12-30-2007, 09:56 PM
Peter Raftos has alerted me on another forum to a paper by Tim Dawson on the measurement issue:-
'Fit for the Task: Equipment Sizes and the Transmission of Military Lore, sixth to tenth centuries', Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 31 (2007).
you can buy it online at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/m ... 1/art00001
Abstract:
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/030701306X115797
The full text article is available for purchase $36.00 plus tax
I'll be ordering my copy. Looking forward to seeing what it says.
'Fit for the Task: Equipment Sizes and the Transmission of Military Lore, sixth to tenth centuries', Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 31 (2007).
you can buy it online at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/m ... 1/art00001
Abstract:
Quote:The interpretation of the measurements given in Byzantine military manuals from the sixth to the tenth centuries has been a problematic matter. If the main conclusions of currently accepted scholarship are applied, an appearance is created of equipment much too large to be usable. When the measurements are compared to equipment which practical experience and comparable history show to be functional, it can be seen that as the middle Byzantine period progressed units of measurement were devalued. The sources also reveal the processes whereby military lore was transmitted, including accidental corruption and deliberate revision.
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/030701306X115797
The full text article is available for purchase $36.00 plus tax
I'll be ordering my copy. Looking forward to seeing what it says.
"It is safer and more advantageous to overcome the enemy by planning and generalship than by sheer force"
The Strategikon of Emperor Maurice
Steven Lowe
Australia
The Strategikon of Emperor Maurice
Steven Lowe
Australia