gurdymonkey: (pretties)
gurdymonkey ([personal profile] gurdymonkey) wrote2008-09-29 09:02 pm

Sometimes I really love the internet.

OK, this makes up for the brain suckers, who, I admit, are just asking for help when I'm trying to take over the Known World in less than a week.

So here I am, writing up documentation for my "Ballistics" entry. I keep stumbling across internet sites which parrot each other over and over and over again, plus dead links to sites on this weapon that I remember as being really good.

The not-so-good sites contain the same two medieval drawings. One is supposedly Byzantine. The other is 13th century. Victory is achieved when I trace the 13th century drawing to the chronicler who drew it and the battle it depicts.

The parroting sites refer to a 4th century Roman military text which supposedly mentions my ballistic weapon. Lo and behold, I find a digital translation of the text in several sections - including long winded, eye-bleeder dedications to the Emperor. "Aha!" I think, "I shall CTRL+F!" I find not one but two references, including a description of the weapon being deployed against elephants!!!!!!!!!

How cool is that? 

Still dithering over whether to do a throwaway instrumental on hurdy gurdy - because I can and it'll even be 14th century even though they dropped THAT requirement, or make brains go splodey with taiko....


[identity profile] kproche.livejournal.com 2008-09-30 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
We just need to build you a new long-lost medieval instrument, some sort of bastard stepchild of the hurdy-gurdy and taiko, perhaps Kotsuzumi or small Nagado-daiko.


(yes, yes, I'm evil and twisted. I know. I know. move along. nothing to see. nothing to see here...)

[identity profile] gurdymonkey.livejournal.com 2008-09-30 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Am I evil and twisted for wanting one of these?
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=p-CZpjbxGhQ

[identity profile] kproche.livejournal.com 2008-09-30 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Heck no! Where can we find plans?
(deleted comment)

Re: Definitely not evil

[identity profile] kproche.livejournal.com 2008-09-30 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Aha! A little more digging suggests that his "Kaisatsuko" is a modern two-string version of a strohfiddel ("Straw fiddle"), which uses a rosin wheel instead of his modern nylon wheel.
And the strohfiddel is *old*. Maybe even old enough to be entirely legit for thems of us as really care about a touch of historical authenticity.

Haven't found drawings of a strohfiddel yet; did find a description on a dulcimer revival page. If we can find drawings then we can aspire to be luthiers and build one.

Truly Evil would be tuning one string to the brown note.