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120 lines
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<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><title>Attention Span History</title><link href="https://blog.trentpalmer.org/" rel="alternate"></link><link href="https://blog.trentpalmer.org/feeds/all.atom.xml" rel="self"></link><id>https://blog.trentpalmer.org/</id><updated>2021-07-29T00:00:00-07:00</updated><entry><title>Lohengrin</title><link href="https://blog.trentpalmer.org/lohengrin.html" rel="alternate"></link><published>2021-07-29T00:00:00-07:00</published><updated>2021-07-29T00:00:00-07:00</updated><author><name>Trent Palmer</name></author><id>tag:blog.trentpalmer.org,2021-07-29:/lohengrin.html</id><summary type="html"><p>Have you heard of Lohengrin? It is a German Opera written and composed by
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Richard Wagner in 1850. I happen to think that German Opera is more
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entertaining than Italian Opera, but enough about me.</p>
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<h3>King Ludwig II</h3>
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<p>Which brings me to King Ludwig II of Bavaria. If I understand …</p></summary><content type="html"><p>Have you heard of Lohengrin? It is a German Opera written and composed by
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Richard Wagner in 1850. I happen to think that German Opera is more
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entertaining than Italian Opera, but enough about me.</p>
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<h3>King Ludwig II</h3>
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<p>Which brings me to King Ludwig II of Bavaria. If I understand correctly,
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King Ludwig was very fond of Lohengrin, and built Neuschwanstein Castle
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as a private world for himself where he could live alone in a fantasy
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inspired by the <em>Knight of the Swan</em> Legend, on which Lohengrin
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is based.</p>
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<p>But don't judge King Ludwig II too harshly: he was after all a cigar connoisseur,
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drove a smoking-hot golden carriage, and Neuschwanstein Castle is
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an excellent place to take selfies. You really should visit the
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Marstallmuseum at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and see the golden
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carriage.</p>
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<p>Needless to say, Lohengrin is quite different from the Strauss Operas
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that your great-great-great Grandmother used to listen to on
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her smartphone in the bathtub.</p>
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<h3>Lohengrin</h3>
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<p>So what happens in Lohengrin? King Henry the Fowler fights the Magyars.
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This means we have to talk about the Magyars, King Henry's Son Otto,
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the Battle of Augsburg which is sometimes called the Battle of Lechfeld,
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and the Mongols!</p>
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<h3>Magyars</h3>
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<p>Ok, the Magyars are descended from a nomadic-steppe-people who settled on
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the Hungarian Plain, which is sometimes called the Carpathian Plain.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately for them, the Hungarian Plain was not quite vast
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enough to support a prosperous nomadic lifestyle. And so for some hundreds
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of years, the Magyars raided and pillaged all over Europe. It should be noted that
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Hungary considers 1896 to be the 1000th anniversary of the Magyars entering
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the Carpathian Plain, and in that year many memorials, monuments, and museums
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were built in Budapest.</p>
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<p>As stated above, the Magyars came into conflict with King Henry the Fowler
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who was the King of East Frankia. East Frankia evolved from the Eastern Parts of the
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Carolingian Empire that was originally put together by Charlemagne. Indeed,
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there is today a region of Bavaria called Franconia, which has excellent
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regional passenger trains connecting innumerable picturesque little cities and towns
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which are perfect for taking selfies and drinking the local bier. But I digress.</p>
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<h3>Battle of Lechfeld</h3>
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<p>The Magyars were finally defeated by King Henry the Fowler's son King Otto I
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near Augsburg in 910, Augsburg being an ancient city in Bavaria that goes all
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the way back to the Roman Empire.</p>
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<p>King Otto I of East Frankia was the greatest King since Charlemagne, and the
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Battle of Lechfeld was equal in importance to the Battle of Hastings in 1066,
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in the context of European History, but deeper analysis of that is above my
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pay grade. (This is a free blog post)</p>
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<h3>Recommended</h3>
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<p>Anyway, the Magyars gave up their raiding, became Christianized, and adopted
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a more agrarian lifestyle on the Hungarian Plain where they founded the Nation
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of Hungary around the year 1000. In the 13th Century, the Mongols invaded Hungary,
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but were never able to advance beyond Hungary into Western Europe.</p>
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<p>For more riveting entertainment about the Mongols, I recommend Dan Carlin's Hardcore
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History Podcast, in particular the subseries <em>Wrath of The Khans</em>.</p>
