Eggs Maledict

Thoughts and decisions and wary excitement

2009-04-08T20:22:00.009+10:00

After getting confused about where to put things (ie splitting between here and LiveJournal) I've decided to turn this page into my medieval/academic area and keep LJ for unimportant things. LJ posts will go up with links to posts here but I'm not going to cross-post anymore.

That makes things a bit simpler...

Ok so the 'wary excitement' thing comes from my accidental discovery of two more books on Medieval Faffing About With Edged Weaponry (thanks K!). Both are written by authors who essentially have simialr opinons to me - that medieval warfare was not primitive and barbaric in comparison with classical and modern times, but simply operated differently thanks to a different set of circumstances.

One is unoriginally named War in the Middle Ages and is a translation from the French text of Philippe Contamine (La Guerre au moyen age) by Michael Jones. The original French text was published in 1980 by Presses Universitaires de France, Paris; the translation in 1984 by Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, Oxford. It looks interesting and in-depth and quite solid with regard to research (though I could be wrong and considering my concerns about the other work...hmmm...).

The second is Neglected Heroes: Leadership and War in the Early Medieval Period, by Terry L. Gore (Praeger Publishers, Westport, 1995) and this is the one I'm wary about. On the face of it this book is great, discussing battles with reference to a bunch of leaders I'm very interested in, describing itself thus: "Contrary to prevalent military historical thinking, the early medieval general was not an ignorant warrior chieftain, but an able, astute, intelligent, and often very cunning commander." That product description has been widely distributed - there's more, but that's the basic idea - and up to here everything seems great. The problems started when I read the first few and was a little nonplussed by the tone: not much, but enough to make me frown and do a quick internet search and found only two reviews, both on its Amazon page. Both give five stars but one is by a, quote, "non-specialist" and the other worries me much more because it says (and I'm going to quote here in full):

An excellent study of the difficulties of military command control in the
medival period. This well written text is entertaining and highly
informative....especially to a student of difficuties of controlling ancient
armies. A must for minature wargamers.

Thus the problem. I'm not above some wargaming here and there because I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm a medieval nerd who has a high threshhold for bad fantasy, but I'm also looking at this from an academic standpoint and I'm unsure of how trustworthy such a text might be. I'm going to read it and decide for myself, but if anyone knows anything about either work, Contamine's or Gore's, I'd like to hear from you.

So ends a long, fairly unimportant post...

The relationship between castles and armies for the defence of the Holy Land

2009-03-13T20:46:00.004+11:00

I wrote this last year for the Crusade and Jihad take-home exam. I wrote another essay too, on Saladin's strategy during the period post-Hattin, but it's nothing special. I think this one is pretty good though - any comments would be appreciated. There's one footnote in the original text (because it's a take-home exam, not a formal essay), which I've converted to *shudder* in-text, because there's not really any other options.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)

The Crusader states in the Levant were always precariously placed; with hostile neighbours to the south and east and limited support from Europe, they relied on the careful use of both castles and field armies. The different tactics of Muslim forces and the geography of the Levant required different methods to those employed in Europe and so the Crusader states made a number of developments which pre-dated similar shifts in the West or were entirely peculiar to their circumstances. In particular, the blurring of offensive and defensive activities yielded a unique attitude of active defence and a tendency toward mobile warfare.

In controlling territories constantly threatened by war, castles were of inestimable value. This had become apparent in Europe since the time of Charlemagne, but the Crusader states went beyond the traditional uses of castles. Rather than acting simply as a base from which the local lord could control his subjects, collect taxes and defend his lands, Crusader castles were used aggressively to claim territory, particularly in border regions, asserting control of new territory as opposed to simply consolidating power. This use of castles was later seen in Europe, but not until almost a century later during the English conquest of Wales.

Aggressive border castles, then, represented a new attitude to the use of fortifications as not simply defensive but also as a method of conquest. By the same token, field armies had to be used in entirely different ways. The Crusader states were inevitably short of manpower, thanks to their isolation, so they had to rely on tactics and skill for victory. Frankish knights had established their dominance on the field during the First Crusade, with the dry, flat plains of the Levant allowing cavalry charges on a scale rarely possible on European battlefields, but they also faced a different type of enemy. Muslim armies were capable of putting large numbers of light cavalry into the field, especially in the form of cavalry archers. These forces were capable of avoiding the famous Frankish charge and could cut formations of knights to pieces with near-constant volleys of arrows. The armies of the Crusader states had to adapt their own tactics to face this and their solution was a very close interaction between cavalry and infantry forces.

Rather than treat cavalry, melee and ranged infantry as separate forces, the armies of the Crusader states integrated them to a remarkable degree. Combined infantry forces of shield-carrying spearmen and crossbowmen could hold off cavalry archers, using shield walls and volleys of crossbow bolts which were devastating to those lightly armoured forces. Meanwhile the knights, guarded by this infantry wall, could answer a Muslim attack, including a cavalry charge – Arabic forces in particular were noted for their own heavy cavalry – with their own; in almost every case, a successful Frankish charge would break its target.

