Michael S Fulton Artillery in the age of the Crusades: Siege warfare and the development of trebuchet technology (Brill, 2018) 514 pp. $156.00/€130.00 Medieval artillery has been a subject of fascination since the nineteenth century. The interest is shared by … Continue reading →
Byzantines, Avars and the Introduction of the Trebuchet Stephen McCotter The Queen’s University of Belfast (2003) While there has been much debate over when the traction trebuchet appeared in the west and the extent to which it replaced late-antique torsion … Continue reading →
Black Camels and Blazing Bolts: The Bolt-Projecting Trebuchet in the Mamluk Army By Paul E. Chevedden Mamluk Studies Review, Vol. 8:1 (2004) The Mamluks pioneered the use of gunpowder ordnance, but their principal piece of heavy artillery was “the crushing, … Continue reading →
The Trebuchet Paul E. Chevedden, Les Eigenbrod, Vernard Foley and Werner Soedel Scientific American (July 1995) Abstract Centuries before the development of e›ective cannons, huge artillery pieces were demolishing castle walls with projectiles the weight of an upright piano. The … Continue reading →
Journal of Medieval Military History Volume XX (2022) Edited by John France, Kelly DeVries, Clifford J. Rogers The essays in this volume of the Journal continue its proud tradition of presenting cutting-edge research with a wide chronological and geographical range, from eleventh-century … Continue reading →
Patrick Brugh Gunpowder, Masculinity, and Warfare in German Texts, 1400-1700 (University of Rochester Press, 2019), 272 pp. $125.00 The adoption of gunpowder weapons was one of the most significant developments of the late Middle Ages. Over time this new technology … Continue reading →
Michael S Fulton Siege Warfare During the Crusades (Pen & Sword, 2019), 344 pp. $42.95/£30.00 There have been a number of well-respected studies of warfare during the crusades but none in English that cover the siege over the whole two … Continue reading →
Peter Purton The Medieval Military Engineer: From the Roman Empire to the Sixteenth Century (Boydell & Brewer, 2018) 365 pp. $99.00 In this excellent monograph, Peter Purton endeavors to shed new light on the important role of military engineers in … Continue reading →
Georgios Kardaras Byzantium and the Avars: Political, Diplomatic, and Cultural Relations (Brill, 2019) 252 pp. $192.00 When it rains, it pours. Accessing material on the Avars has been a difficult matter in the English-speaking world, with limited literary source material … Continue reading →
Nicholas Savy La Ville Fortifiée de la Guerre de Cent Ans (v. 1345-v. 1395): Armement et Tactique (Archeodrom, 2017) 256 pp. $24.00/€20.00 Even academically trained historians are apt, however unconsciously, to see the events of the fourteenth century phases of … Continue reading →
This thesis addresses the military aspects of the Albigensian Crusade in the region of Languedoc between 1209 and 1218. Continue reading →
Most of this section deals with a conflict between the cities of Gesso and Reggio. Early in 1287, the latter city had fallen under the control of Monaco of Canossa, ruler of Bianello. This would lead to a struggle for Reggio. Continue reading →
Posted in Primary Sources
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Tagged Italy
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Padua, a major Italian city during the Middle Ages, got caught up in the struggle between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in the thirteenth century. Continue reading →
Posted in Primary Sources
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Tagged Italy
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James Waterson Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars 1209-1370 (Frontline Books: 2013) XXXIV and 236 pp. $31.59 The Mongol conquest of China serves as a clear break in Chinese history, helping to determine the character of China’s final two imperial dynasties, … Continue reading →
The Mongol Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng and the Song military Chris Hanson DeRe Militari (2004) The Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng was one of the longest sieges of the medieval world lasting almost 5 years, from 1268 until early … Continue reading →
Dover Castle and the Great Siege of 1216 John Goodall Chateau Gaillard XIX: Actes du Colloque International de Graz, 1998 (2000) Commanding the shortest sea crossing between England and the Continent, Dover Castle was a vital strategic and communication lynch-pin … Continue reading →
