This week we’re going to take a brief break from our series on hoplites (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) to address a broader question in how we understand the mechanics of warfare with contact weapons, which is the mechanics of the concept of a ‘battle pulse.’ This notion, that front lines in contact might occasionally withdraw … Continue reading Intermission: Battle Pulses →

This is the second half of the third part of our four-part series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we discussed the development of hoplite warfare through the Archaic period (c. 750-480). Our evidence for that early period of … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name →

This is the third part of our four-part series (I, II) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we looked at how the equipment which defined the hoplite – hoplite (ὁπλίτης), after all, means ‘equipped man’) – and how it weighs on on … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIa: An Archaic Phalanx? →

Hey folks! This week is Thanksgiving in the United States and I’ve opted to take advantage of the break in teaching to focus down on getting some chapter revisions done, so we’ll be back to hoplites next week. In the meantime, if you are looking for things to read or watch, I have a few … Continue reading Gap Week, November 28, 2025 (Thanksgiving) →

This is the second part of what looks like it’ll be end up as a four part series discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites, the heavy infantry of the Archaic (800-480) and Classical (480-323) periods. Last week, we outlined the contours of the debate: the major points of contention and the history of the … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part II: Hoplite Equipment, Hoplight or Hopheavy? →

This week (and next) we’re looking at hoplites, the heavy infantry of the ancient Greek poleis in the (early? mid? late?) Archaic and Classical periods, into the Hellenistic. In particular, I want to outline the major debate, which I have alluded to quite a few times here, that swirls around hoplite warfare and the phalanx. … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part I: The Othismos over Othismos →

Hey folks! Fireside this week. I had wanted to have my post on the hoplite debate (the othismos over othismos) ready for this week, but it’s not quite done, so I am shifting that to next week. So instead this week I want to outline another debate in ancient military history, the ‘Roman strategy debate.’ … Continue reading Fireside Friday, November 7, 2025 (On the Roman Strategy Debate) →

Something different this week! The folks at Paradox Development Studios were nice enough to give me a review copy of the upcoming Europa Universalis V (releasing Nov. 4) ahead of release so that I could share some thoughts! For the unfamiliar, Europa Universalis is a series of strategy games covering the early modern period (traditionally … Continue reading Miscellania: Europa Universalis V Confirmed! (First Impressions) →

Hey, folks! Fireside this week! I don’t have a burning topic this week, but as I’ve mentioned, I’m teaching Latin 101 and 102 this semester (and next). One of the things that’s interesting about that is of course students learning vocabulary for the first time tend to learn pretty simple 1-to-1 definitions. That’s necessary and … Continue reading Fireside Friday, October 24, 2025 →

This is the fifth and final part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, IVd, IVe) looking at the structures of life for pre-modern peasant farmers and showing how historical modeling can help us explore the experiences of people who rarely leave much evidence of their day-to-day personal lives. I’ve been stressing … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part V: Life In Cycles →

This is the fifth dish of the fourth course of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc, IVd) looking at the lives of pre-modern peasant farmers, who made up a majority of all of the humans who have ever lived. We are trying to grapple here with what has thus been the most … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVe: The No-Rest Of It →

Hey folks! Apologies for the lack of a post this week – a mix of teaching, writing and family demands had to come first. Still, so that I don’t leave you with nothing to read, here are some things I’ve been reading and watching lately you may find interesting. Over on YouTube, Tod Todeschini of … Continue reading Gap Week: October 3, 2025 →

This is the fourth thread of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc) looking at the lives of pre-modern peasant farmers, who make up a majority of all of the humans who have ever lived. We’re thus probing here was has been, in effect, the modal human experience. Over … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVd: Spinning Plates →

Hey folks, Fireside this week! Next week we should be back to start looking at the other half of labor in the peasant household, everything that isn’t agriculture. Also, here are some cats: For this week’s musing, I want to address something that comes up frequently in the comments, particularly any time we discuss agriculture: … Continue reading Fireside Friday, September 19, 2025 (On the Use and Abuse of Malthus) →

This is the third piece of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb) looking at the lives of pre-modern peasant farmers – a majority of all of the humans who have ever lived. Last time, we started looking at the subsistence of peasant agriculture by considering the productivity of our … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVc: Rent and Extraction →

This is the continuation – the first of several – of the fourth part of our series looking at the lives of pre-modern peasant farmers – a majority of all of the humans who have ever lived. Last time we discussed the survival requirements (in food and textiles) of a peasant household as well as … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVb: Working Days →

Hey folks, Fireside this week! As I noted a couple of weeks ago, things are probably going to get more than a little fireside-y over the next few weeks, simply because of the start of the semester – and a semester in which I am undertaking a set of entire new preps (that is, teaching … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 27, 2025 (On Defending History) →

This is the start of the fourth part of our series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) discussing the structures of life for pre-modern peasants, who made up the majority of all humans who have ever lived. In the last few sections, we’ve looked broadly at how mortality, marriage and childbearing patterns shape the households these folks … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IVa: Subsistence and a Little More →

Hey folks, Fireside this week! The new semester is starting up next week, so things may be a little more fireside-y than usual over the next few weeks, but I do promise we will get to the end of “Life, Work, Death and the Peasant” eventually. That said, since I am teaching Latin rather than … Continue reading Fireside Friday, August 15, 2025 (On Latin Pronunciation) →

This is the back half of the third part of our series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the patterns of life for the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of humans who lived in the past. Last week, we started looking at family formation through the lens of marriage, this week we’ll consider it … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIb: Children and Childrearing →

This is the first part of the third part of our series (I, II) discussing the patterns of life of the pre-modern peasants who made up the great majority of all humans who lived in our agrarian past and indeed a majority of all humans who have ever lived. Last week, we looked at death, … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part IIIa: Family Formation →

Hey folks! I am on vacation this week, so you’ll have to wait till next week to get the next installment of “Life, Work, Death and the Peasant.” However, if you are looking for some ACOUP content to fill your Friday, I have a few suggestions! First, if you want some of my writing in … Continue reading Gap Week, July 25, 2025 →

This is the second part of our series (I) discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. As we’ve discussed, pre-modern peasant farmers make up the vast majority of human beings in in the past. Last week we started by looking at the basic … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part II: Starting at the End →

This is the first post in a series discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. Prior to the industrial revolution, peasant farmers of varying types made up the overwhelming majority of people in settled societies (the sort with cities and writing). And when … Continue reading Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part I: Households →

As is traditional here, I am taking advantage of the Fourth of July this week to write something about the United States, this time a brief discussion of the nature of civil-military relations in the United States. Civil-military relations (typically shortened to ‘civ-mil’ or sometimes CMR) is, simply put, the relationship between the broader civil … Continue reading Collections: The American Civil-Military Relationship →