The Original Secret History

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Күн бұрын

To receive my first catalogue, 'Secret Histories' join my mailing list here: www.tomwayling.co.uk/register
This is the story of Procopius's Secret History Of Justinian - originally written around 550, but not published until 1623.
In this video we look at how Procopius wrote the text, how it survived, almost unknown, for 1,000 years, how it came to be published in the 1620s, and the extraordinary ramifications when it was.
00:00 Introduction
00:44 The Original Composition Of The Secret History
02:40 The Survival Of The Text In Greek Manuscripts
05:56 The Rediscovery And Publication Of The Secret History
08:23 Secret Histories Go Viral
To learn more about Secret Histories, sign up to receive my catalogue of rare books devoted to the subject - www.tomwayling.co.uk/register
I couldn't have made this video without the help of two works in particular. The first is Brian Croke's magisterial Procopius: From Manuscripts To Books: 1400-1850. The second is The Secret History In Literature, 1660-1820 which is edited by Rebecca Bullard and Rachel Carnell.
My name's Tom and I'm an antiquarian bookseller - you can browse the books I have for sale on my website: www.tomwayling.co.uk/

Пікірлер: 194

@finch45lear 2 ай бұрын

Tom , It’s my hope that your appearances here on KZfaq spark a love of reading and history in the youth of our world. We need a force like yourself with the love and passion for learning . You set a wonderful example . May you catch on like the plague.

@theseriousprepper4372 2 ай бұрын

Somehow, the algorithm dropped me into your channel. It is good to see someone who’s not over the age of 60 surrounded by significant literature. I have subscribed. You give an old Professor Hope! Well done.

@IntrepidFraidyCat 2 ай бұрын

Same for this old pharmacist 👍🏻

@wout123100 2 ай бұрын

but too few of those. sadly..what we see mainly nowadays is ignorant loudmouths i love the roman historians.

@jahleajahlou8588 2 ай бұрын

Lately I have been enjoying the scholarship of Jason Breshears. The oldest records poured over (although not the cuneiform) that prize goes to Ancient Mysteries-Andrew Christie.

@williamthompson2941 2 ай бұрын

how come someone that young afford those bookshelves? a room that large? those underhanging lights. hmmmmm

@theseriousprepper4372 2 ай бұрын

I’m guessing most likely he worked for it and as with all of us old folks, we find somebody that’s younger that enjoys the same stuff we do we gift. Or could be just location of a friend?

@johnleake5657 2 ай бұрын

There's a suggestion that I rather like that suggests that the _Anekdota_ may have been written during the plague while Justinian was seen as likely to die. If so, Procopius may have been trying to distance himself from Justinian -- perhaps as Justinian's historian he was tied too closely to him -- and position himself for a new regime. After all, it's not as if invectives against emperors were not published -- just not against living ones.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

I quite like that too. I also like Brian Croke's insistence that the Anekdota should rightly be seen as the final book of the Wars, as that is what it appears to be to Procopius himself.

@johnleake5657 2 ай бұрын

@@tomwayling, oh, where does he say that? I'm a bit out of date! My suggestion was raised by Henning Börm.

@greggoreo6738 2 ай бұрын

Will you? Kindly insruct this inquirer? How can I enhance my font? WITH "italics". Your time and patience in telling me would be greatly appreciated, I assure you!; Gratefully yours, Gregg Oreo Long Beach CA Etats Unis

@digitalnomad9985 2 ай бұрын

@@greggoreo6738 There may be a "proper" way to do this, but you can do this by placing an understroke character "_" before and after each word to be italicized. For this to work, each such word must be preceded and followed by a space character " ". This means that you can't immediately follow the word by punctuation, like a period at the end of the sentence. There has to be a space after each _italicized_ _word_ . It won't be in italics when you type it, but it will appear in italics when you POST it. You can use the ":" character to insert emojis ":sm" will present you with a menu to chose emojis. Character "*" can give you *bold* in the same manner as the italics method above, hyphen "-" gives you -striken- -out- .

