Beyond the chivalry and adventure often presented in fictional works, the medieval era was marked by frequent military conflict. The tools for war employed by soldiers, knights, archers, and other combatants on the battlefield and in bloody sieges are richly rendered in this book. This book explores the use of cavalry, castle fortifications, and military tactics, and it is illustrated with imagery sure to underscore the immediacy and harshness of...

Vikings at War presents a sumptuous depiction of how the Vikings waged war; their weapons technology, offensive and defensive warfare, military traditions and tactics, their fortifications, ships and command structure. It also portrays the Viking raids and conquest campaigns that brought the Vikings to virtually every corner of Europe and even to America. Viking ships landed on almost every shore in the Western world during the 350 years that followed...

The author outlines the development of the undisciplined barbarian war bands of the Dark Ages into the feudal armies of the early Middle Ages. It deals with the arms and equipments of the soldier, not only from surviving specimens but also from descriptions in contemporary medieval documents. Vesey Norman covers the slow development of tactics and the transition of the warrior from a personal follower of a war leader to the knight who served his feudal...

"From gunpowder to armor, medieval innovators helped develop and improve some important weaponry and warfare technology we use today. The Middle Ages were crucial for the development of technologies such as warships, battering rams, cannons, and more! Discover how we still fight like we're in medieval times with interesting historical facts, scientific details, and illuminating photos."--

Templar historian Frale pens an explosive new history of the medieval world's most powerful military order, the Templars--and the momentous discovery that finally allows the full story to be told.

How can we attempt to understand the experience of those involved in ancient battles, sieges and campaigns? What was the visual impact of seeing the massed ranks of the enemy approaching or the sky darkened with their arrows? How did it feel to be trapped in the press of bodies as phalanxes clashed shield to shield? What of the taste of dust on the march or the smell of split blood and entrails? What of the rumble of approaching cavalry, the clash...

The wars of the fourteenth-century English kings with France and Scotland resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of men involved in warfare on land and sea. This book draws upon new research to identify and analyze these soldiers at all social levels in the specific context of the county of Essex.

The White Company Arthur Conan Doyle - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's notoriety lies primarily in his Sherlock Holmes stories, which remain the quintessential crime and detective novels of the twentieth century. However, before his days of penning detective fiction for zealous audiences, Doyle found inspiration for his novel "The White Company" in an 1889 lecture on medieval times. He had read over a hundred volumes on the period of Edward III and the Hundred...

Martial Arts researcher Antony Cummins reveals the hitherto hidden world of Viking hand-to-hand combat, which employed the sword, the spear, the axe and the shield. Based upon a careful analysis of the Viking sagas, the techniques described are recreated precisely, from knocking down a spear in mid-flight to the shield cleave. Illustrated with over 250 images, The Illustrated Guide to Viking Martial Arts in effect represents the earliest combat manual...

In the spring of 878 at the Battle of Edington the tide of English history turned. Alfred's decisive defeat of Guthrum the Dane freed much of the south and west of England from Danish control and brought to a halt Guthrum's assault on Alfred's Wessex. The battle was the culmination of a long period of preparation by Alfred in the wilderness - a victory snatched from the jaws of catastrophic defeat. As such, this momentous turning point around which...