to the previous post, I was made aware of this series on BBC Radio 4. It’s a 3-part series about the similarities and differences between Norway, Denmark and Sweden, with a lot of Early Modern and Modern history thrown in by way of explanation.

I listened to all three episodes earlier. And very interesting it was too. A sort of Scandi 101, with added historical revisionism.

Wargaming wise, there’s some relevance as the Thirty Years War, Northern Wars, Great Northern War, Napoleonic Wars, 2nd Schleswig-Holstein War, and World War II all get referenced in their respective cultural and historical context. The Swedish Indelningsverk system even gets a mention (though I don’t think that term was used in the programme). Yes, I’m stretching the point but it’s background innit?

This trilogy is part of a broader series including ‘the Invention of.....’ other countries, including the UK, Netherlands, and the US. I think I’m going to be gorging myself on this.

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed it and there's a lot of good stuff on Radio 3 & 4 at present, often hidden away. I keep meaning to catch up on stuff but never do!

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  2. Thanks for the tip. I keep meaning to switch the radio on during the day but keep forgetting. In Our Time was another old favourite that I keep missing but never think to listen on catch-up - must be a generational thing.

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