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I believe that the idea was that because the crossbow was so easily used by ordinary infantry, it was too good of a weapon. In other words, it was considered “unfair” (sort or befuddling when you consider that the point of war is to destroy the other side). Remember, back in those days knights would have lived by a code, and I imagine that with all the training, money, and nobility that went into knighthood, they would be viewed upon as being more valuable than common pikemen or the like. While there might be honor in being sliced by a broadsword while in hand to hand combat, I think that it would have been considered a “waste” to be gunned down by a few crossbows in the back when you're not looking.Also, I imagine that the nobles - or possibly even the king himself - would have been on the battlefield in certain circumstances. These people would need to be around on both sides after the fighting is done because the people wouldn't know how to govern themselves (or so the conception might be).This is actually a very interesting question you bring up, Cousin Avi, and I am going on my hunch. I may have to look into this deeper.
Nuclear weapons certainly ushered in a new age of “total warfare”. From then on, no one nation could really ever hope to rule the world as long as an enemy had an arsenal of nukes. So there is a definite dividing line there.The airplane is another good thought, as it did bring in a whole new dimension of warfare. Up until that time, man had fought on the ground or at sea for thousands of years. Along with the airplane came a whole new way of looking at battles, and strategy all of a sudden had to contend with a new dimension. So what could another "new" potential dimension be? How could wars be fought that change the very strategy of campaigns? Perhaps a time machine? Hmmm..... 😛
I'll throw in here – while watching a program on castles it said that it was in 1464 that Bamburg castle in Britain was the first castle to be hit by gunpowder weapons (cannon). So it was around this time that castle warfare died down. I imagine that it was amazing for both the winning and losing armies to be in a cannon vs. castle style of battle.
Hmmm….I can't seem to tell if you're joking or not as my understanding is that grad students are forced to read many times that amount for homework… 😮Regardless, I at least wanted to throw the idea out there and see if there was interest. Perhaps what I'll do is pick up a book that looks interesting from Barnes and Noble or some other place and then see if others want to read it. Or, it might be interesting to go through some Thucydides and have some discussion about it. I'm sure we could get some compare and contrasts going between Pericles' Pelopponesian War speeches and Bush's Iraq War speeches.
Good point. I have been through Arizona, New Mexico, and have lived in Texas for a number of years, and there is a lot of desert and/or dry land in those places as well. I find it interesting, though, that American Indian settlements popped up throughout the continental U.S., in places of rivers, plains, etc. However, I don't believe any of them rivaled the empires of their Central or South American neighbors. Why was that? Was there something in terms of geography which prevented it, or was it because of the socio-political dynamics of the northern tribes themselves?
I believe the Incans had a system of long roads which connected the Incan lands. The Incan kingdom was pretty vast from what I understand, probably moreso than the Aztec empire. It's a wonder, though, why the Aztecs didn't expand north instead of remaining in the hot Mexican sun.
Skiguy over at the Religious History Forum pointed me to an article which discusses pretty much this very topic of why Europe came to dominate. The article says that Europe was the only place where capitalism developed, and in that it developed through Christian roots which valued reason (take that, modernists!). You can read the article here.
I am afraid that there's is a bit of chronological bias going on here. Let me explain my (lone) vote for Heron of Alexandria (also spelled “Hero”). I saw a show on him on the History Channel and was simply amazed at the man's genius. He built these boxes which served the ancient Greek/Roman purpose of our modern television. The boxes contained cut out scenes and characters that moved around (as in animation) through a hidden system of wheels and levers. The scenes would change from one to another after a certain time had elapsed, such as during the course of a spoken story. This Wikipedia entry also points to some of the inventions by this man that I saw on the show. These include an ancient temple "vending machine" where water would pour out after inserting a coin; a water fountain/pool which would constantly replenish itself after some of the water was removed; and a simulated bird chirping machine. A number of his inventions were used for religious or temple purposes, and they must have amazed all who came across them (even if they didn't know of the engineering behind what they were seeing).But perhaps Heron's greatest invention was a kind of steam engine, or "aeolipile". You can see a diagram of it here. According to the show I watched, although Heron came up with this idea, he didn't really capitalize on it and I believe he died soon after making it. I think that our conception of the steam engine wasn't put into use until the 18th Century. However, can anyone imagine what it would have been like if Heron had survived long enough to apply his invention to a Roman cart or chariot? Or think about a barbarian army facing a line of self-propelled Roman battle tanks. This is one of those big "what ifs" of history that would have turned the tide of technology if it would have been realized.
I've been here long enough now to really be annoyed at the black background when posting replies.There is no worst background. My little I-beam pointer is lost - and the effort needed to post here has ruined my train of thought enough times to promp this complaint. Why make posting a chore rather than a pleasure?The "Please notify me of replies" option is appreciated - perhaps a spell checker would also be useful.
Alright, I have changed the posting box so it's now black on a really light gray. I hope it works better for you. I'll still have to look into the spell checker. I would like that as well, but I'll have to see if that is possible with this forum software.
Interesting to read about the lives the sisters led. Although they were early “feminists”, I imagine they'd be hitting their heads against the wall now if they were to see what the modern feminist movement has led to.This part says a lot about Sarah Grimke:
An early feminist, she wanted to become an attorney and follow in her father's footsteps. He was chief judge of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. She studied constantly until her parents found out that she intended to go to college with her brother - then they forbid her to study her brother's books or any language. Her father supposedly remarked that if "she [Sarah] had not been a woman she would have made the greatest jurist in the land."
… and the Grimke sisters forced a religious debate over slavery which galvanized the abolition movement and free-soil movements that pushed the South to secede. ….
Alright, so who were the Grimke Sisters?
It's too bad that it's showing this week, when I don't think I can watch it. It's one of the aspects of the Middle Ages that I'm most curious about. I had a friend who got his Masters in history, and he told me about a class he had taken that was only on the Black Death. Aside from the immediate deaths it caused (around 25 million, I believe), it must have caused staggering changed across all areas of life that changed the course of history. I wonder if there are some good books on this topic.
Interesting….I'm wondering if your monitor brightness is set to low, because having seen the background on at least three monitors, it shouldn't be bad at all. However, this weekend I will see about installing another template that you can use which won't include a black background. I'll let you know when it's installed.
There was a show on the Discovery Times channel last night about the Spartans and their stand at Thermopolae (sp?)? I'd seen most of it before but it's still really interesting.? Mentioned of course the battle of Marathon and our illustrious founder's namesake.? Anyone know where I could get a good one volume history of ancient Greece?
Interesting....though my name was chosen more for its novelty than for my love of running (I only like to run while playing sports, but not in its own right). In retrospect a name like Archimedes or Pericles might have suited me better. 🙂
Alright, good answer, and it makes me interested in finding out what it was that influenced Lincoln's beliefs in this regard. I have a friend who did his Masters thesis (politics) on Lincoln, so perhaps he can shed some light as to what Abe's beliefs were grounded in. Of course, the push for a maintained Union would have extended far beyond just Lincoln, so perhaps there was something of the zeitgeist that inspired such beliefs. Now if only I could find some link in this regard that extends to the Great Awakening…. 😀
