A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at history and popular culture
Fireside this week! This week was the first full week of class, so the chaos that implies has delayed the last part of our look at Victoria II, hopefully just until next week. I also wanted to note that if you have sent me a guest-post pitch, I have not forgotten it but haven't had … Continue reading Fireside Friday: August 27, 2021
Fireside this week, but also some announcements! First, I have added an additional tier to the ACOUP Patreon for the patres et matres conscripti. The phrase patres conscripti was a somewhat fancy way to refer to the members of the Roman senate, literally the 'conscript fathers.' They were conscript in the sense that they were … Continue reading Fireside Friday: July 9, 2021
Fireside this week! A little break after wrapping up our look at Europa Universalis IV. The next things coming up on the blog are going to be a look at who the Romans were and who they thought they were and an extension of our examination of EU4 into one of Paradox's other titles, Victoria … Continue reading Fireside Friday: June 4, 2021
Fireside this week! We are nearing the end of the semester and with it the seasonal crunch to get exams and papers graded and final grades submitted, which may bring somewhat more firesides than usual. That said, I hope to write out at least one addendum on the textile series (on tablet weaving and other … Continue reading Fireside Friday: April 16, 2021
Fireside this week, since the last post in our series on pre-modern textile production is not quite done yet (I had a fair bit of other writing to get done this week). Before I dive into this week's musing, I want to note two things, in case you have missed them. First, I am opening … Continue reading Fireside Friday: March 26, 2021 (On the Nature of Ancient Evidence)
Fireside this week, but next week we are diving into our long awaited series on pre-modern textile production, though we will be particularly focused on the most important clothing fibers in the Mediterranean world, wool and linen (rather than, say, silk or cotton). Trusty Research Assistant Oliver helping me find the right volume of the … Continue reading Fireside Friday, February 26, 2021
It's the first week of classes, so fireside this week. Next week, we'll dive into a short series looking at the question of the 'universal warrior,' the idea - too often repeated - that there is either a single consistent experience or personality true to all combatants to the present day. Also, for those who … Continue reading Fireside Friday, January 22, 2021
Happy New Year! Good riddance 2020! Fireside this week. Next week, we'll be finishing up our look at the Dothraki of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones by looking at how they are shown to fight and comparing that to the fighting patterns of actual historical horse-borne nomads. Of course, it's … Continue reading Fireside Friday: January 1, 2021
Hey folks! Fireside this week. A bit of a change-up in terms of the coming attractions. I had planned to start "Textiles, How Did They Make It?" next, but I want to do a bit more reading on some of the initial stages of textile production (that is, the production of raw flax and wool) … Continue reading Fireside Friday, November 27, 2020
Hey folks! Fireside this week, but I promise we'll see that promised addendum on pre-modern crucible steel and cast iron next week. In the meantime, as you are no doubt inescapably aware, the United States (where I live) is having an election. I mostly avoid politics itself on this blog and that's something I intend … Continue reading Fireside Friday, October 30, 2020