This tactic evolved even further into a way of negotiating the often hostile and almost never secure lands that the Crusaders had conquered in the form of the so-called 'fighting march' (Smail, R. C. Crusading Warfare 1097-1193, Cambridge University Press, London, 1972, pp. 156-7). In this formation, the army marched with the knights surrounded by the infantry, providing the same mutual support on the march as on the battlefield. Doing so must have required an intense discipline, especially since medieval accounts refer to these columns fighting while on the march without breaking formation. This adaptation of a defensive tactic into an aggressive manoeuvre was closely linked to the aggressive use of castles, providing a mobile balance to the static power of fortified positions.

This balance of static and mobile power was the expression of the Crusader states' need for an active defensive force. Castles, once constructed, could not simply be garrisoned and expected to dominate their surroundings but were instead operational bases and supply points. In an emergency a field force could certainly fall back to a castle to avoid total destruction but this was usually a dangerous move; by staying in the field, the force was able to restrict the mobility of attackers, constantly threatening them, while the castle remained as an obstacle which usually controlled a commanding position. An enemy who ignored this risked having their supply lines cut or a rear attack and the ability of a mobile force to cut its opponents off from water was a major factor, as seen at the battle of Hattin.

The relationship between castles and the various branches of field armies in the Crusader states was profoundly inter-dependent, with a degree of interaction that was not seen in the West for well over a century. Ideas which developed slowly in the West were by necessity explored much earlier, from the aggressive use of castles to the combined-arms tactics of the fighting march and the mass cavalry charge, which was not seen in Europe until the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Innovation and integration were the corner-stones of this system and, when used properly, it showed itself to be highly effective.

Flaws...

2008-11-14T22:43:00.001+11:00

The picture links home, E.T.-style.

FANTASTICNESS!!

2008-10-14T01:40:00.001+11:00

My last post noted my wish that a certain webcomic represented the truth. Specifically that YouTube would read people's comments back to them.

They did it.

Wonderful.

I really wish this happened...

2008-09-28T11:56:00.003+10:00

I've been reading comments on blogs and news stories for a while now.

They scare me. A lot.

And so I give you this, from the ever-wonderful xkcd:

[permanent link to this comic]

Okay, now I'm getting really worried...

2008-09-19T00:21:00.004+10:00

After my post on Sunday I've been looking for confirmation one way or the other on whether rape victims in Wasilla had to pay for their rape kits while Sarah Palin was the mayor. I haven't found it yet. What I found instead is...well, it's confirmed that Palin is a terrifying candidate for VP.

During her acceptance speech at the RNC (transcript) Palin said:

"A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman."

Putting aside the bad form of citing someone as "a writer", who was this person? Westbrook Pegler. I read it first on Ben Smith's blog at Politico and then found this short entry by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who points out that aside from being a racist, Pegler advocated the assassination of Robert Kennedy Sr...by gunshot. If you follow some of those other links I've put in, you'll see that he also supported killing Roosevelt.

On a side note, it seems Palin's email was hacked by Anoymous, the group that posted this video at the beginning of the year: [SEE EDIT BELOW]

I happen to agree with the group that the Church of Scientology is a terrible organisation, but that's something for another post...if I want to risk having my life destroyed by their litigation. That said, hacking an email account is not something I support, because I believe that no matter how much you detest someone they should be extended the same rights as everyone else.

EDIT: A generous person has left a comment noting that I've got this wrong. The Anonymous collective who made the anti-Scientology clip are apparently a group that branched off the 'main' group, which is responsible for the Palin email hack.

The screenshots that have been published, amongst other things, suggest that Governor Palin has been using her personal email accounts for government business. Since they aren't archived this would apparently be illegal. It has been suggested that Palin used these addresses in an attempt at "skirting freedom-of-information laws" ( Time). The deletion of the accounts which has followed may also constitute a crime...

I can't help finding it slightly amusing that the two email addresses were gov.palin@yahoo.com and gov.sarah@yahoo.com - partly because it's Yahoo ("what's security?") and partly because you'd think one address reading something like gov.sarah.palin@yahoo.com might sum things up just as easily?

Great as it is to have something I can be amused by, I'm still freaked out that Palin is referencing a writer who got kicked out of far-right groups for being too bigoted. I just hope the Republicans lose this election and Palin slides into obscurity.

MyHope

2008-08-19T23:36:00.002+10:00

...is that this gets seen by LOTS of people. It's great. Watch it, rate it, pass it on.

It's a video, what, did you expect an essay? Watch the thing.

And yes, I do have a MySpace. Because I can. Feel free to go find it.