@sinist4r_gr1n14 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for revealing basically nothing, what a waste of time that was.

@kurjan1 2 ай бұрын

Excellent Tom, really excellent. Thank you. I find it fascinating that Procopius's Secret History is becoming popular again. Maybe it's the times we are living in and how Procopius was sending a warning through this book.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Whether it was a book ahead of its time, or its revelations about power, corruption and scandal are just timeless, I'm not sure

@rickden8362 Ай бұрын

@@tomwayling How have you not discussed that this is not an out-and-out forgery?

@RossParker1877 2 ай бұрын

Discovered you recently Tom. Really enjoy listening to your love of books and History. Thank you ❤

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@kgsuniquerareandantiquebooks 2 ай бұрын

Tom is the best!!

@mingng937 2 ай бұрын

Have been following your shorts for a while appreciating your passion and knowledge… glad to see you’re going longer-form. Your channel deserves and I’m sure will accumulate a large following and I’m happy to be here relatively early! Keep up the great work.

@tectorgorch8698 2 ай бұрын

Holy mackerel, I recently found a beautiful Folio edition of this at Moe's in Berkeley. Can't wait to crack it open.

@markl8111 2 ай бұрын

What a treasure your content is! I love history and finding the history in its honest form, not the polished, approved versions. You have a fan!

@jayrey5390 2 ай бұрын

I'd love more of your long form work, it's a topic I know very little about and a curated dip into rare, important and interesting books, book related topics and frankly whatever you want to show us! Thank you for your work, already a channel I keenly follow.

@klaire74 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for all this, is amazing to learn all these details, to see the Books! I hope that whoever will buy these treasures will keep them safe.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! My greatest pleasure is finding worthy homes for these books!

@rsutton06 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting! I really enjoy your short form videos so I knew a longer video would be exceptional.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you Roxanne!

@alexkerridge 2 ай бұрын

Fantastic video, thank you for making and uploading it! Love these untold stories from history!

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! It's a video I really enjoyed making

@WilliamKelly-ou2nm 2 ай бұрын

Wow ! Serendipitous synchronicity! Never heard of you, but I'm glad to have found you! Nice work ! Lux et Veritas 🙏🏻 ❤️‍🔥 🖖🏻!

@carl91413 2 ай бұрын

Hi @Tom Ayling,I just discovered your channel and i am all all about mysteries & secrets.I’m a hardcore fan of History Channel’s Curse Of Oak Island & the possible burial of massive Knights Templar treasure and possibly ancient christian relics from Jerusalem when they were the guardians of crusader pilgrims to the Holy Land & Jerusalem.Anyway I have always been blown away about how Justinian built such a massive incredible beautiful Church in Constantinople.I mean all European Cathedrals are mindblowing how they did stuff with no electricity & power tools.The massive spires & domes with such heavy stone work.I would very much be interested in your catalog.

@woofbarkyap 2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this. Love the long form!

@frankzappa3834 2 ай бұрын

Incredible video!!! Can’t wait to see what you continue creating.

@seanhallahan14 2 ай бұрын

Very good stuff! Thank you. I'll look forward to following up on your resources mentioned!

@tomlindsay4629 2 ай бұрын

Fascinating, thanks for posting!

@thinkingoverage12 2 ай бұрын

Hey Tom! Found this video through your short. Unsolicited, but I think more people would’ve found this video if there was a link to this on the corresponding short. Really love your work!

@sahhaf1234 18 күн бұрын

This is one of the most impressive youtube videos I have ever watched... A trail that had started in 550 ad's anatolia, passed through renaissance italy and reformation northern europe, and reached us today...

@elisabethdemoreaudandoy478 2 ай бұрын

Excellent research!

@myparallaxview Ай бұрын

Wow, reading this online - stunningly shocking! Thank you for highlighting this work.

