Anglo-Saxon Weapons and Warfare [Paperback]

Richard Underwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

A battle was the decisive moment of a military expedition. Because of this battles are by far the most frequently recorded type of engagement in the historical records. It is likely that many more military expeditions did not culminate in any decisive action and were therefore not recorded. The decisive nature of battles meant they were a high risk option; the defeated force risked annihilation if they did not have a line of retreat to a defensive position. Battles, therefore, would only tend to occur when either the opposing forces were, or mistakenly believed themselves to be, of a similar size or, when a weaker force was caught by a fast moving enemy and forced to fight.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Tempus Pub Ltd; 2nd edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752419102
• ISBN-13: 978-0752419107
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,528,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for reenactors on this subject!, August 1, 2003

By 

Charles Gadda (People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anglo-Saxon Weapons and Warfare (Paperback)

This book is a fairly comprehensive overview of both the gear and the nature of warfare in Anglo Saxon England, and has everything going for it: beautiful full colour plates of artefacts, reproductions, and reenactors, well researched and informative sections on all types of gear, specific details on certain artefacts, and much more. It covers an awful lot of material for such a relatively small book (159 pages) and is an excellent value for the money spent.

Indeed, I recommend this as the first choice and starting point for any reenactor of the Anglo Saxon culture/period in need of military information. It is really that good. And even if you are more the Viking or Migration era type, there is still a good deal here to make it more than worth your while to purchase.

If you are trying to reenact a warrior persona, this book has all you need apart from clothing and other household items (and even some hints on clothing may be gleaned from the photos of reenactors featured in this book)

As a personal aside, this book is really among my favourites, for its wealth of information and excellent layout. I really can't find anything bad to say about it - this is really one of the best introductions to the subject, that covers everything in sufficient detail to be truly useful. Much better than any Osprey book you care to name!