AGreatDivorce

ACOUP - That Dothraki Horde, Part II: Subsistence on the Hoof

With the visual signifiers assessed, Bret now turns to the subsistence practices of the Dothraki. The subsistence system of any society is going to be one of, if not THE, most important of its qualities (since, you know, everyone in it needs to eat!). So how well does the Dothraki subsistence system match up to the systems of either steppe horse-nomads or Great Plains peoples?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/12/11/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WA5O240Tk8
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - That Dothraki Horde, Part I: Barbarian Couture

Continuing on with Bret’s analysis of the Dothraki from GoT, we jump forward to a series zeroing in on the historical sources Martin claimed were the inspiration for his horse-borne society. How accurate are the Dothraki of GoT to the cultures and societies that supposed informed their creation, specifically Eurasian steppe nomads and Great Plains Native Americans? 
To start answering that question, Bret begins by looking at the visual characterization of the Dothraki. How do they dress and how does that reflect on their historical inspirations?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/12/04/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8l6zhOBhk
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - That Dothraki Charge

Dipping waaaay back into the ACOUP timeline, I’m drawing out a post covering the Dothraki cavalry charge in the Battle for Winterfell in the television adaptation of Game of Thrones. This will serve as a lead-in to the next series I will be narrating (you can probably guess what, or rather who, that one will be about!) and is a wonderful, quick little resource on how cavalry does (or should) work.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2019/05/04/new-acq...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3n4CDZpzM
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Universal Warrior, Part III: The Cult of the Badass

We come to the end of the discussion of the “universal warrior.” While the idea has proven, under historical scrutiny, to be an inaccurate view of the past, Bret now analyzes it, not as a statement about historical fact, but as an ideology. As an ideology, is the “universal warrior” ethos true or good? And... does anyone hear an echo in here?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/02/19/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8iXoEJBjY0
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Universal Warrior, Part IIb: A Soldier’s Lot

In this second half of a two-part post, Bret finishes up his examination of how “universal” the experiences of combatants and combat have been through history by examining various aspects of what fighters in conflict actually go through. What sort of social bonds do combatants have throughout history and how do they form? How much toil and drudgery do they deal with? What sort of wounds do they receive and how are those wounds treated by their society? And most importantly: how universal are these experiences?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/02/12/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8SLv5fgdc4
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Universal Warrior, Part IIa: The Many Faces of Battle

In this first half of a two-half post, Bret examines the experience of battle faced by those who fought. In what ways has the overall style of warfare changed throughout history? How have those changes, and the unique experiences of different cultures within those systems of warfare, shaped the personal experiences of combatants? Do we see any universal constants in this experience, such as the ideas of courage or terror? In other words, is there a universal experience of war to those who fight it?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/02/05/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPWQxFX8wqs
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Universal Warrior, Part I: Soldiers, Warriors, and...

Here we begin a series I tend to think of as part of a thematic trilogy with the Sparta and Fremen series, a trilogy covering “Myths of the Badass.” Flawed concepts in pop-history of how we think about “badass” military ideals. And the myth dissected and analyzed here by Bret is the idea of a “universal warrior” ideal or experience. Bret opens by discussing the differences between soldiers and warriors. What are the different roles they play in society and how do they differences impact their relationship with the rest of their society? And what happens when you try to transplant the role of warriors onto the soldiers of a non-warrior society?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/01/29/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dwu-mr94WI
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Why Don’t We Use Chemical Weapons Anymore?

Another one-off post while I work on what I consider the third part of Bret’s “Badass Trilogy” (though definitely not the last time the trope itself appears in his work): the Universal Warrior series. For now, let’s side trip to a post where Bret examines the use and decline of chemical weapons. Has the trend of diminishing use of chemical weapons since World War I been a sign of moral progress or a sign of bloodless cowardice to not use the most effective weapons on the field? Or is it because chemical weapons just don’t work anymore? And if that last reason is the case... then why is that so?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/03/20/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VhIy5Lcvy8
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Fremen Mirage, Part IV: Desert Power

Closing out his analysis of the Fremen Mirage, Bret examines two special cases that the Mirage is often applied to: horse-born, archery-focused nomads and modern guerilla/insurgent fighters. How well does the Mirage apply to the success (or otherwise) of these types of fighters? And finally, we close out with a summation of what we have to take away from this analysis of the Mirage, its applications, and its accuracy.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/02/28/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34pEgXaONSs
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Fremen Mirage, Interlude: Ways of the Fremen

This week’s post pauses the history of the Mirage to take a look, in-universe, at the Fremen. Bret analyzes the Fremen, in the text of the novel, to see how well they fit the characteristics of the Mirage. And, in so doing, uses this exercise as an example of how to do close reading of texts, both fictional and historical.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/02/21/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUqGQs4djj8
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!