Medieval Warfare : A History

Written by 12 scholars, this richly illustrated volume illuminates the medieval period, examining over 700 years of European conflict from the time of Charlemagne to the end of the Middle Ages (1500). 100 illustrations. The medieval period was a singular epoch in military history-an age profoundly influenced by martial ideals, whose very structure of society was organized for war, and whose leaders were by necessity warriors. Now, the richly illustrated Medieval Warfare illuminates this era, examining over seven hundred years of European conflict, from the time of Charlemagne to the end of the middle ages (1500). Twelve scholars examine medieval warfare in two sections. The first section explores the experience of war chronologically, with essays on the Viking age, on the wars and expansion of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, on the Crusades, and on the great Hundred Years War between England and France. The second section traces developments in the art of warfare: fortification and siege craft, the role of armored cavalrymen, the use of mercenary forces, the birth of gunpowder artillery, and the new skills in navigation and shipbuilding. This richly illustrated book explores over seven hundred years of European warfare, from the time of Charlemagne to the end of the middle ages (c.1500). The period covered has a distinctive character in military history. It was an age when organization for war was integral to social structure, when the secular aristocrat was by necessity also a warrior, and whose culture was profoundly influenced by martial ideas. Twelve scholars, experts in their own fields, have contributed to this finely illustrated book. It is divided into two parts. Part I seeks to explore the experience of war viewed chronologically with separate chapters on, for instance, the Viking age, on the wars and expansion of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, on the Crusades and on the great Hundred Years War between England and France. The chapters in Part II trace thematically the principal developments in the art of warfare; in fortification and siege craft; in the role of armoured cavalrymen; in the employment of mercenary forces; the advent of gunpowder artillery; and of new skills in navigation and shipbuilding. In both parts of the book, the overall aim has been to offer the general reader an impression, not just of the where and the when of great confrontations, but above all of the social experience of warfare in the middle ages, and of the impact of its demands on human resources and human endurance.
The medieval period was a singular epoch in military history--an age profoundly influenced by martial ideals, whose very structure of society was organized for war, and whose leaders were by necessity warriors. Now, the richly illustrated Medieval Warfare illuminates this era, examining over seven hundred years of European conflict, from the time of Charlemagne to the end of the middle ages (1500). Twelve scholars examine medieval warfare in two sections. The first section explores the experience of war chronologically, with essays on the Viking age, on the wars and expansion of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, on the Crusades, and on the great Hundred Years War between England and France. The second section traces developments in the art of warfare: fortification and siege craft, the role of armored cavalrymen, the use of mercenary forces, the birth of gunpowder artillery, and the new skills in navigation and shipbuilding. 1. Introduction PART I: PHASES OF MEDIEVAL WARFARE 2. Carolingian and Ottonian Warfare 3. The Vikings 4. An Age of Expansion c.1020-1204 5. Warfare in the Latin East 6. European Warfare, c.1200-1320 7. The Age of the Hundred Years War PART II: THE ARTS OF WARFARE 8. Fortifications and Sieges in Western Europe, 800-1450 9. Arms, Armour and Horses 10. Mercenaries 11. Naval Warfare in the Viking Age, c.1100-1500 12. War and the Non-Combatant in the Middle Ages 13. The Changing Scene: Guns, Gunpowder, and Permanent Armies Further Reading, Chronology, Index THE philosophical tradition of what we call the Western world had its origins in ancient Greece, its jurisprudential tradition in classical Rome.