A brief history of medieval warfare peter reid running press paperback 620 pages march 2008. A brief history of medieval warfare is a gripping and powerfully persuasive book. His first two books, warfare in the ancient world and warfare in the medieval world, cover the history of warfare in western civilization from the bronze age through the thirty years war. The period covered has a distinctive character in military history. Warfare was a formative influence on the civilization and the social structures of the european middle ages. The french plan of battle during the agincourt campaign, christopher philpotts. A cumulative bibliography of medieval military history and technology. Best medieval history books this list is for nonfiction books covering the middle ages, c. Series was designed to cover groups of books generally understood as such see wikipedia. Common knowledge series smithsonian history of warfare. Books medieval warfare and arms of the middle ages. Smithsonian history of warfare series librarything.
History of warfare presents the latest research on all aspects of military history. Retired british major general peter reid covers a subject and period not delved into much by other books of military history. Spade, five texts on mediaeval problem of universals hackett. In terms of fortification, the middle ages saw the emergence of the castle in europe, which then spread to western asia. There were changes in the relationship between those waging warfare, from generals to irregular troops, and the society in which they lived and for or against which they fought. Medieval warfare begins in the time of charlemagne, who maintained a military system of freemen and of vassals bound to him in service for lands granted in fief. John keegan, a renowned military historian known for the face of battle, a superb study of combat in the western world, and more recently his excellent overview of world war ii, has a taste for large topics. Medieval military history, medieval history, books barnes.
Society for medieval military history, covers medieval warfare in the broadest possible terms. List of books and articles about medieval warfare online. We recognize the power of the web for conveying ideas, whether as a blog post or a podcast. Medieval military history, medieval history, books. This edition marks the first appearance in paperback of walter j. From knights to vikings, crusaders to kings, we will explore the medieval world and its military history. Journal of medieval military history cambridge university press. Historical study isnt something that everyone immediately associates with modern technology. Discover the weapons that they used, the fortifications that protected them and the battles they fought in. Battlefield guides, accounts of decisive battles and sieges, critical biographies of key commanders, and reissues of classic works of the medieval scholarship all feature in our list. Into the past, one can trace the development of warfare from individual combat, warrior to warrior, to con.
Engineering efficiency and martial vigor in the war of the spanish succession. So read this book if you are really dedicated to studying medieval warfare and history and tired of the same anglocentric histories. The only one to survive intact into modern times, epitoma rei militaris by the fourthcentury roman writer vegetius, was a summary of traditional practices in such matters as drill, fortifications, discipline, and military administration. Heavily illustrated though often poorly captioned, the book will appeal to lay readers, but the academic audience will find it lacking. Despite some graceful writing and pointed observations, a history of warfare fails to live up to the titles promise or the authors. Karawansary wants to help change that history doesnt always have to be printed on paper. Guerrilla the oldest form of fighting is guerrilla warfare, which requires the least amount of training. The new cambridge medieval history the fourth volume of the new cambridge medieval history covers the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which comprised perhaps the most dynamic period in the european middle ages. History that is mainly relegated to footnotes in the majority of histories. 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. Interweaving his argument with a dramatic recreation of the main events of the campaigns, on land and at sea, peter reid presents a new perspective on the turning point in english history.
That spirit is perhaps best epitomized in the career of hans delbruck, the author of a multivolume history of western warfare, who. Discipline, tactics, and technology warfare in history by kelly devries hannibal. This entry was posted on november 18, 2019 by christy beall. Although the focus throughout this book remains on the west, and on the role of violence in its rise, each chapter also examines the.
Whether you have questions about the order process, or just want to geek out about history, wed love to hear from you. Although many reference works have been published in medieval history, this is the first and only encyclopedia to focus exclusively on medieval warfare, offering unique insight into the subject by addressing developments in military technology across the period with articles on topics such as gunpowder and shields. Warfare in medieval europe most often centered on capturing castles, and sieges of those fortresses, as well as fortified towns, became long and highly elaborate affairs featuring a wide array of weapons and techniques. The other three volumes of delbrucks history of the art of war were also translated by renfroe and are available as bison books. Military art and scienceeuropehistorymedieval, 5001500.
Developed by two of the leading experts in medieval military history, the readings tell stories of terrors and tragedies, triumphs and technologies in the middle ages. People men, women and children fought as guerrillas, usually in a part. Crusading warfare pitted westerners against a novel style of war and affords an opportunity to assess the military effectiveness of european methods. It is said the warriors is the twofold way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for. The art of warfare in western europe during the middle ages. Publication date 1999 topics military art and science. All of our books and magazines are of the highest possible quality. A history of the art of war among the carthagonians and romans down to the battle of pydna, 168 b. He adopted the wagonfort as a unit of tactics, made. Delbruck analyzes how the swiss military system came into being during their battles for independence during the medieval period. Jan 24, 2008 a brief history of medieval warfare is a gripping and powerfully persuasive book. Like many concepts in the book world, series is a somewhat fluid and contested notion.
