logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
11m 48s

The Battle on the Ice

The Retrospectors
About this episode

A frozen Lake Peipus played host to a dramatic fight between 2,000 Catholic Crusaders and 6,000 Orthodox Christians on 5th April, 1242.


The invading forces were the Teutonic Knights, armed with spears and swords to ‘Christianize’ what they saw as a Pagan society. Novgorod’s defender, Prince Alexander Nevsky, lured the Germans to the lake, where his troops could take them down one by one, in a battle that went down in Russian lore. 


In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how much of the imagery of the battle was in fact crystallised by a controversial twentieth-century filmmaker; consider why the Knights were so unprepared for this particular confrontation; and ask what actual theological differences separated the warring factions… 


Further Reading:

• ‘Lake Peipus: Battle on the Ice’ (Warfare History Network, 2005): https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/lake-peipus-battle-on-the-ice/

• ‘Alexander Nevsky - Prince of Novgorod and Kiev’: https://www.thoughtco.com/alexander-nevsky-profile-p2-1788255

• ‘Alexander Nevsky’ (Sergei Eisenstein, 1938): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4PaJfod4w


We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!

Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.

Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Today
Blasphemy!
Mary Whitehouse successfully sued Gay News and publisher Denis Lemon at the Old Bailey in a trial that began on 11th July, 1977 - Britain’s last conviction for blasphemy. What had ired the notorious Christian campaigner was the magazine’s publication of “The Love That Dares to Sp ... Show More
12m 15s
Yesterday
Adventures of the Boy Horsemen
The ‘Abernathy Boys’, Temple and Louis, were aged just 5 and 8 respectively when they departed Guthrie, Oklahoma for a 1,300-mile horseback trip to Roswell, New Mexico on July 10th, 1909. Alone. Sons of widower John Abernathy, himself the youngest-ever U.S. Marshal, the boys enco ... Show More
12m 25s
Jul 9
Bill Haley's Teenage Anthem
Rock Around The Clock was a moderately successful B-side - until its inclusion in the teen rebellion movie Blackboard Jungle - following which, on 9th July, 1955, Bill Haley and the Comets’ earworm became the first rock n’roll song to hit US No.1. But Haley was no teenage rebel. ... Show More
13m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
Conversations: The Classic Blunder! 'Never get involved in a land war [with Sparta], Spartan Military w/ Roel Konijnendijk
Liv speak with Roel Konijnendijk who teaches at Oxford and specializes in ancient Greek warfare. Roel covers Spartan warfare, what made them different, and not so different from the rest of the ancient Greek city-states. Follow Roel on Twitter and check out the Ask Historians for ... Show More
1h 29m
Sep 2023
The Knights Templar
Few organisations in history have names as loaded with legend as the Knights Templar. Western culture is infused with the mythology of these pious warrior monks, who wielded magic and went on quests for legendary treasures. In reality, it was an elite fighting force that became a ... Show More
39m 42s
Jun 2024
[2/2] Spartacus, le gladiateur rebelle - Au Cœur de l’Histoire Antique
Retrouvez les destins exceptionnels qui ont fait l’Antiquité dans le nouveau livre de Virginie Girod, Au Cœur de l’Histoire Antique, paru aux éditions Perrin. Disponible dès maintenant en librairie, avec deux récits inédits !Découvrez la suite du récit sur l’Antiquité romaine con ... Show More
14m 55s
Sep 2016
EPISODE 1 “THE APPLE OF DISCORD”
ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST - my 14 episode, 24 hour sequel to Trojan War: The Podcast - is now recorded and waiting for you. Subscribe through your usual podcast provider, or go to odysseythepodcast.com! THE STORY: (40 minutes)  Zeus, King of the Gods, hosts a wedding.  An uninvited gu ... Show More
49m 15s
May 2024
L'antimilitarisme, une passion française [Le Fil de l'Epée #17]
Invité : Eric Fournier, maître de conférences à l’université Panthéon-Sorbonne, co-directeur de "A bas l’armée. L’antimiliarisme en France du XIXe siècle à nos jours" (Editions de la Sorbonne, 2023) Définition et balbutiements de l’antimilitarisme au XIXe siècle (1:30)Formes et é ... Show More
1h 15m
Mar 2023
Ares: God of War
Ares is the god of war and bloodlust in Greek mythology.One of the twelve Olympian gods, Ares was often depicted as a fierce and bloodthirsty deity - both feared, and revered by the Ancient Greeks. But despite being a major figure in the Greek pantheon, Ares has often been oversh ... Show More
41m 45s
Mar 2024
Warfare in Ancient Greece
How did warfare work in Ancient Greece? The weapons and armour of the Greek hoplite are legendary, as are the warrior cultures of city-states like Sparta. But how would a Greek battle have played out on the ground? Dan is joined by Roel Konijnendijk, Darby Fellow in Ancient Histo ... Show More
49m 15s
Mar 2024
4 - The bloody finale
The Crimean War had become a conflict of cruel attrition. Who was prepared to sacrifice the most men? The British and French attacked, the Russians resisted. Thousands were killed, many thousands more maimed and scarred for life. The Russians broke first, set Sevastopol alight an ... Show More
38m 58s
Apr 2024
The Battle of El-Alamein Explained
Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwealth forces and a combined German and Italian army. Intended as a last-ditch attempt by the British to halt Axis gains in North Afr ... Show More
41m 58s
Jul 2022
Hannibal vs Rome: Terror at Trasimene
Towards the beginning of the Second Punic War on 21 June 217 BC, a Carthaginian force under Hannibal launched a vicious ambush on a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius. The resulting battle, at Lake Trasimene in Italy, saw a complete capitulation of the Roman forces - with th ... Show More
39m 10s