tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post242377773287879309..comments2023-05-10T08:55:47.701-07:00Comments on Richard Carrier Blogs: Lynn White on Horse StuffRichard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-58249687573677737642008-05-29T18:58:00.000-07:002008-05-29T18:58:00.000-07:00Niki: Lynn White Jr. ...does not credit the mediev...<B>Niki:</B> <I>Lynn White Jr. ...does not credit the medievals with the invention of the heavy plough</I><BR/><BR/>"We therefore cannot safely date the heavy plough earlier than the sixth century" (p. 53, pbk.)<BR/><BR/>Those are his words. Sounds like he's crediting the medievals with the invention of the heavy plough to me.<BR/><BR/>True, it is those who make the claim <I>based on</I> White (Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-38051021312058101692008-05-21T12:07:00.000-07:002008-05-21T12:07:00.000-07:00I randomly came across your blog, and thought I wo...I randomly came across your blog, and thought I would add my two cents about a comment you make about Lynn White Jr. In "Medieval Technology and Social Change" he does not credit the medievals with the invention of the heavy plough. He acknowledges that it was first used by the ancients, and sites the Pliny text to which you refer. What he does suggest is that the technology was later Nikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06150405135046700144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-49662035362591067502008-05-20T13:12:00.000-07:002008-05-20T13:12:00.000-07:00S.M. Stirling said... The high Roman empire tended...<B>S.M. Stirling said...</B> <I>The high Roman empire tended to be better at _organization_ than the early to middlish-medieval periods. Hence aquaducts, roads, etc; these were technologies which required a strong centralized government.</I><BR/><BR/>That's not strictly true. The Barbegal grain factory, for example, complete with feed aqueduct, was a private enterprise funded by local magnates. <Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-62074867173378799832008-05-19T21:51:00.000-07:002008-05-19T21:51:00.000-07:00There's a good deal of misunderstanding about the ...There's a good deal of misunderstanding about the value of stirrups.<BR/><BR/>The main advantage is -not- the greater fore-and-aft stability. <BR/><BR/>The Celtic four-horn saddle will also prevent you from being booted over the horse's rump by an impact from the front, albeit not as well.<BR/><BR/>The war saddle of a medieval man-at-arms had a high padded cantle which cradled the hips and S.M. Stirlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18091131550027851275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-21971636174321501422008-05-19T21:36:00.000-07:002008-05-19T21:36:00.000-07:00The high Roman empire tended to be better at _orga...The high Roman empire tended to be better at _organization_ than the early to middlish-medieval periods. Hence aquaducts, roads, etc; these were technologies which required a strong centralized government. <BR/><BR/>Also, of course, it was simply bigger. A single state running from Scotland to Mesopotamia just operated on a different scale from the hundreds of sovereignties which existed in S.M. Stirlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18091131550027851275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-46023327179776832232007-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:002007-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:00Bede: Your reply is sound enough in its assessment...<B>Bede:</B> Your reply is sound enough in its assessment of our differences, but still gets at least one fact completely wrong, and states another I find dubious in light of the recent scholarship I have been reading.<BR/><BR/><I>On labeling periods:</I> this is something historians should do in my opinion, provided it has a meaningful and relevant basis, because it allows one to capture and Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-47277079045391280832007-09-19T12:11:00.000-07:002007-09-19T12:11:00.000-07:00P.S. For everyone: please note that you can hyperl...P.S. For everyone: please note that you can hyperlink URL's in comments here. Just use [A HREF="{URL}"] in front and [/A] after, both in angle brackets instead of block brackets, like ordinary HTML. This can make formatting easier (you can hyperlink a shorter phrase instead of trying to fit a whole URL as plain text), and jumping to a link easier. Just FYI.Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-71536270377605991972007-09-19T11:30:00.000-07:002007-09-19T11:30:00.000-07:00Tom: That's a good point about China. I do not kno...<B>Tom:</B> That's a good point about China. I do not know enough about their agricultural system to judge (though they did have an impressive hydrological infrastructure) and though I know a lot about their technology I know too little about the extent of its exploitation. So you are right, my remarks should be regarded as pertaining only to the West. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what you mean by "Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-85797035922914011612007-08-12T02:14:00.000-07:002007-08-12T02:14:00.000-07:00Ah...the religious myth that the conflict between ...Ah...the religious myth that the conflict between science and religion is only a myth.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-31618859275824121392007-08-09T01:35:00.000-07:002007-08-09T01:35:00.000-07:00I've replied to Richard's reply to me:http://bedej...I've replied to Richard's reply to me:<BR/><BR/>http://bedejournal.blogspot.com/2007/08/in-reply-to-richard-carrier.html<BR/><BR/>The eternal conflict between science and religion may be a myth, but the one between medieval and ancient historians is all too real. ;)<BR/><BR/>Best wishes<BR/><BR/>James HannamJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01594220073836613367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-76322815744761934932007-08-07T10:22:00.000-07:002007-08-07T10:22:00.000-07:00"In actual fact, most scholars agree the Roman agr..."In actual fact, most scholars agree the Roman agricultural system out-produced anything before the 18th century...the evidence confirms vastly greater populations under the Romans (and larger cities) than would ever be supportable again until modern times."<BR/><BR/>This doesn't explain the peak population of Han Dynasty China, which numbered over 60 million people, nor the enormous 100 million Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-67491095583708787472007-08-06T07:33:00.000-07:002007-08-06T07:33:00.000-07:00Celebrity Death Match!Roman Phallus vs. Medieval M...Celebrity Death Match!<BR/>Roman Phallus vs. Medieval Member<BR/><BR/>That's funny.<BR/><BR/>Yeah, ditto to what they said above. We're reading; we're just a little out of our elements. I enjoyed the Bede piece as well, in case he's reading. <BR/><BR/>I was a little surprised that he interpreted your little jabs about Jesus as Christian-bashing, but I guess he may be right. I read them as simple DFBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16624603521338516156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-28367933858105402662007-08-06T02:17:00.000-07:002007-08-06T02:17:00.000-07:00I am reading these...and I read Bede's version. T...I am reading these...and I read Bede's version. Trying to follow along but am way too uniformed to give any meaningful feedback.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-5110786333382748302007-08-05T02:25:00.000-07:002007-08-05T02:25:00.000-07:00I'm finding these history related posts to be quit...I'm finding these history related posts to be quite interesting. I hope the lack of reader interaction don't deter you from these subjects.Castaahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15221524581157547236noreply@blogger.com