AGreatDivorce

ACOUP - The Battle of Helm’s Deep Part I: Bargaining for Goods at Helm’s Gate

Moving right into the second Lord of the Rings collection, this next series of posts provides a military analysis of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. I find this an interesting parallel to the Siege of Gondor, in particular for how badly Saruman performs. I think the analogy Bret makes of someone who is very talented in one field assuming mastery of another that they have zero talent in is quite an apt description of Mr. Many Colors. 
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/2020/05/01/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=X0FH7iOMP-0
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part VI: Black Sails and Gleaming Banners

It’s time to close things out, and Bret does so with a deep dive look at what has been the central theme of this series: cohesion and the importance of morale on the outcome of battles. This primary thesis was the thing I found most useful in Bret’s analysis. While the pedantry of identifying anachronisms of armor or the unrealistic physics of fantasy weapons is a heap of good fun, understanding what our pop culture tells us about war, conflict, and the past, and how that differs from reality, isn’t just interesting but important. 
I hope you’ve all enjoyed this series! My next plan is to directly follow up with recordings of the Helm’s Deep series if all goes well. In the meantime, you know the drill:
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/2019/06/14/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPTK6m-MW40
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part V: Just Flailing About Flails

This time, Bret takes a look at the more fantastical elements of the Siege to discuss exotic war tactics (such as the use of elephants) and exotic weapons (like flails).
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/2019/06/07/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtOV3u6rDko
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part IV: The Cavalry Arrives

This post dives into the mechanics and accuracy of the famous cavalry charge of the Rohirrim. We get tons of info on cavalry as well as a fun overview of elephantry.
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/2019/05/31/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX3TuKiC6Zo
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part III: Having Fun Storming the City

This entry goes in depth on the siege machines used in the assault on Gondor, how historical they are, and what the fundamental work and success of a “siege” is and looks like. 
This entry really brings out what I consider the central theme of this entire collection: that siege is about psychology, not might. What is important under all the mechanics and mechanisms of siege warfare is not some specific detail of strength or power: it is the demonstration of a violent will in opposition to the will to resist. Bret does an excellent job, in closing out this entry, on detailing how vital this psychological warfare is and how central it is to sieges like these. 
Plus, learning about medieval catapults is just fun!
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/2019/05/24/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/posts?u=...
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wd0XP3V5Q
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part II: These Beacons are Liiiiiiit

We move now into the second section of a military historian’s analysis of the Siege of Gondor and discuss the defense strategy of Gondor and how it reflects on the capabilities of its leaders. 
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/2019/05/17/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bebb4SlBttw
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP - The Siege of Gondor, Part I - Professionals Talk Logistics

Building off the test run of the first ACOUP recording, this time we’re diving right into one of the first collections from the blog: a military historian’s look at the Siege of Gondor.
This whole series (and its sequel series looking at Helm’s Deep which I plan on getting to next) is a fantastic resource on how pre-modern warfare worked. Logistic, psychology, useless armor, FOOD. It’s all there. For now, we start with a discussion on logistics and that question that has plagued all of us at least once in life: how the heck do I move my big army to the place it needs to be?
As a reminder, the text for this recording is from 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/2019/05/10/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfTq4d35Tq4
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe! 

ACOUP: The Practical Case on Why We Need the Humanities

I have been getting into the blog of Dr. Bret Devereaux, a Teaching Assistant Professor in the History Department at North Carolina State University. The blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, is where Dr. Devereaux analyzes pop culture in the light of real historical research to either assess how realistic it is or point out cultural trends that impact our views of the past.
I very much enjoy the blog and wanted to make it accessible to people who (like me) often “read” through audio. So, as a test run, this is an audio version of what I consider a vital post: The Practical Case on Why We Need the Humanities, a look at how the humanities have been defunded over the years and why that should be reversed.
If you are not familiar with Dr. Devereaux or his work, I’ve included links to his blog and Twitter below, as well as his Patreon. I highly recommend supporting him as he is doing some fantastic work in making free and available beneficial (and fun) historical analysis. So make sure to share and subscribe to his resources!
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/07/03/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/posts?u=...
Episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwUoXkQ3OAI