@anthonywhite6530 2 ай бұрын

Another humdinger video. Thank you for sharing. Anthony Ireland.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you Anthony! It was a pleasure to make

@SillyTube9 Ай бұрын

Now, I just want to know what the heck Theodora did.

@memermancer 2 ай бұрын

I appreciate the longer form content ❤

@kgsuniquerareandantiquebooks 2 ай бұрын

Your videos are the best Tom!!

@RRW276 2 ай бұрын

I would love to know what sparked your passion with the these old books. I find your vids specifically the information fascinating and just curious what was the starting point for you. Was it a particular old book? If you ever do a vid on what led to this point in your journey it’d be very interesting I’m sure to all of us.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

I addressed this briefly in a 'Short' video recently titled 'My First Rare Book (And Where I've Been). I can also speak in a longer video about it if you would like!

@jjgalletta66 2 ай бұрын

These books are a million times better than anything being written today. I can’t believe the crap that’s being published now.

@MadHeadzOz 2 ай бұрын

I can scarcely believe that people could believe the crap that you can't believe is being published now.

@jonathanraven5939 Ай бұрын

Very well said.

@mookrage 2 ай бұрын

I really enjoyed this video. Thankyou

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

I'm so glad! This was a video I really wanted to make

@aislingcarey84 Ай бұрын

You're so knowledgeable it's really impressive

@johnford6967 2 ай бұрын

Tom you have arrived, keep it up!

@aadamtx 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting - did not know about the plethora of "secret histories" launched by Procopius's work. Early precursor of today's tell-all celebrity bios ;-) Speaking of temporarily lost books, would you be willing to talk about De Rerum Natura? I have my book group reading The Swerve, and I think your viewers would find it interesting.

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

It's a fascinating phenomenon. And I'd love to do a video about De Rerum Natura - perhaps next time I acquire an interesting copy of it.

@fibanacci8 Ай бұрын

Superb..

@artcook1976 2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed 🙏

@sheepdog1102 2 ай бұрын

Well done 👍

@nordoflobsquipple3121 2 ай бұрын

Bravo!

@hlt8770 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for the fascinating video, Mr. Ayling. Can you tell us if the unexpurgated version was ever published? Or was it destroyed?

@joaopedrodacosta5147 19 күн бұрын

Procopius invented a genre that would unveil itself as royal gossip. And we love him for it.

@Theotherlostprimarch 2 ай бұрын

These are one of my favorite book genres to this day…

@leearmstrong4423 2 ай бұрын

all fine and dandy but I want the actual dirty details...not just a history of how it was preserved and came to light and where can I get a copy?

@mariadange06 2 ай бұрын

You tease re the wives lol... I love your content and presentation.

@mothersoul1 2 ай бұрын

can you make a video on how to take care of books?

@annaroselarsen4218 2 ай бұрын

This is cool

@nohandle62 2 ай бұрын

Imagine what the Vatican is squatting on.

@jcortese3300 2 ай бұрын

I feel like a killjoy for asking how much of what Procopius actually wrote survived, or whether historians in the intervening centuries didn't have an axe to grind with Justinian and used the legend of a scandalous unpublished history as a convenient container for their own criticisms. Sort of "I'm not saying anything, but in the Anecdota, Procopius said that yadda yadda, keep in mind I'm just quoting him ... " I just feel like we're taking a lot on faith in thinking that it's actually Procopius's own work as opposed to a collection of tales by other people that were attributed to a book that everyone says was written but wasn't even actually seen. It's a super-cool story either way, but at the same time I know how gossip works, even among 14th century academics. 🙂

@johnleake5657 2 ай бұрын

A _lot_ of Procopius survives. The whole of his major work, _The History of the Wars of Justinian,_ survives (five volumes in the Loeb edition - he is our major Greek historian of the sixth century) and his _Buildings of Justinian_ too, as well as the _Anecdota_ (each a single Loeb volume). And, yes, it is is recognizably Procopius who is writing.

@jcortese3300 2 ай бұрын

@@johnleake5657 Thanks -- I wasn't sure if what survived was actually Procopius or just a collection of what other people quoted from it.

