Battering ram

A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates.

In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against an obstacle; the ram would be sufficient to damage the target if the log were massive enough and/or it were moved quickly enough (that is, if it had enough momentum). Later rams encased the log in an arrow-proof, fire-resistant canopy mounted on wheels. Inside the canopy, the log was swung from suspensory chains or ropes.

Rams proved effective weapons of war because old fashioned wall-building materials such as stone and brick were weak in tension, and therefore prone to cracking when impacted with force. With repeated blows, the cracks would grow steadily until a hole was created. Eventually, a breach would appear in the fabric of the wall—enabling armed attackers to force their way through the gap and engage the inhabitants of the citadel.

I Am

I Am may refer to:

Music

Albums

Songs

You Know My Name

"You Know My Name", performed by Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, is the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. Cornell wrote it jointly with David Arnold, the soundtrack's composer. The film producers went after Cornell because they wanted a strong male singer. Cornell and Arnold tried to make the song a replacement theme for the character instead of the "James Bond theme" reflecting the agent's inexperience in Casino Royale, as well as an introduction to Daniel Craig's grittier and more emotional portrayal of Bond. The single sold 148,000 copies in 2006 in the UK.

The track was leaked onto the Internet on September 20, 2006, and released as a single on November 13, 2006, charting in many countries. Reviews for "You Know My Name" were positive, and the song won the Satellite Award and the World Soundtrack Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. While not included in the Casino Royale soundtrack, "You Know My Name" appeared on Cornell's second solo album, Carry On.

Battle Castle

Battle Castle is an action documentary TV series co-produced by Parallax Film Productions Inc. with London-based Ballista Media Inc. It explores the medieval arms race reflected in castle construction in the Middle Ages and, using location filming, re-enactments and CGI reconstruction, tells the stories of six castles tested by siege. Hosted by Dan Snow, the series has aired on History Television, SBS Australia and most recently, Discovery UK.

Episodes

Interactive

Parallax Film Productions Inc. paired up with Agentic Communications Inc. and Starlight Runner Entertainment to create a high-concept website that features games, motion comics and extra video content not seen on the show. The website connects with the Facebook and Twitter pages which post Medieval-themed updates from around the world.

Battle Castles: 500 Years of Knights and Siege Warfare (HarperPress, 2012)

Written by Dan Snow as an accompaniment to the show, the book details the stories of each castle featured in Battle Castle. Released on September 27, 2012, the first chapter is available online.

Dan Snow

Daniel Robert "Dan" Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British television presenter, who regularly presents history programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters and has a regular history slot on The One Show.

Early life and background

Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow, BBC television journalist, and Canadian Ann MacMillan, managing editor emeritus of CBC's London Bureau; thus he holds dual British-Canadian citizenship. Through his mother, he is the nephew of Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan, and a great-great-grandson of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. One of his father's cousins is the Channel 4 news reporter Jon Snow and his paternal great-grandfather (Peter and Jon's grandfather) was Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow, a British infantry general during World War I.

Education

Snow was educated in London at Westfield Primary School now Barnes Primary and at St Paul's School where he was Captain of School and rowed for its VIII.

He went up to Balliol College, Oxford, his father's alma mater, and graduated with first-class honours in Modern History (M.A.).