A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at the history of battle in popular culture
This is is the eight and last part of a series taking a historian’s look at the Battle of Helm’s Deep (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII) from both J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers (1954) and Peter Jackson’s 2002 film of the same name. Last time we looked at the overall impact of morale … Continue reading Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VIII: The Mind of Saruman
This is the long-awaited first part of a series taking a historian's look at the Battle of Helm's Deep from both J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers (1954) and Peter Jackson's 2002 film of the same name. We're going to discuss how historically plausible each sequence of events is and, in the process, talk a fair … Continue reading Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part I: Bargaining for Goods at Helm’s Gate
We're going to talk about the comically nonsensical logistics of the "Battle of the Goldroad" from Game of Thrones (S7E4), commonly just called the 'Loot Train battle.'
This is the seven (and last!) part of our seven part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) look at Sparta in popular memory and historical truth. Last time we talked about Sparta's battlefield record and came away noting that it was profoundly, disappointing average. Longer term readers will know, of course, that we can't … Continue reading Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part VII: Spartan Ends
This is the first part of a six-part (II, III, IV, V, VI) series I expect to roll out taking a historian’s look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson’s Return of the King. We’re going to discuss how historically plausible the sequence of events is and, in the process, talk a fair bit … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part I: Professionals Talk Logistics
