A look at history and popular culture
This week, we're going to talk about armor effectiveness, comparing the value of body-armor before gunpowder with what gets portrayed in fiction and broader pop culture. What does it take to defeat armor? What weapons were effective at defeating armor - and what kinds of armor were they effective against? I should note that I … Continue reading Collections: Punching Through Some Armor Myths
(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the sixth and final part of a six part series taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Return … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor: Part VI: Black Sails and Gleaming Banners
This series is now available in an audio format; the entire playlist can be listened to here. The following is the third part of a three part series where we look at the question "how medieval is Game of Thrones?" and - if not the Middle Ages - what period of European history does Game … Continue reading New Acquisitions: How It Wasn’t: Game of Thrones and the Middle Ages, Part III
(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the fifth part of a six part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part V: Just Flailing About Flails
This series is now available in an audio format; the entire playlist can be listened to here. This is the second post in a three-part series where we look at the question "how accurate is Game of Thrones to the European Middle Ages" - and if not the Middle Ages, what periods of history does … Continue reading New Acquisitions: How It Wasn’t: Game of Thrones and the Middle Ages, Part II
(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the fourth part of a six part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part IV: The Cavalry Arrives
This series is now available in an audio format; the entire playlist can be listened to here. The following post is the first part of a three part series where we look at the question "how medieval is Game of Thrones?" and - if not the European Middle Ages - what period of history does … Continue reading New Acquisitions: How It Wasn’t: Game of Thrones and the Middle Ages, Part I
(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the third part of of a six part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part III: Having Fun Storming the City
Fair warning: this post will contain spoilers for all of Game of Thrones and likely for all of A Song of Ice and Fire (assuming they share an ending). Proceed at your own risk. This post is now available in audio format here. So the Game of Thrones is supposedly over, with the major Lords … Continue reading New Acquisitions: Elective Monarchy and the Future of Westeros
(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the second part of a six-part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson's … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part II: These Beacons are Liiiiiiit