Warfare and Military Affairs in the Letters of Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, born c. 490, d. c. 585, was by turns statesman and monk, leaving behind a substantial and varied body of literary work.
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Primary Sources
The Siege of Amida in 502, according to Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite
The Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite is a Syriac text written, in all probability, by an inhabitant of Edessa almost immediately after the end of the war between the Byzantine Empire and Persia in 502-506 AD.
The Siege of Amida in 359 by Ammianus Marecllinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was an army officer of Greek origin who left a history of the wars and conflicts that beset the Roman Empire in the latter half of the fourth century. Although he is more famous for his account of the Battle of Adrianople, where Emperor Valens was defeated and killed, …
French Chronicle of London: Naval Battle of Sluys (1340), Siege of Tournai (1341)
The French Chronicle of London, detailing events from 1259 to 1343, provides one of the best accounts of the naval battle of Sluys, and the siege of Tournai by Edward III in 1340. 12 Edward III. [A.D. 1337, 8]. Henry Darcy, Mayor. Walter Nele and Nicholas Crane, Sheriffs. In the …
Payments made to the men sent by the City to aid the King in his war with France (1338)
Paid to 40 men-at-arms for their arms and wages, 60 pounds. Paid to the 60 archers, for their wages, bows and arrows, and other necessaries, 30 pounds. Paid to the men-at-arms and archers aforesaid, as a courtesy, by order of the Mayor and Aldermen, 10 pounds. Paid to William Hauteyn, …
Alessandro Beneditti, The Battle of Fornovo (1495)
Charles VIII, attempting to seize control of southern Italy for use as a platform for war against the Ottoman Turks, lead the most powerful army in Europe at that time down through Italy, defeating one Italian province after another. The Italian states opposing this venture evolved into the League of …
Annals of Fulda: Battle of Fontenay (841)
The Annals of Fulda are the principal narrative source written from a perspective east of the Rhine for the period in which the Carolingian Empire gave way to a number of successor kingdoms. The text covers the period from the last years of unitary Frankish rule under Louis the Pious up …
The First Crusade (1095-99), A short narrative from contemporary sources.
If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me…
Letter from the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, with news of the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk (July 22, 1298)
On Saturday the Feast of St. Peter’s Chains (August 1st), there came a messenger from Sir Walter de Langestone, Bishop of Coventre and Lychfeld, and Treasurer to our Lord the King of England, bringing a letter from the said Bishop to the Mayor, and Alderman, and Barons, of London, in …
Matthew of Edessa, Chronicle, Warfare in the Crusader States (1104-1127)
The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa is considered by scholars to be a primary source of major importance for the history of the Near East during the period of the early Crusades. This work relates events that occurred between the years 952 and 1136, although a Gregory the Priest continued …