A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
A look at history and popular culture
This is the third and final part of a three part series (I, II) examining the historical assumptions of Paradox Interactive's 19th and early 20th century grand strategy game, Victoria II. Last time, we looked at how the game's models for the industrial revolution and warfare interacted: by simulating (even in a fairly limited and … Continue reading Collections: Teaching Paradox, Victoria II Part III: World’s Fair
This is the third part (I, II, III, IV, V) of a series asking the question "Who were the Romans?' How did they understand themselves as a people and the idea of 'Roman' as an identity? Was this a homogeneous, ethnically defined group, as some versions of pop folk history would have it, or was … Continue reading Collections: The Queen’s Latin or Who Were the Romans? Part III: Bigotry and Diversity at Rome
This is the second part (I, II, III, IV, V) of a series asking the question 'Who were the Romans?' How did they understand themselves as a people and the idea of 'Roman' as an identity? Was this a homogeneous, ethnically defined group, as some versions of pop folk history would have it, or was … Continue reading Collections: The Queen’s Latin or Who Were the Romans, Part II: Citizens and Allies
Who were the Romans? How did they understand themselves as a people and 'Roman' as an identity? And what were the implications of that understanding - and perhaps more importantly the underlying reality - for Roman society and the success of the Roman Empire? This is the first part of a series (I, II, III, … Continue reading Collections: The Queen’s Latin or Who Were the Romans? Part I: Beginnings and Legends
This is the first post in a series (I, II, III, IV) that will be examining the historical assumptions of Paradox Interactive's grand strategy computer game set in the early modern period, Europa Universalis IV. And this series will in turn be part of a larger series looking at several of Paradox's games and how … Continue reading Collections: Teaching Paradox, Europa Universalis IV, Part I: State of Play
This is the first half of the fourth part of our four part (I, II, III, IVa, IVb) look at the production of textiles, particularly wool and linen, in the pre-modern world. Last time, we spun our wool and flax fibers into thread and then wove that thread into fabric. And in doing so, we … Continue reading Collections: Clothing, How Did They Make It? Part IVa: Dyed in the Wool
This is the third part of our four part (I, II, III, IVa, IVb) look at the production of textiles, particularly wool and linen, in the pre-modern world. Last time, we processed our raw fibers, removing extraneous material and getting them ready to be turned into thread. Today we're going to continue with that next … Continue reading Collections: Clothing, How Did They Make It? Part III: Spin Me Right Round…
This week we are starting the first of a four (I, II, III, IVa, IVb) part look at pre-modern textile production. As with our series on farming and iron, we are going to follow the sequence of production from the growing of fibers all the way to the finished object, with a focus not merely … Continue reading Collections: Clothing, How Did They Make It? Part I: High Fiber
This is the continuation of the second part of a three part ( I, IIa, IIb , III) discussion of the notion that there is a 'universal warrior' - a transcendent sameness about either the experience of war or 'warrior values' which might provide some sort of useful blueprint for life generally or some sort … Continue reading Collections: The Universal Warrior, Part IIb: A Soldier’s Lot
This is the second part of a three part (I, IIa, IIb , III) discussion of the idea of a 'universal warrior' - the assumption that there is a transcendent sameness about either the experience of war or 'warrior values' which might provide some sort of fundamental truth for understanding war, either in the past … Continue reading Collections: The Universal Warrior, Part IIa: The Many Faces of Battle