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...

In 1428 a young girl from a small French village approached the royal castle of Vaucouleurs with a now famous tale. 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...

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 ...

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...

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.

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 ...

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...

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...

What can we learn about the evolution of jaws from a pair of scissors? How does the flight of a tennis ball help explain how fish overcome drag? What do a spacesuit and a chicken egg have in common? Highlighting the fascinating twists and turns of evolution across more than 540 million years, paleobiologist Matthew Bonnan uses everyday objects to explain the emergence and adaptation of the vertebrate skeleton. What can camera lenses tell us about the eyes of marine reptiles? How does under...

National Book Award Finalist: The "impressive" conclusion to the "magisterial trilogy on the mythology of violence in American history" ( Film Quarterly)."The myth of the Western frontier—which assumes that whites' conquest of Native Americans and the taming of the wilderness were preordained means to a progressive, civilized society—is embedded in our national psyche. U.S. troops called Vietnam 'Indian country.' President John Kennedy invoked 'New Frontier...

An in-depth study of Celtic warfare's evolution from early rise to Roman conquest—with more than 120 illustrations.Warfare was a crucial aspect of Celtic society, deeply linked to its cultural influence throughout Europe. From its rise to prominence in the fifth century BC to its final fall in the 1st century AD, the La Téne culture's approach to warfare was constantly evolving. These changes were in response to a variety of factors, from contact with Mediterranean ...

EDWARD J. SMITH was the celebrated captain who went down with his ship.THOMAS ANDREWS was the great and selfless hero who died saving women and children.BRUCE ISMAY was the selfish coward who caused the ship to sink.When disaster struck on the night of 14 April 1912, the lives of everyone aboard the Titanic were changed forever. Lives were lost, heroes were made – and villains were cast.The Triu...