A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at history and popular culture
This week we're looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to 'draw!' and then holds up his hand with that 'wait for it' gesture and then shouts 'loose!' (or worse yet, 'fire!') and all of the … Continue reading Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire
This week (and next), I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I've written a review of the film for Foreign Policy, which you can find here (behind the paywall). I also discussed it with Jason Herbert and Sarah Bond over at Historians at the Movies, which is a … Continue reading Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I
This week, we're going to look at how the effectiveness of arrow fire - especially against armored targets - varies over distance. This is, in a sense, a continuation of my previous post on armor penetration, "Punching Through Some Armor Myths," so you may want to refer back occasionally. This is going to be a … Continue reading Collections: Archery, Distance and ‘Kiting’