Fireside this week! We actually haven't had one of these in quite a while; we had a gap week in April but the last Fireside looks like it was in March! In any case, here we are and here's Ollie: Research Assistant Cat Ollie, doing his best impression of a bagel next to his toy … Continue reading Fireside Friday: June 9, 2023
Tag: Warfare
Collections: Ancient ‘Tanks’? Chariots, Scythed Chariots and Carroballistae
Building on last week's post on tanks and a few of the comments there, this week I wanted to talk about the ancient (and medieval) weapon-systems often analogized to tanks and the degree to which they had a role similar to tanks. I have lost count of how many times I have seen in this … Continue reading Collections: Ancient ‘Tanks’? Chariots, Scythed Chariots and Carroballistae
Collections: Fortification, Part III: Castling
This is the third part of a five part (I, II) series covering some of the basics of fortifications, from city walls to field fortifications, from the ancient world through to the modern period. Last week, we used the Romans as an example to see how the needs of a given fortification changed its structure … Continue reading Collections: Fortification, Part III: Castling
Collections: Fortification, Part II: Romans Playing Cards
This is the second part of a five part (I) series covering some of the basics of fortifications, from city walls to field fortifications, from the ancient world through the modern period. Last time, we looked as the ancient besieger's playbook (both the motives and options for taking walled cities) through a case study of … Continue reading Collections: Fortification, Part II: Romans Playing Cards
Collections: Fortification, Part I: The Besieger’s Playbook
This is the first part of a planned five-part series covering some of the basics of fortifications, from city walls to castles and field fortifications! We are going to discuss what fortifications were for and how their design changed in response both to different strategic and operational conditions and also to changing technology. Throughout this, … Continue reading Collections: Fortification, Part I: The Besieger’s Playbook
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Europa Universalis IV, Part IV: Why Europe?
This is the fourth and last part of our series (I, II, III, IV) examining the historical assumptions of Europa Universalis IV, Paradox Interactive's historical grand strategy computer game set in the early modern period. Last time we looked at how Europa Universalis IV often struggles to reflect the early modern history of places and … Continue reading Collections: Teaching Paradox, Europa Universalis IV, Part IV: Why Europe?
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Europa Universalis IV, Part II: Red Queens
This is the second part in a series (I, II, III, IV) that examines the historical assumptions behind Paradox Interactive's grand strategy computer game set in the early modern period, Europa Universalis IV (EU4). Last time, we took a look at how EU4 was a game fundamentally about states and how the decision to orient … Continue reading Collections: Teaching Paradox, Europa Universalis IV, Part II: Red Queens
Fireside Friday: April 16, 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
Collections: That Dothraki Horde, Part IV: Screamers and Howlers
This series is now available in audio format. You can find the playlist here. This is the fourth part of a four part (I, II, III, IV) look at the Dothraki from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones. We're looking at, in particular, if Martin's claim … Continue reading Collections: That Dothraki Horde, Part IV: Screamers and Howlers