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<p>Thanks for reading, I'm fresh out of cigars.</p></content><category term="Opera"></category><category term="Franks"></category><category term="Magyars"></category><category term="Mongols"></category></entry><entry><title>Battle In The Middle Ages</title><link href="https://blog.trentpalmer.org/battle-in-the-middle-ages.html" rel="alternate"></link><published>2021-07-27T00:00:00-07:00</published><updated>2021-07-27T00:00:00-07:00</updated><author><name>Trent Palmer</name></author><id>tag:blog.trentpalmer.org,2021-07-27:/battle-in-the-middle-ages.html</id><summary type="html"><p>There were three type of battles in Europe in the Middle Ages:</p>
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<ol>
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<li><a href="#raids">Raids</a></li>
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<li><a href="#sieges">Sieges</a></li>
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<li><a href="#field-battles">Field-Battles</a></li>
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</ol>
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<p>There were two types of soldiers in Europe in the Middle Ages:</p>
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<ol>
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<li>cavalry</li>
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<li>and infantry.</li>
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</ol>
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<h3 id="raids">Raids</h3>
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<p>Infantry tended to not be used in raids, because horses had
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the advantage in speed and mobility.</p>
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<h3 id="sieges">Sieges</h3>
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<p>Cavalry …</p></summary><content type="html"><p>There were three type of battles in Europe in the Middle Ages:</p>
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<ol>
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<li><a href="#raids">Raids</a></li>
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<li><a href="#sieges">Sieges</a></li>
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<li><a href="#field-battles">Field-Battles</a></li>
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</ol>
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<p>There were two types of soldiers in Europe in the Middle Ages:</p>
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<ol>
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<li>cavalry</li>
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<li>and infantry.</li>
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</ol>
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<h3 id="raids">Raids</h3>
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<p>Infantry tended to not be used in raids, because horses had
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the advantage in speed and mobility.</p>
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<h3 id="sieges">Sieges</h3>
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<p>Cavalry were not much use in sieges, but when infantry were not
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available, the cavalry could obviously dismount.</p>
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<p>Later in the Middle Ages, infantry began using CrossBows, which
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were easy to use, and effective in sieges. And so, when infantry
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were available for sieges, they would often use CrossBows, and
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would often be Mercenaries.</p>
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<h3 id="field-battles">Field-Battles</h3>
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<p>In set-piece battles, cavalry and infantry could work together.</p>
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<p>For instance cavalry could not charge infantry that were in tight formation
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with spears. But cavalry were useful for attacking the enemy's flanks,
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and for pursuit in the case of a rout. However, for economic reasons,
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most field battles were fought between cavalry because it was too
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expensive to muster both cavalry and infantry most of the time.</p>
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<h3>Crusades</h3>
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<p>The Crusades demonstrate that although most field battles in
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Europe during the Middle Ages were fought between Cavalry, the warriors
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of that age were capable of more sophisticated tactics.</p>
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<p>Here it should be noted, that because lands to the East tended to
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be more arid, the opponents fighting against the European Crusaders
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were more skilled on horseback and with the bow and arrow. Eastern-style
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fighting was much more cavalry-oriented.</p>
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<p>What tipped the scale in favour of the Crusaders in certain battles
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that they won, was the fact that the CrossBow could outrange the bow-and-arrow.</p>
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<p>So, the Crusaders would line up infantry with edged-weapons in front,
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behind them would be CrossBow Infantry, with Cavalry protecting the flanks.
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The edged-weapon infantry would protect the CrossBowMen, who would shoot
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over the top and protect the edged-weapon infantry from enemy harrassment.</p>
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<h3>Recommended</h3>
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<p>This blog post is inspired by
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<a href="https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Wittenberg To Westphalia Podcast</a>, specifically
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<a href="https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-38-warfare-in-the-middle-ages-part-1" target="_blank">Episode 38</a>,
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<a href="https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-39-what-is-war-baby-dont-hurt-me" target="_blank">Episode 39</a>, and
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<a href="https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-40-the-actual-war-bits" target="_blank">Episode 40</a>.</p></content><category term="Battle"></category><category term="CrossBow"></category><category term="Sieges"></category><category term="Raids"></category></entry></feed> |