Book Reviews - David O. Morgan

This is something of a first.  Instead of reviewing the books I want to focus on the author.  David Morgan died in 2019 but left behind a significant body of work.

I first came across his book on Medieval Persia by chance last year when I was looking for books on the Arab Conquests.  Purchased second hand, the first edition was both a bargain and a delight.  With a clear, concise and approachable style the book dealt with all the rulers of post Arab Conquest Persia with aplomb.

The Arab Conquests

As regular readers will have noticed, I am busy building an Arab Conquest army for Art de la Guerre (ADLG).  However, not all of this project involves a paintbrush.  I've also taken the opportunity to read a few books about the period.  I knew next to nothing when I started.

So here are the four main history books that got me started; complete with brief, one paragraph type, reviews.  Since this post was written, I've found a fifth book, and it is very different to the other four.

They are listed in my recommended reading order.

18 mm ACW Confederate Generals

I've recently finished John Keegan's 2010 History of the American Civil War (ACW) which I picked up from one of my local charity shops.

I thoroughly enjoyed his approach once I'd got used to his somewhat tortured prose style. When I'd finished the book I felt I had a good grip on how the war was fought and it's unique characteristics. The only thing I found confusing was the geography but I sorted that by downloading a blank map from the American Battlefield Trust.

Needless to say the book inspired me to buy some figures. During my annual visit to Britcon (Manchester UK) I bought a partial pack of Confederate generals, there's a missing fourth figure, but they were cheap enough and I only wanted them to paint not lead an army.

Believe it or not, these are the first AB figures I have ever painted. They have such a stellar reputation I expected them to be joy to paint.

Transylvanian TYW Flag - Free Samples

At the end of September I posted an article about the above. I was very pleased to get a reasonably "historical" flag for my Transylvanian ally general so quickly.

At the end of October I placed an order with Donnington to bulk out the samples I'd bought to a fully fledged allied contingent. The parcel arrived two days ago and the first thing I did was clean up the figure to bear the Transylvanian flag. This meant I had to decide what to do about the flag.

My first plan was to paint the design by hand using a black and white printed version as a guide. I don't own a colour printer. My second plan was to get some flags printed at the local copy shop. This afternoon it was time for plan two. After a phone call, an email and a quick walk round the corner to the copy shop, I had more Transylvanian flags than I knew what to do with. All for a quid!

Transylvanian TYW Flag

Regular readers may have spotted that I’m contemplating painting a Transylvanian ally for use with an Early German Protestant army for the Thirty Years War (TYW).

I’m so keen on this mini-project I’ve already painted all the samples I bought at Britcon and I’ve moved on to considering my next purchase(s).  Amongst these will be the figures for a general and his entourage.  Obviously, aside from a white horse, he needs a suitable standard so I began looking for a suitable image.  I only wanted an idea as I usually paint my flags by hand.

As it turned out Wikipedia was all I needed.  An article on the Translylvanian coat of arms provided a concise history of the arms during the period and some useful pictures.  Sadly, all the pictures were before 1597 or after 1665; nothing during theTYW.  There was however a brief description of the arms in between.

Indo-Persian Armour - Photo Resource

I've been following a very useful board on Pinterest:

The term "Indo-Persian armor" includes armor from Persia, Ottoman Empire, India and other nearby countries made in the Indo-Persian style. In the past terms such as "Eastern", "Oriental", "Islamic" have been used to differentiate between this type of armor and European armor types. "Indo-Persian" includes non Muslim cultures such as Hindu, Sikh and Christian use of this type of armor. Nearly identical armors can have different names depending of the country/culture of use.

Indo-Persian armour - pinterest board.

Plus there's another I've just spotted and will be following from today:

Prints reflecting the people, culture, clothing, weapons and armor of the Ottoman Empire, Persia, India and related areas. The term "Indo-Persian" includes Persia, Ottoman Empire, India and other nearby countries. In the past terms such as "Eastern", "Oriental", "Islamic" have been used to differentiate between these types of prints and prints from other regions . "Indo-Persian" includes non Muslim cultures such as Hindu, Sikh and Christian.

