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Medieval Warfare: A Reader

Edited by Kelly DeVries and Michael Livingston

© 2019

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 leading experts in medieval military history, the readings tell stories of terrors and tragedies, triumphs and technologies in the Middle Ages. By reclaiming the voices of victims and veterans that have previously been ignored, the editors stake out a powerful new perspective on the long history of military conflict and suffering.

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Product Details

  • Series: Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 392 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.4in x 1.0in x 9.3in
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    From: $49.95
    ISBN 9781442636699
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    ISBN 9781442636705
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Quick Overview

Curated by two of the leading experts in medieval military history, the readings in Medieval Warfare tell a story of terrors and tragedies, triumphs and technologies in the Middle Ages.

Medieval Warfare: A Reader

Edited by Kelly DeVries and Michael Livingston

© 2019

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 leading experts in medieval military history, the readings tell stories of terrors and tragedies, triumphs and technologies in the Middle Ages. By reclaiming the voices of victims and veterans that have previously been ignored, the editors stake out a powerful new perspective on the long history of military conflict and suffering.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • Series: Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 392 pages
  • Dimensions: 6.4in x 1.0in x 9.3in

  • Reviews

    "Medieval Warfare: A Reader is a real treasure trove, covering the whole gamut of European war from battle between the Romans and the Goths in the fourth century to the Ottoman capture of Rhodes from the Knights Hospitaller in the early sixteenth century. It includes extracts of every kind of written record of war: poetry, treaties, contemporary comment, official letters, instruction manuals, account books, regulations, battle orations, declarations of war, songs of triumph, and lamentations. There are writings by men and women, warriors and non-combatants. This is the essential primary-source handbook to medieval warfare."


    H.J. Nicholson, Cardiff University

    "DeVries and Livingston offer us a brilliant guided tour of medieval warfare organized by themes and chronologically. This is an original solution, quite formative and very striking, which undoubtedly projects a new light on medieval military history!"


    João Gouveia Monteiro, University of Coimbra, Portugal

    "Offering an array of source materials that are simultaneously broad and deep, the editors have curated an incisive exhibition of medieval warfare. Armies and fortifications are prepared, campaigns and battles are waged, fire and sword threaten and destroy, triumphs and glory are gained, disasters are suffered, and the butcher’s bill is counted with blood, coin, and lamentations. Its focus on war as a profoundly human endeavor affecting all aspects of society is unrelenting. This collection will be enormously useful for students in all fields of medieval studies and beyond."


    John D. Hosler, Command and General Staff College

  • Author Information

    Kelly DeVries is a professor in the Department of History at Loyola University, Maryland and an honorary historical consultant at the Royal Armouries, UK.


    Michael Livingston is a professor in the Department of English, Fine Arts, and Communications at The Citadel

  • Table of contents

    Maps
    General Introduction
    Recommended Reading
    Acknowledgements

    Part I: The Casualties of War

    Those Who Mourned

    1. On the Thuringian War (after 561)
    2. Wulf and Eadwacer (ca. 1000)
    3. A Crusader’s Lament
    4. Destruction from the Hundred Years War (1361)

    Those Who Fought

    5. Riddles on Armaments (ca. 1000)
    6. Massacre at Civetot (1096)
    7. Battle of Waun Gaseg (1410)
    8. Pity the Veteran Soldiers (ca. 1420)

    Those Who Feared

    9. After the Siege of Arles (507–08)
    10. Devastation of Villages (1215)
    11. Local Atrocities (1358)
    12. The Poor in War (1425)

    Part II: The Preparations for War

    Theories of War: Just War

    13. The Just War (before 430)
    14. The Call to Crusade (1095)
    15. Take Her Husband, Please (1212)
    16. How We Die (1481)

    Regulating War

    17. Declaration of a Truce of God (1063)
    18. Criticism of the Second Crusade (1149)
    19. Curse on Those Who Require the Making of Arms (1374)
    20. Wyclif Against War (1375)
    21. End the Hundred Years War (1395)

    Training for War

    22. Vegetius on Fortifications and Siege Preparation (ca. 388)
    23. Rule of the Templars (1135–65)
    24. Practice Archery, Not Games (1363)
    25. The Training of Boucicaut (1409)
    26. How to Conduct a Siege (ca. 1425?)

    Chivalry

    27. The Function of Knighthood (1159)
    28. The Decadence of Knights (1250)
    29. Becoming a Knight (1352)
    30. Peace-time Jousts at St-Inglevert (1390)
    31. The Decline of Chivalry (1483–85)

    Financing War

    32. Military Obligations of Landholders (743)
    33. The Saladin Tithe and Crusader Ordinances (1188)
    34. Poll Tax (1379)

    Outfitting for War: Individual

    35. Renting a Suit of Armor (1248)
    36. The Arming of Sir Gawain (ca. 1360)
    37. Margaret Paston to Her Husband (1449)

    Outfitting for War: Militia

    38. Florentine Militia Requirements (1260)
    39. Provisions for the Ostend Militia (1436)
    40. Troyes Arsenal (1474)