This Norwegian work, written in the mid-13th century, is in the style of a son asking his father various questions, ranging from the reasons for the shorter days in Scandinavian lands to the power and authority of kings. Halfway through chapter 36, … Continue reading →
Towns and Defence in Later Medieval Germany David Eltis Nottingham Medieval Studies: v.33 (1989) The future pope Pius II was astonished to discover how militarised a society urban Germany was. As he observed in 1444, ‘not only every noble, but even … Continue reading →
Horses and Crossbows: Two Important Warfare Advantages of the Teutonic Order in Prussia Sven Ekdahl The Military Orders, Volume 2: Welfare and Warfare (1998) The thirteenth-century conquest of Livonia and Prussia by the Order of the Swordbrothers and its successor, … Continue reading →
Posted in Articles
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Tagged 13C, Crossbows, Genoa, High Middle Ages, Islamic, Italy, Livonia, Muslim, Papacy, Prussia, Strategy, Teutonic Knights
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Byzantine Heavy Artillery: The Helepolis George T. Dennis Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies: v.39 (1998) Abstract The military manual (Strategikon) attributed to the emperor Maurice stipulated that the infantry contingents should be followed by a train of wagons, some of which … Continue reading →
Warfare and Firearms in Fifteenth Century Morocco, 1400-1492 Weston F. Cook Jr. War and Society: v.11 (1993) Warfare in history is back in vogue again with special interest in the period 1350-1750. Much of this renewal arises from debate over … Continue reading →
Medieval siege warfare: A reconnaissance Bernard S. Bachrach The Journal of Military History, vol. 58 no. 1 (January, 1994) Abstract Historians writing during the later nineteenth and the twentieth centuries unambiguously recognized the importance, indeed the central role, played by siege … Continue reading →
The Military Revolution from a Medieval Perspective Andrew Ayton and J.L. Price The Medieval Military Revolution: State, Society and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Europe Although there is continuing disagreement concerning the essential nature of the military revolution; … Continue reading →
James I, King of Aragon (1208-76), king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213-76), was nicknamed the Conquerer because of his many wars and conquests, which included the capture of the Balearic Islands (1229-35) and Valencia (1238) form the Moors, … Continue reading →
Posted in Primary Sources
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Tagged 13C, Crossbows, Muslim, Reconquest, Siege Engines, Siege Warfare, sieges, Technology, Templars, Trebuchet, Valencia
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by Ken Mondschein (k e n [at] k e n m o n d s c h e i n [dot] c o m) George R.R. Martin’s Westeros seems to have an unreasonably large number of battles compared to the … Continue reading →
John H. Pryor and Elizabeth M. Jeffreys The Age of the Dromon. The Byzantine Navy ca. 500-1204 Leiden: Brill, 2011. 754 pp. $49.50 [PB]. The Medieval Mediterranean 62 ISBN 978 90 04 15197 0 [HB]; ISBN 978 90 04 20590 … Continue reading →
Posted in BookReview
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Tagged Byzantine, naval
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Peter Purton A History of the Early Medieval Siege c.450-1220. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2009. Pp. xxvii+505. ISBN 978-1-84383-448-9. As the date range in the title implies, this book is only half of the author’s history of medieval siege warfare. … Continue reading →
Journal of Medieval Military History Volume 8 The journal’s hallmark of a broad chronological, geographic, and thematic coverage of the subject is underlined in this volume. It begins with an examination of the brief but fascinating career of an armed … Continue reading →
Posted in Journal
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Tagged JMMH
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Journal of Medieval Military History Volume 5 Like the earlier volumes of The Journal of Medieval Military History, this one includes articles covering the full chronological range of the Middle Ages and using a wide variety of approaches-including literary, prosopographical, technological, … Continue reading →
Posted in Journal
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Tagged JMMH
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We are pleased to offer this list of full text of books and articles about medieval military history. We thank the authors and publishers for their permission in republishing this material. Books/Dissertations | Intros/Chapters | Articles Books and Dissertations Ditcham, … Continue reading →