@johnleake5657 2 ай бұрын

@@jcortese3300, so many ancient historians are in that condition, aren't they!

@jcortese3300 2 ай бұрын

@@johnleake5657 I think a lot of them don't realize they should be in that condition. If I had a nickel for every historian of ancient Rome who takes as proven fact everything that some centurion scribbled on a latrine wall ...

@rickden8362 Ай бұрын

This has all the finger prints of a Vatican forgery to delegitimize the Eastern Roman Empire at the start of the Middle Ages.

@mingng937 2 ай бұрын

Also the only other channel I’ve heard ever discuss this piece of history is Asha Logos. So for any of the audience wanting further viewing on this check him out.

@ShrekGrunge 2 ай бұрын

Because the parts about justinians wife were cut out of the latin print does that mean those sections are lost to time or are there still copies from before then?

@laara1426 21 күн бұрын

More evidence that in all the years of recorded history human behavior remains the same, only our accessories change.

@stankythecat6735 2 ай бұрын

Yessss… long form ! Yay

@meofamily4 2 ай бұрын

The first time a book was published under the title, "The Secret History" was in 1623, by Alemanni. The fact that the first book published under the title, in English, "The Secret History," in 1674, does not make it "the first book ever published under the title, "The Secret History", but the first in English. In the 17th century everyone with a secondary-school education read Latin. Francis Bacon -- the English chancellor-- 's "Essays" were published first in Latin and then translated into English. Notice that your 1685 example of a "Secret History" discusses Procopius's book in its Greek title, "Anekdota". It's not the English-language translation of Alemanni, but the Latin title that is the model.

@StupidusMaximusTheFirst Ай бұрын

These books are very interesting. I suppose some of those things written in there can't be taken at face value, Procopius probably had reasons to heavily dislike those people, but in all those books, there must be interesting historical events and facts in there, probably hidden by the official versions of history. And I'd bet there is hidden historical knowledge and books that the system has hidden from the public for different reasons throughout the times, and most of history we know of is mostly all altered and approved by the system of each era, and the differences to the actual events and true history could be massive. Even if not, all those books are still very interesting.

@SamiKhan-ry9eh 24 күн бұрын

Is this book available in the market??

@AndyJarman 2 ай бұрын

Full and revised translation of Procopius in modern English without the expurgations would give a fascinating insight into who the Byzantines thought they were. Were they fully aware of the history of ancient Rome, did they see themselves as the same people, were they hide bound by their heritage. I wonder what the Italians thought of them? Long lost relatives or marauding interlooers?

@meofamily4 2 ай бұрын

Penguin Classics published a modern translation, by G.A. Williamson, in 1966. In the Introduction, the translator advises that Edward Gibbon provided his readers with the suppressed passage, but in Greek, with a Latin commentary, saying (with a certain degree of snark) that it "must be veiled in the obscurity of a learned language". The standard edition of the Greek original is that of the German scholar Haury, published in Leipzig in 1913, but there is also the Loeb Classical Library edition, with facing pages in Greek and English, dating from 1935, published, as all the Loeb Classical Library, by Harvard University Press.

@Bhenderson0001 Ай бұрын

You have chosen such an interesting career. It must be a calling....... I am so jelous lol 🙂

@MaryCh-zp2qh 2 ай бұрын

This is great, so interesting . Did you grow up surrounded by books?

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! I grew up with regular trips to the library and am very lucky I did!

@sahhaf1234 Ай бұрын

Extremely interesting.. There was also "the letters writ by a turkish spy"

@4trahasis 2 ай бұрын

Anybody have a clue why the first edition of the rediscovered 'Secret History' published in 1623 has numerous Stars of David on its spine @6:02 ? Curious as to the symbolism here.

@lgajardo4430 2 ай бұрын

Can you do a video on Gabriel Garcia Marquez 100 years of solitude?

