The Medieval Siege [Hardcover]

Jim Bradbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

In medieval warfare, the siege predominated: for every battle, there were hundreds of sieges. Yet the rich and vivid history of siege warfare has been consistently neglected. Jim Bradbury's panoramic survey takes the history of siege warfare in Europe from the late Roman Empire to the 16th century, and includes sieges in Byzantium, Eastern Europe and the areas affected by the Crusades. Within this broad sweep of time and place, he finds, not that enormous changes occurred, which might have been expected, but that the rules and methods of siege warfare remained remarkably constant. His narrative of the main events of siege warfare includes adetailed study of some of the major sieges —Constantinople and Chateau-Gaillard, among others — and also presents evidence relating to the development of siege weapons and siege warfare. A history of sieges necessarily brings the people caught up in them, besieger and besieged, clearly before the reader; stories from chronicles and letters of danger, famine, endurance and heroism reach out with an immediacy that provides a powerful human context for this study.JIM BRADBURY is the author of The Medieval Archer; he writes and lectures on battles and warfare in England and France in the middle ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A guide to sieges that took place in Europe and the Near East between 450 and 1565 (with) concluding two chapters...the chapter on weaponry is descriptive and there are excellent drawings as well as contemporary illustrations. Equally, the final chapter on the conduct of sieges is admirably forthright... As a kind of gazetteer The Medieval Siege is useful; the index is particularly good. Moreover, as medieval warfare was more, far more, a question of sieges than of battles, the book is wider than its title suggests. It is, therefore, an antidote to the popular and prevalent idea of war as Great Battles. THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT (Colin Richmond) A very enjoyable book... a full survey of an important part of medieval warfare. While describing the destructive power of balistae, trebuchets and bombards as well as the conventions regulating sieges, Bradbury does not ignore the stories told by medieval chroniclers: their anecdotes enliven almost every page. RICARDIAN HISTORY

About the Author

JIM BRADBURY is the author of The Medieval Archer; he writes and lectures on battles and warfare in England and France in the Middle Ages. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851153127
• ISBN-13: 978-0851153124
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thorough exposition of the reality of medieval warfare., December 23, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Medieval Siege (Hardcover)

The battles of the Middle Ages are well known, but the
medieval siege has long been a neglected subject. Bradbury's
central theme is that sieges, and not battles, were decisive in medieval warfare. Looking at siege warfare
from the early Middle Ages to the beginnings of the
Renaissance, he shows that siege warfare was lengthy, brutal
and unchivalrous, with conventions and a morality all of its
own. His subject is breathtaking; the beautiful stone
castles of Europe were built for war, and he shows them
facing siege engines, assault towers, starvation and disease.
Above all, this book is accessible; far from being the
specialist book that its title suggests, it is an excellent
introduction to medieval military history, looked at from
a new and intriguing perspective. If this book has a fault,
it is that it fails to relate the medieval siege to other
aspects of warfare, especially logistics. Nevertheless, for
its great scope in time and geography, and its detailed
description of the practices and weapons of siege warfare,
this book is a valuable contribution to medieval military
history.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good stories, but weak on systematic analysis, October 17, 2001

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medieval Siege (Hardcover)

This could have been a first-rate book. The author has researched a wide variety of sources, collecting many examples of events that took place during sieges. These stories, ranging from amusing to horrifying, are told in a very readable way. Unfortunately, the book is weak on systematic analysis. Not until page 241 does the author begin describing siege weapons and techniques in a comparative way. Many of the illustrations from the medieval period are small and not well-reproduced, making it difficult for the reader to see details. There are not enough plans of castles and fortresses to illustrate the author's points. The book also follows the unfortunate modern trend of using inadequate maps composed of lines and dots, with no indication of terrain features. Michael Michaud, an American living in Vienna, Austria

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Medieval Siege, February 26, 2008

By 

F. D. Warren "Freddy Warren" (Newport, Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medieval Siege (Paperback)

This is a comprehensive social and military history of siege warfare and its development and affects throughout Medieval times. It deals in detail with the various 'ages' of Siege warfare and eleoquently demonstrates that sieges and counter sieges were the predominant form of warfare which shaped the social, military and political landscape in Europe and the Middle East for almost a millenia in the period from 450 CE to 1565 CE. The pages are crammed with historical detail and the work finishes with two fascinating chapters on the Weapons of Siege Warfare and the Conventions and Laws of Siege Warfare. A real must for those interested in the serious study of military and social history in Medieval times when sieges affected almost all aspects of daily life for those from peasants and soldiers to princes and popes.