Mac Congail
“On their heads they put bronze helmets which have large embossed figures standing out from them and give an appearance of great size to those who wear them; for in some cases horns are attached to the helmet so as to form a single piece, in other cases images of the fore-parts of birds or four footed animals”.
Reblogged from New at LacusCurtius & Livius:
There's no particular reason to put online this drawing by Graham Sumner, except for the best reason of all: that I like it. What you see is the Roman naval base at Velsen, just west of Amsterdam, which was in use during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. It is almost certainly identical to the fort named Flevum…
Reblogged from Grauenwolf's Study of Western Martial Arts:
This is a subtype of the Zwerch used in the middle of the fight. It seems like more of an attack of opportunity than something one would do intentionally.
This is so called from the body part to which it is directed. Do it thus: After the initial Onset, when you have come under your opponent’s sword with your hands up above your head, and he holds his head thus between his arms, then cut with Thwart Cuts under his pommel up toward his wrist-bones or wrist-joints.
Reblogged from Great War London:
So far, the black history month posts have been fairly positive stories - two young officers of mixed race, and a successful propaganda speaker. Sadly (if unsurprisingly) it was not all plain sailing where race relations in Great War London were concerned. There were several incidents of race riots.
It was not quite all quiet on the home front. At least two race riots took place in London during the Great War.
Reblogged from Heathen Harvest 2.1:
Yesterday I was in the supermarket shopping for ingredients to make spiced apples. It's a large hangar in South East London which could happily accommodate several small aircraft - arguably more useful than the hordes of shoppers unthinkingly purchasing useless goods for the weekend. Being late October there's a respectable Hallowe'en section comprising all kinds of artifacts from ghost to cat trinkets and plastic scythes.
Reblogged from Grauenwolf's Study of Western Martial Arts:
I arrived late at practice to find a lesson already in progress. Lessons are rare at my Wednesday night practice, and longsword lessons even rarer, so naturally I accepted the vorfechter’s offer to join in.
The drill was simple enough. I attack with a thrust and he parries by means of a krumphauw at my hands or wrists. The drill worked beautifully with all the other students, but always failed against me.
Reblogged from Grauenwolf's Study of Western Martial Arts:
Real longswords from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance can range from about 110cm – 150cm with a medium probably about a 120-125cm, which is the “standard” length of most sparring swords today as well, give or take a couple of centimetres. However, when we look at illustrations in the fechtbuchen, we soon discover that the swords shown usually reaches from well into the armpit all the way up to the forehead.
The once prevalent idea that the Ottoman Empire entered into a period of decline after the reign of Suleyman is no longer accepted. It is perhaps preferable to view the Ottoman experience from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries as a period of transformation during which the Ottomans struggled to find a new imperial synthesis in a changing international environment. External factors, most prominent among them the penetration of European merchant capital into the empire, caused a wrenching dislocation of the Ottoman economy.
"Heut', da gehört uns Deutschland, und morgen die ganze Welt!" (mp3)
note Point of divergence.
This is a list of events in the Morgen die ganze Welt universe.
Battle of Kursk 1943: Nerve gas turns the tide in Russia.
Soviet disaster 1943: The Soviets lose the Caucasus.
Soviets knocked out 1944: Start of the Ural offensive and operation Overlord.
Lüttich versus Overlord 1944: Too many darned Tigers.
Reblogged from gilbertdewolghop:
Tom finished editing the video of my provost prize yesterday - watch it below.
The better passes happen when I am facing ibn Jelal - good thing he was there!
An explanation of what playing a prize means.
My strongest form was clearly single sword, it is also the form that has changed the most since then.
Longsword is the form that most needs improvement.
Reblogged from A Heathen's Path:
I think, in the afterlife, I would like to be a Reaper.
A Reaper Man.
I just finished reading Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett. I'd found out about it on TVTropes, what with my obsession with Death, thanks to my worship of Hel. And after reading it, I understand why so many people love his books, and why so many have written him about how they hope Death is just like he is in the books.
Reblogged from Bones Don't Lie:
Myths and legends of Medieval Ireland describe this era as one of violence and conflict. The tales of Fionn mac Cumhaill and King Arthur describe roaming warbands and battles with mythological creatures. Numerous stories exist for kings and heroes who derive their fame from their ferocity and intelligence in conflict. The bioarchaeological evidence however supports this folklore. That's not to say that it supports the presence of battles with otherworldly beings, but it does show that there was an increase in violence.