@tomwayling 2 ай бұрын

Good idea! Will try to when I next acquire an interesting example of it.

@jonathanraven5939 Ай бұрын

This makes me wish I could read Greek, and Latin.

@miraadi97 2 ай бұрын

What type of camera angle is that! Looks high contrast while looking up and down and straight in front main while side is rolling freely during quotes. Who is suppressing the book i mean there where powers doing such during Hilton's time as he wrote on precensorship with regicide works but this is just weird because it's similar to WhatsApp History in Indian Uncle Resident Housing Societies Culture, Brazil- Cuba-Mexican-American and Russian Involvement in US via Hispanic WhatsApp, want to know how does the book exchange worked like now we just go to libgen or Amazon, kindly guide on ancient book networks.

@jesse33cdn Ай бұрын

The thing people want is NOT secrets...it's TRUTH!

@kimberlycooper4170 Ай бұрын

1:56 The man's description, of Justinian, sounds like the man was tripping on drugs.

@WordsCanBeLikeXRays 2 ай бұрын

This channel is like crack to bibliophiles. Lol. Thank you so much for this content.

@RebellionFreedom 2 ай бұрын

Loved the content. But the zooming in and out of the focused object (you) drove me insane. I lost 2 elements of my mind. 😁👍🏽

@AllAmericanGuyExpert Ай бұрын

This makes me want to go find some geese and some barley grain!

@eutytoalba Ай бұрын

It would be fascinating to analyze the consumption & approval statistics on "secret knowledge" books, in parallel... In the world I come from, secret histories, secret present, and secret plans for the future are all called conspiracy theories, but a vague handle on what some folks call "secret knowledge" is practically all it takes to understand the motivations and machinations behind bizarre and otherwise inexplicable events. It's actually problematic, however, that even in fiction, the most popular subjects are generally the most grotesquely sensational. 🤔 In vetting secret histories, it's evidently enough for most folks to simply WANT something to be true. God forbid, irony intended, a famous, more virtuous, more talented person than themselves actually turn out to be anything other than a constructed sham. The public at large actually has a STRONG, SELF-INTERESTED motivation to reimagine onetime paragons of character as (curiously inversely-proportional 🤔) villains.

@Murray-wk3hz 2 ай бұрын

Who wants to hear about these wife's?

@powderrida 2 ай бұрын

What incredible history happened by circumstance. The impacts of which still bolster democracy

@danas3765 Ай бұрын

Asha Logos covered this in "our subverted history"

@FilmNutz 2 ай бұрын

Don't be fooled by the presenter's youthful appearance (he looks about 17!) But he's got the inside story on over 1000 years of the esoteric arcana of history. 🎓⭐

@2adamast Ай бұрын

He wishes he has the inside story, but writers know their audience

@JorgeStolfi Ай бұрын

But what about the /Secret History of the Mongols/ (13th Century AD)?

@ShrekGrunge 2 ай бұрын

i know there is no real way of knowing but how would the original text have been preserved off the record for that long especially in ancient times? Was it just hidden in library collections and recopied over the years and was able to quietly survive?

@DJWESG1 2 ай бұрын

Is this work in any way linked to the tyranipocrit rediscovered?

@Tatiana_Palii 2 ай бұрын

Omg, Aziraphale is on KZfaq now🤩

@justfellover 2 ай бұрын

Wikileaks Classic!

@ellobo4211 2 ай бұрын

Maybe a movie can be made from this

@EndingSimple 2 ай бұрын

David Drake and Eric Flint wrote a series of science fiction novels about Belisarius. I remember that they portrayed Procopius as a back biting little sh*t. Given The Secret History, I supposed they would have to. But it brings up the question of if anything in the Secret History was even true. Would the publication of the Secret History be the genesis for idea of writing conspiracy theories books?

@AbleMan.2178 Ай бұрын

It makes One wonder which "history" to believe, doesn't it. I must admit that DD/EF series was a very fun ride. I think I will go read it again.

@Angie-in8wc Ай бұрын

But what does it say, what’s the skinny on Justinian?