Hans Rosling: Making Intersting Statistics Fascinating

2008-08-17T00:11:00.002+10:00

Before I start, an introduction to Hans Rosling, from his blog:

"Professor of International Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Discoverd konzo, a new epidemic paralytic disease, when serving as doctor in Mocambique 1979-81. Two decades of research in rural Africa traced the cause to toxic ill-processed cassava roots, hunger and poverty. Co-founded Médecines sans Frontier Sweden. Started courses and wrote textbook on Global Health. Initiated university collaborations with Asia and Africa. Co-founded Gapminder that unveils the beuty of statistics by turning boring numbers into enjoyable animations that make sense of the world."

He's a profoundly interesting and intelligent man, who also understands that too often information, however fascinating, does not 'speak for itself'. This video is a fantastic way of explaining the complex statistics of health and economic development, without drowning the viewer in an ocean of numbers. It also has a great theatrical ending, as Rosling shows off an unusual talent.

It's about twenty minutes long, which I realise is long for something on the internet, but it's worth watching. And you know, to be completely honest, if you can't hold your attention on this, you probably didn't even make it through the text above the video, so...

Le Grand Content

2008-08-13T01:38:00.002+10:00

This is one of the best constructed and most interesting parodies of Powerpoint (and the world in which it sits), due in no small part to the charm, simplicity and elegance of the delivery. I don't need to say anything more. Just watch it.

Here's the homepage of the guys that made it.

Having explained myself...

2008-08-03T14:58:00.004+10:00

That whole last post was, essentially, setting up for this.

While browsing around on the interwebs, I came across the best DnD story I have ever seen. It's written by a guy with a 7 year-old son ("D") who's combination of DnD with LEGO, cartoon influences and that wonderful innocence of childhood makes him probably the most honest and original roleplayer in existence.

I suggest that even people who have never played any sort of RPG read it - knowing the rules might add something, but even without that it's still fantastic.

D's dad also posted some pictures of the figures and buildings they made.

That kid deserves big kudos - it's interesting to see how many comments were left by people talking about how it had made them re-think their entire attitude to the game, as players, DMs or whatever. Sometimes having someone who has no knowledge of the thing gets it just right.

Hurrah for D and his dad, reclaiming fun one brick at a time.

World Youth Day (Christianos ad leones)

2008-06-25T16:25:00.000+10:00

The whole World Youth Day thing leaves many of us in Sydney less than ecstatic.

The World Youth Day Co-ordination Authority has released this PDF of a booklet with instructions for those of us not interested in watching Pope Benedict (aliases include "Gollum") and George Pell sermonise. Included is the estimate that 185,000 extra people will be using Sydney's public transport system. For those not familiar with Sydney public transport, it tends to break at the slightest inconvenience. Even with the "extra 4,000 train services and 16,500 buses" promised in the booklet, it's hard not to feel like the whole thing is a disaster in the making. Especially when it is recommended that we avoid pretty hefty areas of the CBD between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. for several days, including Central Station. Did the organisers consider that Central is the center of our rail network? What I find both amusing and a tad scary is that, yes, they probably did.

I should say that while I'm not anti-Catholic per se, I'm not a huge fan of the Catholic Church. I'm going to avoid making the obvious jokes at their expense, because they've been made so often, and while their social conservatism (e.g. homophobia, anti-choice, anti-contraception) does frustrate me, they've advanced since Gallileo and unlike a lot of Evangelical churches, especially in the U.S., have accepted the validity of evolutionary theory (albeit in the form of 'theistic evolution') rather than peddling the pseudo-scientific nonsense of 'intelligent design'. Credit where it's (almost? sort of? maybe?) due.

Now the thing is, saying that is a dubious complement, since all I'm really saying is that they're not as bad as the worst of a bad bunch. And that's quite intentional. I have no intention of just letting it go at that, especially when their Big Day of Splendiferous Celebration is messing up the city I live in. Sydney has enough problems transporting the commuters we already have and a sudden influx of 'pilgrims' isn't going to help.

As a side-note, I think the term pilgrim seems more than a little strange here. I'm taking it from the afore-mentioned booklet-y thing, but I'm not aware of any important big important religious sights, for Catholics anyway, in Australia. This leads me to deduce that they're pilgrims to see the Pope which to me is amusingly close to idolatry. I know a pilgrimage is about the journey and so on, and the spiritual gains made by the pilgrim, but really, why not go somewhere like Vatican City - at least it's set up for pilgrims, unlike Sydney, where Cityrail says:

"Did you know that delays at Sydenham affect trains to Parramatta?

Or that a sick passenger on a train at Chatswood can affect trains to Bankstown?"

Yes, it's a result of having a rail system that just sort of sprung up in bits here and there, but that doesn't make straining the system with WYD any smarter. Whatever the oh-so-competent State Government claims, It's still going to frustrate people and it's still going to be an unnecessary expenditure of money and effort. The Catholic Church isn't exactly poor, and the money going into propping up the World Youth Day monster would be better spent on making long-term, serious improvements to our old and strained rail network.

So sponsor a lion for World Youth Day. After all, it's the Roman Catholic Church - we all know what the Romans did to Christians, and as they say, when in Rome...