And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Linstock, used to light a cannon from a distance, Italy, c. 1600
Pedant here. It's a linstock, a slow match holder for artillery so the gunner could fire the cannon or mortar without being right on top of the piece. And, yeah, a spear point. Which is good enough to gig a horse with if the holder's gun is being overrun by cavalry, or to help fend off the enemy when the poop has hit the fan. The shaft is also useful for helping aim the piece.
Not a halberd, image has been mislabeled.
Hey, some people get pissed when a gun's magazine is called a clip, well, some people get weird when anything is mislabeled. (And, yes, my friends hate it when we go to a movie together and they get the history all wrong. "13th Warrior" just about caused me to stroke out. Norsemen, indeed, with one wearing a peascod breastplate and a morion from 15th C Spain? Arrrghh, can feel the cranial pressure rising even now. What a fracked up thing to do to the "Beowulf" story. Hollyweird has no shame. And grinding down a nice Euro-steel blade to make a friggin crap scimitar? Aaaaaaahhhhh...)
13th Warrior is not Beowulf - it is a combination of several things including the true story of Ibn Fadlan - otherwise totally fiction and good entertainment based on the book by Michael Crichton "Eaters of the Dead"
I understand Andrew completely. I'm an old country boy who has USED a lot of old tools and things. I've learned that museums don't appreciate it when you inform them that some of their stuff is mislabeled.
Pedant here. It's a linstock, a slow match holder for artillery so the gunner could fire the cannon or mortar without being right on top of the piece. And, yeah, a spear point. Which is good enough to gig a horse with if the holder's gun is being overrun by cavalry, or to help fend off the enemy when the poop has hit the fan. The shaft is also useful for helping aim the piece.
ReplyDeleteNot a halberd, image has been mislabeled.
Hey, some people get pissed when a gun's magazine is called a clip, well, some people get weird when anything is mislabeled. (And, yes, my friends hate it when we go to a movie together and they get the history all wrong. "13th Warrior" just about caused me to stroke out. Norsemen, indeed, with one wearing a peascod breastplate and a morion from 15th C Spain? Arrrghh, can feel the cranial pressure rising even now. What a fracked up thing to do to the "Beowulf" story. Hollyweird has no shame. And grinding down a nice Euro-steel blade to make a friggin crap scimitar? Aaaaaaahhhhh...)
13th Warrior is not Beowulf - it is a combination of several things including the true story of Ibn Fadlan - otherwise totally fiction and good entertainment based on the book by Michael Crichton "Eaters of the Dead"
Delete"Eaters of the Dead" is a retelling of the Beowulf legend with Neanderthals as the 'Beowulf'.
DeleteStill so totally a sucky movie. The book was better.
I understand Andrew completely. I'm an old country boy who has USED a lot of old tools and things. I've learned that museums don't appreciate it when you inform them that some of their stuff is mislabeled.
ReplyDeleteOne can always count on the internet to set you straight. Cloud sourcing, and all. Thanks for the clarification!
Delete