Historic Bubbles

In Short

This collection of historical essays examines pivotal, often overlooked turning points in European history. Moving from the dynastic rivalries of the House of Burgundy and the ecclesiastical chaos of the Western Schism to the rapid rise of revolutionary generals like Lazarus Hoche, the book serves as a wry, skeptical survey of power. Written with a sharp, colloquial wit, it demystifies the "great men" of history by focusing on their human frailties, opportunistic alliances, and the absurd circumstances that often dictate the rise and fall of empires.

The Story

The narrative arc moves through centuries of European turmoil, beginning with the shifting allegiances of the English and Scottish border town of Berwick. From there, the focus shifts to the messy, often unfilial dynamics of the English royal family during the Revolution of 1688, where the author portrays Mary and Anne not as political heroes, but as daughters who ousted their father, James II, for the sake of the throne. The scope broadens to the intricate power struggles of the Middle Ages, specifically the rise of the House of Burgundy and the tragic, erratic reigns of French monarchs like Charles VI.

The book delves into the "Captivity of Babylon" and the subsequent Western Schism, a period where the Church was fractured by multiple competing popes, each claiming divine authority while excommunicating the others. This era of religious instability serves as a backdrop for the rise of John Wiclif, who challenged the monastic orders and the temporal power of Rome by translating the gospel into English. The narrative then tracks the brutal pragmatism of figures like Philip IV of France, who destroyed the Knights Templar to seize their wealth, and the tactical brilliance of the mercenary Bertrand Du Guesclin, who famously led a company of "Free-Companions" to install a new king in Spain.

As the timeline advances, the focus shifts to the French Revolution and the meteoric career of the general Lazarus Hoche. Despite his brilliant military record, Hoche becomes a victim of the Terror’s paranoia and the shifting politics of the Directory. His story stands in contrast to that of Napoleon, whom the author frames as a different breed of tactical genius. The book concludes by tying these disparate historical threads together—demonstrating how dynastic marriages, personal vendettas, and the cold logic of "best battalions" shaped the modern world. The narrative ends not with a grand synthesis, but with a series of footnotes and epilogues that connect the medieval Dukes of Burgundy to the later House of Bourbon and the Habsburgs, illustrating that the history of Europe is an unbroken chain of unintended consequences.

How It Unfolds

The Borderlands The account opens with a geographic and political examination of Berwick-on-Tweed, a town so caught between nations that it required an act of Parliament to define its legal status. This sets a tone of skepticism toward established authority and the arbitrary nature of national borders.

Dynastic Fracture The narrative moves to the 1688 Revolution, emphasizing the personal cruelty of royal daughters toward their father. It frames the "glorious" transition of power as an intimate, unfilial betrayal rather than a clean political shift.

The Ecclesiastical Chaos The focus turns to the Western Schism, detailing the absurdity of having three popes simultaneously hurling anathemas at one another. The author illustrates the disparity between the Church’s vast moral claims and the "trifling physical force" it actually possessed.

The Rise of the Mercenary The text explores the intersection of religion and greed through the exploits of Bertrand Du Guesclin and the Free-Companions. It highlights how these men justified their pillaging through a blend of pious language and opportunistic warfare.

The Revolutionary Crucible The final movement centers on Lazarus Hoche, depicting him as a man caught in the machinery of the Terror. It culminates in a comparison between Hoche’s professional military ethos and the rise of Napoleon, whom the author views as both a genius and a threat to republican ideals.

The People

The book is populated by figures who are defined as much by their eccentricities as by their status. James II appears as a displaced, temperamental king whose personal failures invite his own exile. In contrast, Philip the Good of Burgundy is characterized by a pragmatic, if somewhat ruthless, drive to consolidate power, while his ancestor Charles VI is depicted as a man whose descent into madness left his kingdom vulnerable to the machinations of his own family.

Boniface VIII emerges as the archetype of the haughty, overreaching pontiff, whose belief in his own "demi-god" status is shattered by the realities of feudal politics. John Wiclif serves as the intellectual challenger, a man whose desire to reform the Church is fueled by both sincere conviction and the petty grievances of academic displacement. Finally, Lazarus Hoche is portrayed as the tragic hero—a brilliant, capable soldier who navigates the lethal, irrational politics of the French Revolution only to be eclipsed by the sheer force of Bonaparte’s ambition. These figures are not icons, but individuals whose choices—often driven by pride, fear, or financial necessity—ripple through history.

In Its Own Voice

"The earth has bubbles as the water has, And these are of them."

The author adopts this quote from Banquo as an epigraph to frame the book's argument that historical events are ephemeral, unpredictable, and ultimately transient.

"In a word there were no longer any innocent or any guilty: there were only the proscribers and the proscribed."

Quoting Lamartine, the author captures the existential terror of the French Revolution, where one’s status as a victim or a perpetrator was determined by arbitrary factors like social standing or neighborhood.

What It's Really About

At its core, this book argues that history is largely a series of "bubbles"—temporary, surface-level phenomena that appear significant but are often driven by human incompetence, vanity, and the chaotic interplay of unintended consequences. The author is deeply skeptical of the "Great Man" theory of history, suggesting instead that behind every momentous shift—be it a religious reformation or a regime change—lies a messy, human origin story. The central question is how societies survive the collision between their lofty, idealized institutions (like the Papacy or the Monarchy) and the base, irrational, or purely selfish instincts of the people who lead them.

Why Read It Today

This book is for the reader who enjoys history stripped of its marble-statue veneer. It feels like listening to a learned, slightly cynical professor who has spent too much time in the archives and has no patience for the official, sanitized versions of the past. The prose is conversational, peppered with sharp observations on human nature that remain startlingly relevant.

Potential readers should be prepared for the book's 19th-century intellectual sensibilities. The author assumes a reader familiar with classical references, Shakespeare, and the broad strokes of European history, and he does not pause to explain every mention of a minor Duke or an obscure council. His tone is occasionally biting, particularly toward the historical scholarship of his time, and his digressions into linguistic nuances or colonial-era attitudes toward national identity reflect his specific era. It is not a comprehensive textbook, but rather an engaging, opinionated companion that reminds us that the past is never quite as orderly as the history books imply. What stays with you is the author's insistence on looking past the grand narratives to find the very human, very fallible, and often very amusing realities beneath.