Indo-Persian prints - pinterest board.

 I always find resources like these help inspire my painting, especially when I get painter's block. I hope they help you.

Ancient History, Poor Information, And The Internet

Jona Lendering runs a truly special web site called Livius full of great articles about ancient history.  In 2010 he was awarded a prize for popularising ancient history by the Dutch National Research School of Classicists (Oikos). 

He recently published his acceptance speech consisting of 14 and a half points focusing on the above.  Yes I know, fourteen and a half points!  Despite this whimsy it is a serious and well thought out piece that every ancient wargamer should read. It will change the way you read history books.

If you like the piece, and his approach, may I suggest you also read his list of common errors in Ancient History.

Battle Of Bosworth :: New Location

I was drawn to an article in today’s Daily Telegraph because it dealt with one of my favourite periods in history: the Wars of the Roses.  It began:

“For hundreds of years history followers have visited Ambion Hill in Leicestershire, believing it to be the site of the Battle of Bosworth ...”

and then reveals that:

“… after an extensive three-year archaeological survey, experts now believe that the proper site was a mile away.”

Wargamers’ Myths :: Paces

Regular readers will know that I play wargames using DBMM written by Phil Barker.  What you may not know is that he’s recently issued a set of draft clarifications.  This has initiated a high volume of debate and a certain amount of uproar on the DBMMlist; what a surprise.  Now everything seems to be the subject for debate not just the proposed changes.  People have been lobbying for all sorts, changes, clarifications, and simplifications, left right and centre.

Medieval Soldier Database On line

Both the BBC and The Independent ran this story today.  In essence the work is an online database based on evidence from the muster rolls:

“The website contains 250,000 records of soldiers who fought in the Hundred Years War between 1369 and 1453, and includes the names of archers who served with Henry V at Agincourt.”

Manessa Codex Available Online.

Whilst this has been available for some time I only recently stumbled across a link to the site which hosts the full Codex.  The site also offers a full facsimile as a free pdf download. Do take care as the pdf is a whopping 101 Mb.

Mongol Cavalry – Inspiration

I stumbled across this picture amongst one of my newsfeed items posted on the Complex Solutions web site:

Towton :: A Cock Up!

A. A. Gill’s excellent article on Towton was the cover story of yesterday’s Sunday Times Magazine.   If you haven’t seen the magazine I recommend you read it online although the pictures & illustrations are missing.

Useful Links

I've been sorting through my bookmarks. This is something I do periodically as I do end up with a lot of stuff that I never use. Even so I came across four gems I though I'd mention here:

• The Vinkhuijzen collection of military uniforms - dating from the 19th century this a great free source of courtesy of the New York Public Library in America. There are nearly 20,000 prints of military costume, medals, regalia, insignia, coats of arms, and regimental flags. Also, there are entries from Argentina to Turkey as well as quite a bit of medieval and renaissance material. Always worth a browse.
• The UK Battlefields Resource Centre - created by the Battlefields Trust a truly special site with superb coverage of the Wars of The Roses and the English Civil War. Maps, battle plans and background aplenty. Recommended.
• Breeds of Livestock (Horses) - from Oklahoma State University this site is comprehensive, if lacking a really good overview page, but if you want to lookup a particular breed of horse this is the place. There are a lot of photos but not every page has a photo.

Camels!

I've just bought this 15 mm DBX baggage element from eBay. It's a couple of Essex camels painted and based by Steve Dean. Steve's a very famous, and talented, painter of miniatures with interests in camels and Charlton Athletic.



I treated myself to this item to study Steve's technique close up. The brushwork is really excellent as is the choice of colours. There is an "inner light" to the piece. Now all I have to do is to try and match it.