@user-hb1yo5ep9y Ай бұрын

Open Minds HUNGRY FOR ANSWERS❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Keep asking QUESTIONS, QUESTION THE ANSWERS, and "FIND YOUR TRUTH"😊

@esmeraldagreen1992 2 ай бұрын

The fact that there is no original manuscript dating at least from the 8th or 9th century makes me think that the Anecdota could be a 16th century hoax.

@mommyharris1111 Ай бұрын

Most people are shocked when they find out that these people were all drug addicts. I was to find out that even Jesus was dosing the burning purple and snake venom as well. The Anecdota was explaining how they used psychedelics and how they were basically performing NDE’s to get knowledge from the spiritual world. I’m learning ancient Greek right now, so I can revisit all of these books myself. None of us will truly have an understanding of our past unless we learn ancient Greek.

@radiohill Ай бұрын

Well done! Thank you.

@jaynehorn151 2 ай бұрын

Has this book been printed in English?

@jaynehorn151 2 ай бұрын

Oops should have listened to it all.

@thomasdequincey5811 2 ай бұрын

👍

@tim.a.k.mertens Ай бұрын

"the greatest title is an honest king, but secret books are writ of no such thing"

@exopotato9414 Ай бұрын

Wht happened to the wives ?

@redlinelogbook Ай бұрын

It not a secret anymore but the empress was a prostitute before marrying the emperor.

@daveyjuice7710 Ай бұрын

Blimey pethaps he had a vision of Boris deFefil

@nemo4evr 2 ай бұрын

Secrets, secrets oh wonderful and salacious secrets, so high on your own petard you are simply delayed information.😂

@StalkedByLosers 2 ай бұрын

How glassdoor and Blind was in 900AD 😂

@PJHamann1 2 ай бұрын

It turns out that there is a NOTHER Suda, a secret Suda, that says that the other Suda was a false work, and that there was indeed no extant manifest copy of the Alt history of Procopius.

@esmeraldagreen1992 2 ай бұрын

It looks like Procopius was slighted by Justinian and criticized the emperor for that.

@krisbest6405 2 ай бұрын

Chiselled in stone still the best way to keep knowledge..?.

@martijn3015 Ай бұрын

It was found in the vatican library? Probably supposed to have remained hidden then

@kateapple1 2 ай бұрын

I’m so lost what was the special secret history that the book was trying to covet? It just seems like it was a guy who talked a bunch of smack about two guys and their wives.

@phoenixx5092 Ай бұрын

Having just glanced over the first chapter of said book, I can only laugh at your fear of the perceived salaciousness of its contents putting you at odds with youtube. It basically says she committed adultery.. a lot and had numerous lovers, taking pains to conceal it from her husband, and failing that trying to talk her way out of it using feminine charms. Hardly 50 shades of grey, or chatterlys lover. If anything given the roman obsession with debauchry it was downright restrained.

@cooperbeggs 28 күн бұрын

Not my secret history. I only respect Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn: Secret History

@lisamomon6793 2 ай бұрын

Maybe people hid it away down the ages then let it out when these ( people) thought others could handle it

@muhdkamilmohdbaki7054 Ай бұрын

Okay, so this Procopius fella 'published' 2 books that contradicted each other, basically one book is truthful and the other is not, and I have no idea which is which, but all I know is that I can't trust this fella, Procopius because he lied (by making false statements and/or claims) in one of those 2 books.

@2adamast Ай бұрын

One was "discovered" centuries later, the other was public.

@TenOrbital 2 ай бұрын

Golly. Have a sub n like

@PanglossDr 2 ай бұрын

So you believe it unconditionally?

@andreaurelius45 2 ай бұрын

Precopius was a man who had a BUNCH of sour Grapes. Belisaurius was a great General. Justinian was a great Emperor. ....in his reign, the greatest Christian Church in the world was built. He survived the black death. And he loved his wife. Was he perfect? No. But he was Great.