Customer Reviews

The Medieval Soldier's World: 15th Century Campaign Life Recreated in Color Photographs

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Medieval Soldier should be the beginning and end document for any recreationist of the fifteenth century. The level and accuracy of the photographed Company of Saint George living history group is the highest anywhere. The effort to which they have gone to make their work just right is astounding to anyone with an interest in living history, or even simply in seeing a past culture visible in print & photographs. Contained are many pieces of historical information, and picture after picture of immaculate plate armour, costume, and accoutrements made to be as exact as possible, and aesthetically pleasing, too.

A must read for the historical recreation enthusiast.

While I think the Company of Saynte George has done a great job and certainly has pictured a good amount of their work, I do not recommend that those of ou reading this book take this as a definitive guide on how to be a medieval soldier or think that these photos are perfect; Embleton himself has said that some things in the book are just not right. While the book is very good, if you intend to do any reenactment of the time period, continue doing research for yourself and do not stop with this one book.

While it may be true that this is not the "end all be all" of books on the subject, it comes pretty close!

The most obvious strength of the book are the clear, sharp, full colour photographs of the author's re-enactment company, showing the group in all of their meticulously recreated kit. Everything from clothing and belt pouches to arms and armour are featured, sometimes even in detailed closeups. There is nothing bad to say about the book - the quality and content are absolutely top notch.

Of course, serious reenactors should not rely solely upon this. One has to augment with detailed original sources, such as museum catalogues with details of the original artifacts, period art, and so forth. Nevertheless, given that there is a wealth of surviving material from the period (as opposed to, say, the Iron Age) and the author is a leading authority on the subject and reenactor himself, it is doubtful that anything within the covers is seriously off base.

If you are doing XVth Cent. reenactment with military aspects of any kind, you really do need this book. Rest assured it will be an indispensible part of your library. I refer constantly to my copy, if only for inspiration. At the prices this is currently being offered at, this is an absolute bargain.

This book seems to be a continuation of the research done for the Osprey books where I came to know Mr. Embleton's work. As has been mentioned by another reviewer, this is not the end all be all of medieval soldiering resources, as Mr. Embleton says himself in the book. We can not know everything about what was made or worn in this age as not enough still exists to accurately document any given subject. Mr. Embleton's vast knowledge of his subject and in-depth research, I believe, allows him to make very good "guesses" as to what the pictures "mean." I do sincerely believe that this book is one of the better resources and deserves a place on any re-creationist's book shelf. Also, it is a great read! Be sure to check out ANY book with his name associated with it!

A fantastic guide for anyone researching the life of the medieval soldier. Wonderful photgraphy showing the common man-at-arms to the mounted knight. As well as woman soldiers of the age! I highly recomend it.

First and foremost, this book is about the life of medieval soldiers as seen through the lens of medieval reenactors. If you are looking for detailed information about chivalry, armour, specific battles or individual knights there are countless better books written by academic historians. What the authors of "The Medieval Soldier" have to offer are the insights of living historians who have made a go out of trying to recreate the material culture of the late medieval period. The is a perspective absent from many academic works.

I own many books with beautiful illustration of the medieval period. Although I love fine illustration, there is nothing like a well photographed image of a modern reenactor to bring history to life. The reenactors pictured in this book are principally from the Company of Saynte George, a Swiss reenactment group. This living history group is at the pinnacle of medieval reenacting. Their historical impressions show a loving attention to detail that is impressive.

The authors Gerry Embleton and John Howe are well known commercial illustrators. Their technical skills as photographers are first rate. Their images are well lit and the colors are vibrant. Furthermore, the scenarios they photograph are interesting and will be of interest to the general reader. A better photographic study of the medeival period would be hard to image. Highly recommended.

I was specifically looking for this title and knew what I was purchasing.I love the photos in this book that give a feel of what the lifestyle of the time period represented truly was. This is an excellent primer for living interpreters of the 14th & 15th centuries, giving wonderful visual examples. The bibliography isn't too shabby, either.

I was pleasently surprised by all the information this book had about the "Commoners" in the 15th Century. I was also surprised, but not pleasently, of how the book lacked text. I loved all the pictures they used for examples. They were quite majestic and made me feel the 15th Century.

But this is a classic, "Don't judge a book by its cover". I thought this would start something like how a soldier lives his life from his enlistment to retirement or death. This was not the case. The book concentrated on the "common life" and slowly evolved into the soldier. It explained weapons and tactics, but so does EVERY book. I expected a little bit more from this one.

I wanted to know what it would be like to be a Medieval Soldier. What he felt, what he saw, smelled, touched, etc. What was the most frightening thing for him? What was the drive for the typical soldier? I really didn't get those answers. But, I had HIGH expectations. This book as a whole is outstanding!

This book really doesn't go into detail about how the medieval soldier lived. It has a bunch of pictures from a reinactment group in europe that are well done but there is really no information in this book about mercenaries or how they lived. What there is is small little paragraphs with big pictures. Its overpriced for what you get.