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This week at long last we come to the clash of men and horses as we finish our three-part (I, II, III) look at the iconic opening battle scene from the film Gladiator (2000). Last time, we brought the sequence up through the infantry advance, observing that the tactics of the Roman arrow barrage and … Continue reading Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part III →
2 months ago

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More from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

Fireside Friday, August 27, 2025 (On Defending History)

Hey folks, Fireside this week! As I noted a couple of weeks ago, things are probably going to get more than a little fireside-y over the next few weeks, simply because of the start of the semester – and a semester in which I am undertaking a set of entire new preps (that is, teaching … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 27, 2025 (On Defending History) →

2 days ago 9 votes
Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More

This is the start of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) discussing the structures of life for pre-modern peasants, who made up the majority of all humans who have ever lived. In the last few sections, we’ve looked broadly at how mortality, marriage and childbearing patterns shape the households these folks … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More →

a week ago 17 votes
Fireside Friday, August 15, 2025 (On Latin Pronunciation)

Hey folks, Fireside this week! The new semester is starting up next week, so things may be a little more fireside-y than usual over the next few weeks, but I do promise we will get to the end of “Life, Work, Death and the Peasant” eventually. That said, since I am teaching Latin rather than … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 15, 2025 (On Latin Pronunciation) →

2 weeks ago 18 votes
Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing

This is the back half of the third part of our series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the patterns of life for the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of humans who lived in the past. Last week, we started looking at family formation through the lens of marriage, this week we’ll consider it … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing →

3 weeks ago 36 votes
Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIa: Family Formation

This is the first part of the third part of our series (I, II) discussing the patterns of life of the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of all humans who lived in our agrarian past and indeed a majority of all humans who have ever lived. Last week, we looked at death, … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIa: Family Formation →

4 weeks ago 30 votes

More in history

Julius Klinger: Poster Art In Vienna, 1923

These designs appear in Poster Art in Vienna (1923), an introduction to work of Julius Klinger artists and Klinger (22 May 1876 – 1942) himself to an American audience. Klinger work balances intricate detail and negative space, geometric pattern and gestural line, showcasing his control. As befitting a commercial artist, his work conveys a message … Continue reading "Julius Klinger: Poster Art In Vienna, 1923" The post Julius Klinger: Poster Art In Vienna, 1923 appeared first on Flashbak.

8 hours ago 2 votes
Polybius, the Ancient Historian Who Documented the Rise of Rome

Polybius studied Roman history to develop a theory of government that could explain the rise of Rome. He sought to explain how the Roman Republic came to dominate the known world in only 53 years, from the eve of the Second Punic War in 220 BCE to the end of the Third Macedonian War […]

23 hours ago 2 votes
Can You Pass the Test?

The Weekly Wisdom Quiz

2 hours ago 1 votes
The Spread of Christianity in the Middle Ages Explained

Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire during the 4th century CE. The empire fell in the next century as barbarian hordes, such as the Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Huns, Franks, and Alemanni, invaded and conquered parts of their territory. Rome, which was still a flourishing city in 400 CE, lay in tatters […]

yesterday 2 votes
Tip & Top and The Moon Rocket (1964)

A charming pop-up book about a trip to the moon. Like other pop-up books it is hard to share how wonderful it is to see the rocket rise up or how the surface of the Moon is 3-d.  It is a reprint and was was originally Czechoslovakian but I don't know much more about the original book.  Kubasta, V. Tip & Top and The Moon Rocket. London: Bancroft and Co. (7 p.) 1964.

2 days ago 7 votes