Sometimes I really love the internet.
Sep. 29th, 2008 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gurdymonkeyOK, 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....
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....
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Date: 2008-09-30 06:32 am (UTC)(yes, yes, I'm evil and twisted. I know. I know. move along. nothing to see. nothing to see here...)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 01:13 pm (UTC)http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=p-CZpjbxGhQ
no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 01:40 pm (UTC)Re: Definitely not evil
Date: 2008-09-30 05:02 pm (UTC)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.