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

2022-10-18

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 resi...

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

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