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Norman Davies Quotes

The formula Muscovy + Ukraine = Russia does not feature in the Russians’ own version of their history; but it is fundamental.

Norman Davies

The formula Muscovy + Ukraine = Russia does not feature in the Russians’ own version of their history; but it is fundamental.

Tags: muscovy, russia, ukraine

Only a Christian culture could have produced a Voltaire or a Nietzsche. I do not believe that the culture of Europe could survive the complete disappearance of the Christian Faith.

Norman Davies

Only a Christian culture could have produced a Voltaire or a Nietzsche. I do not believe that the culture of Europe could survive the complete disappearance of the Christian Faith.

About Author
Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at the Jagiellonian University, professor emeritus at University College London, a visiting professor at the Collège d'Europe, and an honorary fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. He was granted Polish citizenship in 2014.

It is indeed the duty of historians to stress the contrast betweenthe standards of the past and the standards of the present. Somefulfil that duty on purpose, others by accident.

Norman Davies

It is indeed the duty of historians to stress the contrast betweenthe standards of the past and the standards of the present. Somefulfil that duty on purpose, others by accident.

Maria Theresa dollar of 1751.

Norman Davies

Maria Theresa dollar of 1751.

Extensive coin hoards, two from eighth-century Central Asia, showed that Novgorod’s far-flung trading contacts had never been seriously interrupted, even by the Mongol invasions. [DIRHAM]

Norman Davies

Extensive coin hoards, two from eighth-century Central Asia, showed that Novgorod’s far-flung trading contacts had never been seriously interrupted, even by the Mongol invasions. [DIRHAM]

One has to put aside the popular notion that language and culture are endlessly passed on from generation to generation, rather as if ‘Scottishness’ or ‘Englishness’ were essential constituents of som...

Norman Davies

One has to put aside the popular notion that language and culture are endlessly passed on from generation to generation, rather as if ‘Scottishness’ or ‘Englishness’ were essential constituents of som...

Marcus Aurelius had a marvellous sense of who, and where, he was: As the Emperor Antoninus, Rome is my city and my country; but as a man, I am a citizen of the world . . . Asia and Europe are mere cor...

Norman Davies

Marcus Aurelius had a marvellous sense of who, and where, he was: As the Emperor Antoninus, Rome is my city and my country; but as a man, I am a citizen of the world . . . Asia and Europe are mere cor...

By 1939 the Gulag was the largest employer in Europe.

Norman Davies

By 1939 the Gulag was the largest employer in Europe.

As from the 1490s, the double-headed eagle began to appear as the symbol of state in Moscow as in Vienna, as indeed in Constantinople.

Norman Davies

As from the 1490s, the double-headed eagle began to appear as the symbol of state in Moscow as in Vienna, as indeed in Constantinople.

Wcześniej czy później dekonstrukcjonistów zdekonstruują ich własne metody. Przeżyliśmy Śmierć Boga i Śmierć Człowieka. Z pewnością przeżyjemy także Śmierć Historii... i Śmierć Postmodernizmu.

Norman Davies

Wcześniej czy później dekonstrukcjonistów zdekonstruują ich własne metody. Przeżyliśmy Śmierć Boga i Śmierć Człowieka. Z pewnością przeżyjemy także Śmierć Historii... i Śmierć Postmodernizmu.

And now I say unto Thee, take care and take heed, pious Tsar: all the empires of Christendom are united in thine. For two Romes have fallen, and the Third exists; and there will not be a fourth.

Norman Davies

And now I say unto Thee, take care and take heed, pious Tsar: all the empires of Christendom are united in thine. For two Romes have fallen, and the Third exists; and there will not be a fourth.

An ambassador’, quipped Sir Henry Wootton, ‘is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

Norman Davies

An ambassador’, quipped Sir Henry Wootton, ‘is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

The history of Royal Prussia, which fell into the Polish orbit, is little known to those who approach the Prussian story from an exclusively German perspective. (The subject was actively suppressed by...

Norman Davies

The history of Royal Prussia, which fell into the Polish orbit, is little known to those who approach the Prussian story from an exclusively German perspective. (The subject was actively suppressed by...

The immediate future may be determined by a race between the United Kingdom and the EU over which beats the other to a major crisis.

Norman Davies

The immediate future may be determined by a race between the United Kingdom and the EU over which beats the other to a major crisis.

All the nations that ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand. The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human material is atomized and recycled. Bu...

Norman Davies

All the nations that ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand. The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human material is atomized and recycled. Bu...

Culture is something that must grow. You cannot build a tree; you can only plant it, and care for it, and wait for it to mature . . .

Norman Davies

Culture is something that must grow. You cannot build a tree; you can only plant it, and care for it, and wait for it to mature . . .

According to whether one follows St Luke or St Matthew, the Christian Era began either in the last year of Herod the Great (4 BC) or in the year of the first Roman census in Judaea (AD 6–7).

Norman Davies

According to whether one follows St Luke or St Matthew, the Christian Era began either in the last year of Herod the Great (4 BC) or in the year of the first Roman census in Judaea (AD 6–7).

Every 30 seconds, it transmitted portions of [a Chopin Polonaise] to tell the world that the capital was still in Polish hands. Angered by the unexpected setback, the German High Command decided to po...

Norman Davies

Every 30 seconds, it transmitted portions of [a Chopin Polonaise] to tell the world that the capital was still in Polish hands. Angered by the unexpected setback, the German High Command decided to po...

The dirham or dirhem was a coin of pure silver weighing 2.97 grammes, and worth one-tenth of a dinar. It was minted both in North Africa and in Central Asia under various dynasties. It was standard cu...

Norman Davies

The dirham or dirhem was a coin of pure silver weighing 2.97 grammes, and worth one-tenth of a dinar. It was minted both in North Africa and in Central Asia under various dynasties. It was standard cu...

Wars can be traced to a scuffle between a man and a boy, both of whom summon aid to their respective sides.

Norman Davies

Wars can be traced to a scuffle between a man and a boy, both of whom summon aid to their respective sides.