Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft [Hardcover]

Geoffrey Hindley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

A vivid reconstruction of siege warfare in the medieval world, with detailed descriptions of weapons and tactics.

Here Geoffrey Hindley serves us the history of military sieges from every angle, tracing the development of fortifications and equipment (offensive and defensive), penning vivid portraits of the weapons involved, exploring the psychology of laying siege, and even describing the role played by women and camp followers in battle. He shows siege tactics in action through real-life case studies of famous sieges that changed the course of history in medieval Europe and the Holy Land. His stimulating and accessible study will be fascinating reading for medieval specialists and for anyone who is interested in the history of warfare.
50 b&w illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

For those interested in a fuller understanding of medieval warfare, covering the years 500 to 1500 C.E., this book should be square one.... the extremely readable results are recommended. (Library Journal )

About the Author

Geoffrey Hindley is a distinguished medieval historian who has written widely on many aspects of the period. He has made a special study of medieval warfare and of sieges in particular. He lives in the UK.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; 1st U.S. Edition edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602396337
• ISBN-13: 978-1602396333
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,294,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For A General Audience, November 9, 2011

By 

V. Smallegan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft (Hardcover)

This book by Geoffrey Hindley, who has written several other titles on medieval warfare, is written mainly for a non-academic audience. The stories of sieges that he relates are interesting, but his book tends to lack the analysis necessary for research. For a general audience, the book is informative and more importantly accurate; however, no footnotes or end notes and a limited bibliography make using it for a research project difficult, which was what I was trying to do. On the plus side, the chapters are short and organized into simple cohesive units like "Artillery" or "Logistics." The scope of the book is limited to siege warfare in the latter part of the Middle Ages, probably due to the lack of written information that survives from the early medieval period. Overall, this is a good book for those who are interested in the subject of medieval warfare, but those that are trying to research the subject academically should probably look elsewhere. I have found other books on the topic that are much easier to use for a research project on the interaction of human nature and siege warfare because Medieval Sieges and Siegecraft provides information, but getting to the source of that information is not very easy.