A history, maurice keen, a fellow in medieval history at balliol oxford a college i attended briefly for lectures while i lived in britain has edited a superb compilation of essays, from a worthy collection of scholars from british and irish colleges, with one contributor from west point. These pages are crowded with recreations of famous events like the battle of hastings and movements like the crusades. Required texts note edition hymanwalsh arthur hyman and james j. Cambridge core military history journal of medieval military history edited. Ancient warfare books ancient world warfare osprey publishing.
Ancient warfare books ancient world warfare osprey. Technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery see military history. His other publications include hannibals last battle and road to manzikert. Feb 26, 2017 an introduction to using strategy and tactics to write slightly more realistic medieval warfare. Saints lives as sources for early medieval warfare. A history pdf, epub ebook d0wnl0ad 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. Changes in the nature of war in early 14th century italy, louis green.
University of nebraska press, jan 1, 1990 history 712 pages. Medieval arms, armor, and tactics and interactive qualifying project submitted to the faculty of the worcester polytechnic institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of bachelor or science by jack waddell and brent palermo date. Medieval warfare an introduction universe factory medium. Denson is distinguished scholar in history and law at the mises institute. About the author peter reid has had a distinguished military career in the british army where he rose to the rank of major general and was director of the royal armoured corps. From the eighth century through the middle ages feudalism determined the nature of european warfare. Though medieval warfare only addresses warfare in and among england, scotland and france from 14 to 1485, it remains a sizable book. Although early military theorists thought the crusaders completely ignorant of military principles, recent studies have shown that medieval warfare was not devoid of strategy and tactics. Books and ebooks about warfare in the ancient world, examining the equipment, uniforms, training and tactics of soldiers and warriors on the battlefield, from the spartans of ancient greece to the legendary roman legions. John keegan is able to paint a fairly good picture of where aggression warfare, as we call it nowcame from by analyzing the findings of anthropologists studying tribal people. Warfare in the classical world is an eminently readable, detailed exploration of the art of warfare in the graecoroman world which traces the evolution of weapons, fortifications, and battle tactics from the mycenean and homeric ages more than years b.
Edward iii and the dialectics of strategy, 2760, clifford j. Heavily illustrated though often poorly captioned, the book will appeal to lay. General histories, social histories, political military histories, and biographies are all good. 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. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. A history podcast about the middle ages and warfare during those times. The dozen chapters of medieval warfare are written by academic specialists, but it is an overview aimed at students and the general public. And because we view dialogue and debate as critical to a full understanding of history, forums and socialnetworking.
Nor is history of medieval warfare an appropriate description of it as it is focuses on english feats of arms on land and, barring those of the french and scots against the english, barely touches upon european let alone world military exploits of the period. The people were weary of war, and sighed for repose, and, moreover, were comparatively indifferent on whom the government fell, since their liberties were. It goes through the main theaters and events of the war. A history, maurice keen, a fellow in medieval history at balliol oxford a college i attended briefly for lectures while i lived in britain has edited a superb compilation of essays, from a worthy collection of scholars from british. And because we view dialogue and debate as critical to a full understanding of history, forums and social. Medieval warfare is the european warfare of the middle ages. Hosted by the editor of medieval warfare magazine, this podcast features guests discussing various topics about warfare, i. Its history in that period is in consequence of high significance alike for those who are interested in the middle ages for themselves and for their legacy, and for those whose interest is in war and its place in the story of human development. The book stresses five essential aspects of the western way of war. A short history, published 2010 under isbn 9780073385501 and isbn 0073385506. The cambridge history of warfare edited by geoffrey parker. Books on medieval weaponry warfare, arms, armour, defenses, open battles and castle sieges, armour, weapons and military technology of the middle ages. Much of the latest research in the field of history is targeted at an academic audience and is.
Medieval warfare a reader9781442636699university of toronto. John keegan is able to paint a fairly good picture of where aggressionwarfare, as we call it nowcame from by analyzing the findings of anthropologists studying tribal people. A further 17 are classified as possible battles where the scale or nature of the action is to some degree unclear, with some probably sieges and others perhaps no more than skirmishes. The logistics of medieval armies was always badly neglected, while until very recently there was a. A history of warfare is probably one of the most interesting and dense nonfiction books ive read, even considering all the ones i read during my years in college. He is a practicing attorney in alabama and the editor of two books, the costs of war and reassessing the presidency, and the author of a century of war. Warfare in medieval europe most often centered on capturing castles, and sieges of those fortresses, as well as fortified towns, became long and highly elaborate affairs. During this time, the english learned from their mistakes and developed methods of warfare to defeat much larger french armies.