Medieval Warfare: A History [Hardcover]

Maurice Keen (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198206399 | ISBN-13: 978-0198206392 | Publication Date: November 18, 1999 | Edition: 1St Edition

The medieval period was a singular epoch in military history--an age profoundly influenced by martial ideals, whose very structure of society was organized for war, and whose leaders were by necessity warriors. Now, the richly illustrated Medieval Warfare illuminates this era, examining over seven hundred years of European conflict, from the time of Charlemagne to the end of the middle ages (1500). Twelve scholars examine medieval warfare in two sections. The first section explores the experience of war chronologically, with essays on the Viking age, on the wars and expansion of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, on the Crusades, and on the great Hundred Years War between England and France. The second section traces developments in the art of warfare: fortification and siege craft, the role of armored cavalrymen, the use of mercenary forces, the birth of gunpowder artillery, and the new skills in navigation and shipbuilding.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A comprehensive anthology of essays by highly placed British academics (joined by one from West Point) that survey military development in the Middle Ages. Arguing in his introduction that war is central to the narrative political story of the middle ages, Keen (History/Oxford; Chivalry, 1984) has assembled a series of 12 crisply topical essays that consider how warfare became increasingly organized, mechanized, and militarized between 900 and 1500. Keen and his fellow authors make clear that this acceleration of war-making was primarily defensive, as the fledgling European societies were regularly besieged by invaders like the Magyars and Vikings. In an attention-getting early chapter, H.B. Clark observes that the Vikings derived much of their power from their simultaneously elusive and brutal nature (they combined sophisticated tactics of organized raiding with a knack of attracting poetic tributes to their violence). John Gillinghams An Age of Expansion shows how this defensive pattern underlies the warfare over Saxony and the later colonial wars in Spain, Scotland, and Ireland. And Peter Edburys Warfare in the Latin East examines the defensive motivations of the European campaigns against Muslims ranging from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem, campaigns we remember as the Crusades. Later chapters deal with more tactical matters, exploring how proprietary medieval notions, particularly chivalry, fared in the context of warfares increasing standardization, and covering the developing range of fortifications, siege tactics, and arms and armor. Following Christopher Allmands unusual survey of War and the Non-Combatant, Keen closes with his own review of the emergence of cannon, gunpowder, and permanent armies as the ultimate developments of medieval militarism. A scrupulously prepared survey that will be invaluable to students and accessible to committed lay readers. (100 b&w illus.) (History Book Club Split Main selection) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"Scholarly, well constructed"--The Washington Times

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1St Edition edition (November 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198206399
• ISBN-13: 978-0198206392
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huzzah!, July 7, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Medieval Warfare: A History (Hardcover)

In 'Medieval Warfare: A History', Maurice Keen, a fellow in Medieval History at Balliol Oxford (a college I attended briefly for lectures while I lived in Britain) has edited a superb compilation of essays, from a worthy collection of scholars from British and Irish Colleges, with one contributor from West Point.

The book is divided into two broad categories: The Phases of Medieval Warfare, and The Arts of Warfare. This collection spans nearly a millenium of warfare in the European theatre and environs including Vikings, Crusades, French & English wars, and Charlemagne. There are investigations of tactics, strategies, politics, technology and weaponry innovations, and the growing importance of navigation and naval warfare. Each essay has accompanying illustrations and photographs, and this slim volume is a worthy addition to any medieval or military historian's library as a survey of medieval warfare.

Keen's analysis is insightful, showing how developments in the medieval arts of war led to the the drive toward colonisation that has made the world's political geography what it is today. The essays work well at illuminating the subject, yet each essay has its own integrity.

As Keen writes in the preface: 'Warfare was a formative influence on the civilisation and the social structures of the European middle ages. Its history in that period is in consequence of high significance alike for those who are interested in the middle ages for themselves and for their legacy, and for those whose interest is in war and its place in the story of human development. '

There are many theories of the development of history -- one of the strongest theories of history through much of history is that warfare is one of the primary driving forces, for social change, for political change, and for technological change.

Keen pulls together in the last few paragraphs the themes of many of the essays, pointing the direction toward modern warfare.

This is a book worthy of Oxford Press.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional compendium of information, June 22, 2008

By 

G. Henson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Medieval Warfare: A History (Paperback)

I found this book to be fraught with excellent information, and for the most part, highly readable. The contributors were obviously researchers and historians of the highest caliber, but sometimes their writing skills made it difficult to render all that was there to be gleaned. Still, the depth and breadth of the information makes this book worth the effort. Like any non-fiction book of any depth, it cannot be read swiftly like a novel, but it is rich in excellent information.

10 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Medieval Warfare: A History (Hardcover)

This is a Great Book, provided me with a lot of information about medieval warfare, like the tactics and stuff. gotta give phat props to the author.