    State

    41. Fortifications at Dara (6th c.)
    42. Construction of Saphet Castle (ca. 1263)
    43. A Weapons Dowry (1449)

    Recruiting and Obligations

    44. Charlemagne’s Way of Raising Troops (801–11)
    45. Pope Gregory Pleads for Matilda to Lead a Crusade (1074)
    46. Levy of Troops for the Wars in Bohemia (1422)
    47. Indenture of War (1415)

    Part III: The Waging of War    

    Plans and Rules

    48. Barbarossa’s Rules of the Army (1158)
    49. Spring Is for Warfare (1184–88)
    50. Payment for Camp Workers (1378)
    51. Ordinances of a Combined Army (1385)
    52. Battle Plan for Agincourt (1415)
    53. Maintaining Discipline (1419)
    54. Organizing an Army (1475)
    55. How to Attack Venice (1517)

    The March

    56. Accounts of the Third Crusade (mid–1190s)
    57. Costs of the Seventh Crusade (1256)
    58. Army on March and in Camp (1304)
    59. Itinerary of the Crécy Campaign (1346)
    60. Array of Verona (1386)
    61. Agincourt: March and Battle (1415)
    62. Transport of Artillery (1474)

    Declaration and Oration   

    63. Oration Against the Thuringians (6th c.)
    64. Battle of the Standard (1138)
    65. Declaration of War Against Philip Augustus (1212)
    66. A King’s Challenge (1340)
    67. Joan of Arc’s Letter to the English (1429)

    The Fight: On Land

    68. Battle at Adrianople (378)
    69. Battle of Dara (530)
    70. Battle and Aftermath of the Catalaunian Plains (551)
    71. Battle of Hastings (1066)
    72. Battle of Hattin (1187)
    73. Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)
    74. Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302)
    75. Battle of Crécy (1346)
    76. Battle of Othée (1408)
    77. Battle of Barnet (1471)

    The Fight: At Sea  

    78. Battle of Nisa (1062)
    79. Landing in Egypt (1249)
    80. Naval Warfare Between Pisa and Genoa (1284)
    81. Fighting the Saracens at Sea (1325–32)
    82. Battle of Winchelsea (1350)

    In Siege  

    83. Siege of Jerusalem (614)
    84. Siege of Paris (885–86)
    85. Siege of Thessaloniki (904)
    86. Fight at Finnesburh (ca. 1000)
    87. Siege of Jerusalem: Wood and War (1099)
    88. Siege of Lisbon (1147)
    89. Siege of Orléans (1429)
    90. Siege of Constantinople (1453)
    91. Siege of Rhodes (1480)

    Feats of Bravery   

    92. Battle of Maldon (991)
    93. Gathering Bolts at Tournai (1340)
    94. Archer-woman of Karia (1341)
    95. The Maid of Orléans (1429–31)
    96. The Unconquered Knight (ca. 1440)

    The Margins of War   

    97. Camp-followers Win a Battle (1018)
    98. Hiring a Foreign Engineer (ca. 1180)
    99. Slaughter of Non-combatants (1203)
    100. Piracy in the English Channel (ca. 1250)
    101. Contract for Genoese Mercenaries (1337)
    102. Payment for Spies (1343)
    103. English Mercenaries in Italy (1361–64)
    104. Mercenaries Disguise as Women (1388)

    Duels   

    105. Song of Hildebrand and Hadubrand (ca. 800)
    106. Siege, Duel, and Battle at Halidon Hill (1333)
    107. Joust Between Armies (1387)

    Part IV: The Outcomes of War
       
    Wounds of War   

    108. Death on the Field (1289)
    109. Curing a Royal Head-wound (1403)
    110. Cauterizing a Wound (ca. 1440)
    111. After the Battle of Barnet (1471)
    112. Richard III’s Death (1485)

    Victory and Surrender   

    113. The Taking of Autun and the Blinding of Leodegar (675)
    114. Jomsvikings Meet Their End (986)
    115. Aftermath of Hattin (1187)
    116. Execution of the Prisoners at Acre (1191)
    117. Execution of the Prisoners at Nicopolis (1396)

    Pillage and Booty   

    118. Siege of Worcester (1139)
    119. Plundering Relics (1204)
    120. Razing Enemy Property (1403)

    Prisoners and Ransoms   

    121. Enslaving Noble Hostages (511)
    122. Gospel Book Ransomed from Vikings (ca. 800)
    123. Surrender to Blanche of Navarre (1218)
    124. Announcement of Victory (1356)
    125. Ransom of a Knight (1356)

    The Fallen

    126. Mongol Devastation in Hungary (1241)
    127. Destruction of the Mongols (1247)
    128. Identifying the Dead (1346)
    129. Expenses for the Quartering of Hotspur (1403)

    An End of War   

    130. Two Sides of a Treaty (1245)
    131. The Burghers of Calais (1346)
    132. Negotiating a Treaty (1382)
    133. General Amnesty to Rebels (1411)
    134. After the Fall of Constantinople (1453)
    135. Ottoman Treaty with the Venetians (1478)
    136. Surrender of Rhodes to Suleyman (1522)

    Memorialization   

    137. Battle of Brunanburh (ca. 955)
    138. Lament for Jerusalem (1099)
    139. Defeat of Igor (1185)
    140. Song of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302)
    141. The Founding of Battlefield Church (1406)

    Sources
    Index of Topics

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