This is the first part of a six-part series I expect to roll out taking a historian’s look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson’s Return of the King. We’re going to discuss how historically plausible the sequence of events is and, in the process, talk a fair bit about how pre-gunpowder siege warfare works. As with other Collections posts, this series will come out one-per-week, on Friday, until it’s done. This is, after all, a very long and involved sequence and there is a lot of context to work in.

Book Notes: While I am not going note every time Jackson diverges from the books, I will note significant divergences when they impact the historical review. When I do so, I’ll place those portions in a little box like this. I am one of those people who was a book person first – I heard these…