Category: Medieval
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Gustavus Adolphus and a 4-pounder in Scotland
History gets even more interesting when you can make connections in distant lands. Last July, I was taking a course at AMU on military leadership. One of the leaders we studied in the course was Gustavus Adolphus, the king of Sweden (r. 1611-1632). Historians and theorists alike often refer to him as the “father of…
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The Strategic Importance of Stirling, Scotland
As part of tracking the warpath of William Wallace, this article looks at the strategic importance of Stirling. In the conquest and defense of Scotland, there is no location more important than Stirling where Wallace (d. 1305) and Andrew Murray (d. 1297) made their successful stand against the invading English in 1297. Scotland is what…
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16 Years on the Warpath of William Wallace
When I was 15 yrs old, my parents took me to see Braveheart. It was a violent film, but they seemed to tolerate that sort of thing as long as there was history or an important message involved. This film had both. I was enamored by the kilts, the brutality of the fighting, and the…
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Book Review: The Battle of Agincourt: Sources and Interpretations
On 25 October 1415, Henry V (1387-1422) and his army of heavy infantry and longbowmen fought a larger French army of cavalry, crossbowmen, and heavy infantry. The result was a decisive English victory at the Battle of Agincourt that historian John Keegan identified as “one of the most instantly and vividly visualized of all epic…
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Joan of Arc’s Military Successes and Failures
Joan of Arc was an aggressive military commander who always opted for offense instead of defense. In thirteen known engagements, her troops were victorious nine times. At least thirty different cities, towns, and villages surrendered without a fight when she approached with her army. Personally, she was a skilled horseman and swordsman, but tactically, she…
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Book Review: Joan of Arc: A Military Leader
DeVries, Kelly. Joan of Arc: A Military Leader. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing, 2003, 244 pages. Kelly DeVries, author and professor of history at Loyola University in Maryland, has written a strong case that scholars have incorrectly analyzed Joan of Arc through virtually every lens save for a military one. She “was a soldier, plain and…
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Year-by-Year World Population Estimates: 10,000 B.C. to 2007 A.D.
There are numerous world population estimates out there. These estimates can differ greatly from one to the next and some are more thorough than others. Finding estimates for the world’s population in the past 50 years is easy. Moving further back in time, it becomes more difficult. Determining population estimates is the science of educated…