Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Liutprand, Bishop of Cremona, wrote this report in 968 CE about his failed mission to the court of Nicephorus, Emperor of Constantinople. As of the time of this production, it is the only narrated version of his infamous document available online.
What makes this report so remarkable 1200 years later is the personal offense Liutprand took from Nicephorus and his court, and how that outrage colored every sentence of his report. Absent the normal dry descriptions of a diplomat's usual writings, his details about the Byzantine court and the realities of the political landscape are laid bare here as they are nowhere else in antiquity.
Laugh at the insults and roll your eyes at the complaints, as many have over the ages, but also pay close attention to the world that he describes in such cutting terms. This is a glimpse you will get nowhere else of imperial life in a different age.
This is a loosely-organized report, translated a century ago. I strongly advise following the text along with the narration at https://origin-rh.web.fordham.edu/halsall/source/liudprand1.asp
This is episode 1 of 3. Consider it an experiment in longform episodes--just how long can they get? Well, the answer (according to my 5 year-old Mac Mini) is around 40 minutes, at least in 4K. Please make sure to listen to the second and third episodes that follow!
To support the SAMA channel, become a Patron and make history matter! Patreon: patreon.com/make_history_matter?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Donate directly to PayPal: paypal.me/NickBarksdale
!!!!!!!!!!Above and beyond all -- visit this link to the gofundme for the family of our dear departed founder Nick Barksdale!!!!!!!!!! gofund.me/2bcd87e7
Liutprand, Bishop of Cremona, wrote this report in 968 CE about his failed mission to the court of Nicephorus, Emperor of Constantinople. As of the time of this production, it is the only narrated version of his infamous document available online.
What makes this report so remarkable 1200 years later is the personal offense Liutprand took from Nicephorus and his court, and how that outrage colored every sentence of his report. Absent the normal dry descriptions of a diplomat's usual writings, his details about the Byzantine court and the realities of the political landscape are laid bare here as they are nowhere else in antiquity.
Laugh at the insults and roll your eyes at the complaints, as many have over the ages, but also pay close attention to the world that he describes in such cutting terms. This is a glimpse you will get nowhere else of imperial life in a different age.
This is a loosely-organized report, translated a century ago. I strongly advise following the text along with the narration at https://origin-rh.web.fordham.edu/halsall/source/liudprand1.asp
This is episode 1 of 3. Consider it an experiment in longform episodes--just how long can they get? Well, the answer (according to my 5 year-old Mac Mini) is around 40 minutes, at least in 4K. Please make sure to listen to the second and third episodes that follow!
To support the SAMA channel, become a Patron and make history matter! Patreon: patreon.com/make_history_matter?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Donate directly to PayPal: paypal.me/NickBarksdale
!!!!!!!!!!Above and beyond all -- visit this link to the gofundme for the family of our dear departed founder Nick Barksdale!!!!!!!!!! gofund.me/2bcd87e7
