Customer Reviews

Lords of Battle: The World of the Celtic Warrior (World of the Warrior)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lords of Battle was a really, really good read. Many books on the Celts are more like references, with many nice pictures, discrete sections etc., books that you tend to dip into, but not read through. With Lords of Battle however, I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed it greatly. The text is great, the images beautiful, and its well turned out. As the title suggests, it is focused on Celtic Warrior, but not exclusively so, there is a lot of accompanying information. If you want to read only one book on the Celts (giving a broader view, linguistics, insular Celts etc), then it should be "The Celtic Empire" by Peter Ellis, but this book makes a good accompaniment, and there were a number of interesting perhaps "new" nuggets of information, that I have not found in other books on the Celts. For example the early retrograde movements of the Danubian Celts into Britain and what is now Belgium, some interesting things on the Celtiberians etc. Its an excellent addition to anyones library on the Celts.

LORDS OF BATTLE: THE WORLD OF THE CELTIC WARRIOR
STEPHEN ALLEN
OSPREY PUBLISHING, 2007
HARDCOVER, $29.95, 224 PAGES, ILLUSTRATIONS


The Celts were an indigenous people whose cultural influence spanned from parts of ancient Anatolia to Ireland. Throughout the course of their existence, the Celts developed their own distinctive style of warfare which would serve them well in their internal struggles and their wars against foreign invaders. To say there was a "typical" Celtic warrior maybe a bit of a misnomer, as they would have been equipped by themselves and their families there would have been little uniformity amongst the ranks. In as much as a standard emerges, Celtic warriors probably would have gone to battle with one to four spears of varying weights for varying purposes. The long "Lancea" was designed for more traditional spear fighting, while the shorter "Gaesum" was used more as a javelin. Others would have carried the infamous Celtic broad sword (a long slashing type sword. Most warriors would have a large leather-covered wood shield with a metal boss. Among the rank and file, there would be little armor in evidence as only the most prosperous nobles could afford a bronze or golden helmet, in extremely rare cases a mail coat may have been worn by more well-off nobles. Historical sources indicate that Celtic warriors were organized less around formal "armies" than as "war bands" who would congregate around a particularly strong leader or a certain religious cult. Certain bands seem to have enjoyed high status in Celtic society for their heroic deeds in battle, members of the Gaesates were known to fight naked in battle (stated reasons for this vary: possibly it was as a display of courage or maybe it was motivated more by the practical concern of not wanting the risk of infection caused by clothing being forced into the body if they were stabbed.) Covering the period from the first mention of the Celts by ancient Greek writers to the Roman conquest of Britain, author Stephen Allen examines the Celtic warrior, his society, and his place within it, and the conflicts that would eventually destroy his world. Beautifully illustrated with many examples of Celtic artifacts and craftsmanship, LORDS OF BATTLE: THE WORLD OF THE CELTIC WARRIOR provides a fascinating insight into a culture whose legacy has endured to the present day.


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

This book is a great starting place for someone who is interested in learning about the Celts and their starting point. The narrative is easy to read and yet still in depth. A lot of the sources quoted in this book are avalible from Amazon. The photographs of the various artifacts are wonderful and both in black-and-white and color.

The only problem that I have with the author is that the book could be a little longer and go even deeper into the subject. But all in all, this is a great book.

This book is very good. If you have any older titles on Celtic history you'll find this a good update based on more recent archeological findings. If you have no previous reference material on the ancient celts, this may be your best, first, book on the topic. Very readable with excellent photographs of artifacts.

So, why the three stars? Basically, this book is published through Osprey. They are world renowned for their graphic and interpretive content, especially for gamers, modelers and to a lesser extent the reenactment community. They are THE industry standard in graphic illustrations of military settings.

I considered this book would follow previous Osprey hardback formats: recombinations of many of their individual paperbacks into a cohesive and comprehensive whole. I was sadly mistaken. There are no illustrations by McBride or other renown illustrators who've graced the many Men-at-Arms, Warrior, or fortifications series. There are a limited number of photos of reconstructed forts or specific military items. Instead there is a greater or equal emphasis on artistic artifacts. None of the lush hillfort renderings or other graphical content that would have made this a one stop, show all, book on the ancient celts are included. That of and by itself was the greatest disappointment I've experienced from any Osprey title.

So if this is your first title on the ancient celts, it's probably a 5 star purchase, if it's a much needed update to your celtic collection, it's probably a 4 star. If you're an Osprey fan looking for specific renderings or a cohesive combination of previous graphics, you should probably NOT buy this book.

It would have been fantastic if they had combined the graphics from the "rome's enemies" and other men at arms series with the fortifications series... it would have "brought it all together" into a comprehensive and visual whole that has never really been done for the celts. This is no "Empires Collide" or "The Normans Warrior Knights and Castles"; consider the format changed for this title, before you buy.

This superb book is an excellent introduction to the ancient Celtic way of living. Divided in four parts, the author provides information not only about the expansion of Celtic culture throughout Europe and Asia Minor, but also their ways of living, beliefs, social stratification, juridical system and main campaigns.

In the first part - out of the mists - the Halstatt and La Téne periods are described and the considerable differences between them are clearly detailed. Also there is a short history of Celtic migrations/invasions.

In the second part (the biggest), the warrior and his world are detailed; from the feasts where bragging is part of social advancement, raiding, the gift giving, the importance of cattle and followers, etc. Their religion, beliefs in the afterlife, sacred places, the human, animal and loot sacrifices, Druids (and their importance as a political and cultural glue) and priestesses are also analyzed.

Part three - The eagle and the raven - focus on the conflict between Rome and the Celtic world in Gaul, Belgium, Hispania and Britain.

In the last part - Twilight - the author explains how the process of Romanization led to a decline of most Celtic characteristics, though in Britain there was a survival of Celtic culture (and obviously Hybernia/ireland managed to maintain their lifestyles). Other interesting subject is the phenomenon of Celtic revivalism, nationalisms and the association of Celtic heroes to national pantheons of heroes.

Without biases (from either side), Stephen Allen details the sources and put them in context, making probably the best work on the Celtic Warrior that I read so far.

There is a small mistake in this book, the Scipio that won Zama was Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and not Scipio Aemilianus Africanus (and after Numantia also called Numantinus) - the most important battle this leader won was the siege of Carthage, not Zama (although it's a mistake, this information doesn't "harm" the author's reasoning - the point was that Scipio Aemilianus was a great general, and in fact he was - so I maintain the 5 stars...but in a new edition this should be corrected).

This book has also great photos of artifacts, sculptures, oppida, etc. Highly recommended.

This is a good introduction to Celtic civilization. It is well illustrated with numerous color photos that blend well with the text. The bibliography, although brief is current. It would have benefited if the quotes from ancient authors were noted as to the relevant chapter or book. The book is a bit thin when it comes to the actual history of this wide-spread Celtic peoples and has two glaring errors. The author seems to think that a potlatch is a celtic term (even listing it is his glossary. The sutor also gives an incorrect date for the battle of Zama it was 202 BC, not 146 BC.

LORDS OF BATTLE: WORLD OF THE CELTIC WARRIOR covers the period from the first mention of the Celts by ancient Greek writers to the Roman conquest of Britain, blending lovely color illustration throughout with a survey rich in Celtic history. Chapters focus on the military might and sentiment of these early Celts, covering everything from appearance and dress to arms and rebellions. While its narrowed scope will appeal primarily to specialty holdings and libraries strong in early Celtic history, these collections will find the military focus unique and worthy of acquisition.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The item was to be delivered in May, has not arrived, it has been 10 days since email was sent to bookseller and still no response....unless something changes I would not use them again