"War narratives such as those of Homer, Virgil and Shakespeare focused on the actions of emperors, generals and outstanding heroes, and though they did not hide the misery of war, this was more than compensated for by a full menu of glory and heroism. Ordinary soldiers appeared either as piles of bodies slaughtered by some Goliath, or a cheering crowd hoisting a triumphant David on its shoulders."
-Yuval Noah Harari,
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (London, 2017), Chapter 7, pp. 283-284.
For some "Details Of War" as described by SM Stirling, see
here, and, for further details including a head smashed like a melon and an arrow entering a mouth, see also
here.
For Poul Anderson's take on the Battle of Ticinus (see image), see:
Experience Of War
Real War
More War
1 comment:
That wouldn't be the way I'd describe Shakespeare's depiction of Falstaff in "Henry V".
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