These articles are devoted to the two main aspects of medieval warfare: men and technology. Men fought, led, and ultimately killed in war, while the technology that they used facilitated these tasks. The first group of essays highlights human strengths in the fighting of medieval wars, with a focus on events of the 14th and 15th centuries, specifically the Anglo-French wars and wars against the Turks. A second group addresses the technological side of warfare, in particular the advent and ...

The articles in this volume explore the way in which military developments helped to sculpt, out of very strange and diverse components, our familiar Europe. The period studied covers the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rise of the Carolingian Empire and its eventual collapse, leaving a vacuum in the heart of Europe into which flowed new forces: the Vikings from outside and the great lords from within.

An illustrated history and guide to the Battle of Hastings by two leading medieval military historians.The Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066, changed the course of English history. This most famous moment of the Norman Conquest was recorded in graphic detail in the threads of the Bayeux Tapestry, providing a priceless glimpse into a brutal conflict.In this fresh look at the battle and its surrounding campaigns, leading medieval military historians...

A highly illustrated study of the medieval Italian battle of Castagnaro, the famous English condottiere captain Sir John Hawkwood's greatest victory.The battle of Castagnaro, fought on 11 March 1387 between the Veronese and the Paduans, is one of the most famous Italian medieval conflicts in the English-speaking world. This is thanks in no small part to the exploits of the renowned English mercenary (or condottiero) captain, Sir John Hawkwood. Com...

A highly illustrated account of one of the major battles of Italy's 13th century wars, immortalized in the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri who was one of the combatants.Campaldino is one of the important battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines - the major political factions in the city states of central and northern Italy. It heralded the rise of Florence to a dominant position over the area of Tuscany and was one of the last occasions when the Italia...

This fascinating reference covers the weapons and armor used by warriors from the 4th to the 15th century and discusses how and why they changed over time.In the Middle Ages, the lack of standardized weapons meant that one warrior's arms were often quite different from another's, even when they were fighting on the same side. And with few major technological advances in that period, the evolution of those weapons over the centuries was incremental. But evolve they ...

First published in 1992, Medieval Military Technology has become the definitive book in its field, garnering much praise and a large readership. This thorough update of a classic book, regarded as both an excellent overview and an important piece of scholarship, includes fully revised content, new sections on the use of horses, handguns, incendiary weapons, and siege engines, and eighteen new illustrations.The four key organizing sections of the book still remain: arms and...

War was epidemic in the late Middle Ages. It affected every land and all peoples from Scotland and Scandinavia in the north to the southern Mediterranean Sea coastlines of Morocco, North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East in the south, from Ireland and Spain in the west to Russia and Turkey in the east. Nowhere was peaceful for any significant amount of time. The period also saw significant changes in military theory and practice which altered the ways in which campaigns were conducted, ba...

Medieval Warfare: A Reader examines how armed conflict was experienced in the Middle Ages both on the field of battle and at home. This comprehensive collection of more than 130 primary-source materials—some translated here for the first time—traces over one thousand years of military developments, including the fall of Rome, the fight for Jerusalem, the building of castles and other fortifications, the rise of gunpowder, and the negotiation of treaties. Developed by two of the le...

In 1428 a young girl from a small French village approached the royal castle of Vaucouleurs with a now famous tales. Heavenly voices, she said, had told her to seek out the Dauphin, Charles, so that he might give her an army with which to deliver France from its English occupiers. The ensuing tale of Joan's military success is told here in a gripping and authoritative narrative. Previous works have concentrated on the religious and feminist aspects of Joan's career; this is the first to ad...