Trying to write a medieval fantasy novel, I feel obligated to get non-magical elements of my world right, and that includes figthing. To this end, i try to look around the internet, to see how combat went, and i noticed something.

All medieval enthusiasts treat gambeson as if it was hands of the divine enveloping you in an aura of immortality. What perplexes me more is, that though their tests are not scientific... they do seem to indicate they were just as good as mail or plate. Cuts? No problem, Mr. Pulovermail has you covered. Blunt weapons? Your armor is literally fluff, you are alright.

Hell, I even saw a video of Mike Loades testing an english longbow against gambeson, and (though it wasn't a bodkin arrowhead) the gambeson stopped that too!!

Anyway, What perplexes me in all this, and why i think enthusiats exagerrate, is the existence of mail and plate. If Gambeson was indeed as good as they say, mail and plate would never have been made.

So what are the actual historical facts? Just how good was gambeson?

Hi all,

I have test coming up next month and I wanted to know if there is a book that covers the time from early modern period to the beginning of the first world war? I am trying to find something but so far I am out of luck and I hoped someone here might help.

Basically, I'm looking for one or a few "big books" that cover most or all of recorded Chinese history. Are there any good such works?

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Article 5 commits the signatories to defend each other from attack. Article 6 of the NATO treaty states:

For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:

on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France.

So, did the French ever try to gain support from their NATO allies during this conflict?

I am familiar with the Germanic letter Thorn (Þ) and how it came to be written or printed as Y. My question is was this phenomenon responsible for the creation of the modern article "YOU" and if so when did it become common and when did people start using YOU over Thou?

(Particularly near the collapse) I’m talking advanced in terms of conjugations, modifiers, anything really that might at all resemble a modern-day language.

If this question has been answered before, please link it to me. I couldn't find anything with Reddit's search. But as the question states, what about other races? Specifically other people with dark skin, but not of African decent. Indians, Middle-Easterners, even Native Americans, and other races. Were they expected to use "coloreds only" sinks, bathrooms, drinking fountains? Did large groups of other races besides Black take part in Civil Rights marches?

I'm asking out of curiosity but also because the history class I'm in requires me to. If I were to cite the biographies on Julius Caesar by Suetonius, what would that look like?

Level action rifles seem like they would have a better rate of fire.

Follow up question... If they weren't really that popular... how did they become so ingrained in pop culture for the Old West?

(Note: The Spear and Shield I'm referring to is the Macedonian weaponry under Phillip II and Alexander the Great - not exactly a spear just to clarify any confusion)

During the medieval period (I know that this stretches a long period of time), pikes were quite common as a form of infantry - and there were many battles where it was pike-on-pike fighting. From what I understand, pike infantry in the medieval period did not incorporate a shield. This, to me, seems quite vulnerable if it was a full on infantry battle with 20 foot long pikes fighting each other with no spear - there is basically nothing to block an incoming spear except by fencing with your own. Furthermore, they would also be extremely vulnerable to missiles.

However, if we go back in time to the Macedonian infantry, small shields were used in conjunction with pikes (although there were no other army that fielded such long pikes at the time) and strapped to their arms. I'd imagine this also gave extra protection against incoming missile fire.

So what's the difference between two? Why did armies in the medieval period not incorporate any shields when it, to me, seems like it would be a lot more beneficial with one than without? Is this related to the increasing employment of crossbows in that time period?

I have looked a lot for sources that has his stance but I can't find any. Surely he would have something about it due to it being so Rampant in the early 80's.

During the exploration of the New World and the "Golden Age of Piracy," how were naval crews supplied with fresh water for trips of months at sea in hot climates? Was distillation/purification of water ever used?

As far as I can tell, Stilicho was born in the Roman Empire. Was he considered too barbarian? Were there some other considerations? It feels like Rome had a long history of military people throughout the Empire becoming Emperor, but this period seemed to shift more towards having powers behind the throne instead. I'd love to hear some thoughts on why all this is.

It seems to me that America has quite the tolerant view of their former rebels. The United States Army naming a base after one of the generals who led a bloody rebellion that caused the deaths of so many Americans seems...a bit odd. What are the factors that led to this?

I often see descriptions of the Soviet soldier's opinions on US tanks and planes given to the USSR. But i have never seen what they thought of the tons of food, clothing, trucks and train cars that the US shipped over.

Is there any good literature or historical narrative that takes place in the various African theatres of the First World War.

I don't know where to start, or if this is the right sub. he died 18 months ago. here's what I know, and what I want to know.

My dad, best friend in the entire world, partner in crime, and hero joined the Navy at 18 years old in 1960. He went to Great Lakes and served during Vietnam and claimed he was a meteorologist. I say claimed, because when I mention this to certain family, they scoff and laugh in a way as if to say "yeah, he just didn't want to tell you what he actually did. So keep believing he played with weather balloons. You're cute". I never saw any paperwork, just black and white, very weathered pictures. I didn't come around until much much later in his life, when he was a softer, much gentler version of his service days. I know some of his stories of his service days, but I knew later stages of life dad, not middle age dad. I know he lived in Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, and other places during the (I believe) 11 years of his service

I want to know what he actually did, and even better, what experiment he was a Guinea Pig for. At some point in his service, he was exposed to mass amounts of radiation and explosives out on a platform in the pacific. He was told to "just watch the explosion and tell us what happens". He said his eyes rolled in the back of his head and afterward, during the cloud, he saw through himself. It was confirmed in 2008 that this testing caused his cancer. It was confirmed in 2014 that this caused his reoccurrence of his cancer, and that it would kill him. It killed him in 2016.

I don't know where to look for answers. The VA, while absolutely incredible in helping him medically and in other ways at the end of his life, and an enormous help to my mom still, doesn't have that information for me (or it's just not available to me, I'm not sure)

I don't know where to search or who to ask, I just know I'm curious and would love to know more about what he really did. If he was a meteorologist--awesome! If not, cool--I just want to know more.

Thank you.