Reblogged from Antiquarian's Attic:
Yorkshire's hoard of mysterious silver and gold
There's a lot going off in Wakefield at the moment, in spite of hard times, with The Hepworth Wakefield doing consistently well, the Trinity Walk shopping centre adding commercial life and now a newly reorganised museum for the city. This last, along with its sister centre at Pontefract, is energising local young people – it's included in the…
Reblogged from Swain Wodening's Blog:
As many of you know, I am dedicated to Wóden. I have been since about 1989 when I had a dream in which he came to me and gave me a tour of the Nine Worlds. Whether this actually happened or was just a figment of my imagination I do not know. I did count it as significant though, significant enough that I dedicated myself to him.
Reblogged from The Heritage Trust:
Detail of one of the Koguryo Tombs murals. Pyongyang, North Korea
The Nihon Shinbun Kyokai announces that -
Kyodo News and the Japan Newspaper Museum will jointly hold a press photo exhibition featuring the Koguryo Tombs and their wall paintings. The Complex of Koguryo Tombs, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, offers a unique testimony to Koguryo culture, its burial customs, and religious practices as well as daily life and beliefs, especially through the mural paintings.
Reblogged from envirolaw watch:
Agreements in the first round of the renewable energy independent power producer proramme (REIPPP) have finally been signed by Eskom and independent power producers. The tariffs for the first round of projects are: R1.14/kWh for wind, R2.76/kWh for solar PV and R2.69/kWh for CSP. Construction of the relevant projects should begin in early 2013.
Government initially planned to procure 3725 MW of renewable energy under the REIPPP but recently announced that the REIPPP will apply in respect of a further 3200 MW of renewable energy until 2020.
Further information is available here.
Today we have a bit of a continuation from last week when I posted some artwork of the figurehead of a drekar or dragon-boat. There aren't that many named ships in the Eddas, but these three are pretty memorable.
Skidbladnir
We are going to start with this ship because the Elder Eddas tell us it is... "without doubt the best and most artfully constructed of any (ship.)" The ship belongs to the god Frey and was constructed by the sons of Ivaldi - the Dwarven master craftsmen who also created Odin's spear Gungnir and the golden hair of Sif.
Reblogged from The Political Heathen:
So, the ever so peaceful religion of Islam is proving more to be as dangerous as its older sibling Middle Eastern Mystery cult Christianity was back when it was units younger, blood thirsty years, but with access to much more devastating weapons.
Some moronic, piece of filth, pig hating, dog hating, pagan hating Muslim had this to say in Egypt about what needs to be done about the Sphinx and other idols of worship…
Reblogged from Wonderland1981 - Strange and Bizarre History:
David became the first prominent person in history to have been hanged, drawn and quartered. His sons died in prison and his daughters were sent to convents.
Dafydd ap Gruffydd (or Dafydd ap Gruffudd, angl. David, son of Gruffydd; (11 July (?) 1238 – 3 October 1283) was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 by
There are many who, in the wake of our recent action in San Francisco, have accused Circle Ansuz of being anti-free speech. This is the furthest thing from the truth. As one would expect from a group of anarchists, we LOVE freedom of speech. Many of the great fights to protect and enhance free speech rights in the United States, for example, were spearheaded by anarchists and labor radicals like Emma Goldman and Big Bill Haywood.
Reblogged from Military History Now:
When America went to war with Mexico in 1846, correspondents from the nascent American news media, dubbed the penny press at the time for the one-cent dailies they printed, marched off with the army. Embedded with the newsmen was a lone practitioner of the then nearly unheard of art and science of photography. Using his crude and cumbersome camera, this first photo journalist captured everything from portraits of the American commanders and still life shots of ordinary Mexicans, to grainy images of the U.S.
Reblogged from Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff):
A new carnivore shaped like a candelabra has been spotted in deep ocean waters off California's Monterey Bay.
The meat-eating species was dubbed the "harp sponge," so-called because its structure resembles a harp or lyre turned on its side.
A team from the Monterey Bay Research Aquarium Institute in Moss Landing, Calif., discovered the sponge in 2000 while exploring with a remotely operated vehicle…
Reblogged from Some Questions Arise:
Last weekend, I attended my first ever Swordfish conference. It was an overwhelming (and overwhelmingly positive) experience, and one about which I am compelled to share my thoughts, however mundane they might be. I am writing, I suspect, primarily for my own benefit, but nonetheless I thought that the wider community might find something worth reading here - a new or different perspective, I hope, and an attempt to put into words the meaning and purpose of an event like Swordfish as seen by a newcomer to this community.
