History 102 with WhatifAltHist's Rudyard Lynch and Austin Padgett Explaining Medieval Eastern Europe
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Jan 29, 2026 A fast-paced tour of Eastern Europe's formation, from Slavic migrations and steppe confederacies to surviving Illyrian and Latin populations. They map Byzantine and Viking influences, the rise of Kievan Rus, and the Catholic–Orthodox divide. Later topics include medieval slavery, Mongol devastation, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ottoman and Habsburg rule, and the growth of harsh serfdom.
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Unrealized Civilizational Potential
- Eastern Europe had the potential to become a major world civilization comparable to the West or China.
- That potential failed to fully materialize due to later historical disruptions and elite destruction.
Rapid Slav Expansion After The Huns
- The Slavs rapidly filled the power vacuum after the Hunnic collapse and spread across Eastern Europe.
- They were initially illiterate, pagan, semi-nomadic, and lacked formal institutions compared to neighbors.
Albanians: Last Illyrians
- Rudyard Lynch describes Albanians as the surviving Illyrians who stayed isolated in mountains.
- He notes Albanians' clan honor culture and their later alliance with the Ottomans.