Thread: The Way We War
View Single Post
Old 03-22-2009, 05:13 AM   #61
Morthoron
Curmudgeonly Wordwraith
 
Morthoron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits
Posts: 2,528
Morthoron is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Morthoron is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Morthoron is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Morthoron is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Morthoron is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Farael View Post
From the crafting I'd say they are a very technologically advanced people. However, you can't craft fine things if you are prone to fits of rage.
Hmmm...Michaelangelo was prone to fits of rage. Artists are often passionate in extremis -- in Michaelangelo's case, he's lucky that Pope Julius did not afix his head to a pole at the gates of Rome for his petulance.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Farael View Post
They were clearly detail-oriented and patient. From their manner of speech I'd say there is further clue they were patient. Theoden, a masterful speaker of Rohan, has a far more... direct way of expressing himself than Thorin. Heck, HE would be a great Berzerker!
Thorin's grandiloquence was only used in formal speaking engagments. He got his nick 'Oakenshield' for beating Orcs with a branch, which is definitely a sign of his 'battle fury'.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Farael View Post
Now, from a militaristic perspective. I am certainly not an expert on medieval fighting, but wouldn't fighting with a pole-arm require GREATER coordination than a shorter weapon?
In the late Middle-ages (particularly in the 14th and 15th centuries where my historical experience centers) halberds, pikes and bills required less formal training than shorter weapons such as swords and were often used by militias and rebel peasants to offset the great advantages of highly-trained armored knights on horseback. The stunning defeat of mounted French at the Battle of Courtrai by Flemish rebels, the Scottish victory over the English at Sterling, and the Swiss' crushing routs of Austrians at Laupen, Morgarten and Sempach and the Swiss again against the Charles the Bold in the Burgundian Wars, all relied on the halberd or pike (or a combination of the two as used by the Swiss).

So, the use of the halberd or pike required less formal training and was used to greatest effect in phalanxes, or in the Scottish case 'schiltrons'. It was indeed an infantry tool used defensively and offensively (particularly by the Swiss and later the German landsknecht) in formations. For close combat, the Swiss and landsknecht used swords and halberds (the lange spiess, or long pike was ineffective at close range).
__________________
And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.
Morthoron is offline   Reply With Quote