The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period (History of Warfare, 12)

by Alan Williams (Author)

6 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-9004124981

ISBN-10: 9004124985

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This book tells the story from its invention in 14th-century Lombardy, which depended on the production of the necessary steel plates, until its eventual decline in the 17th century, principally because of developments in another area of military technology, the gun. The metallurgy of 600 armours has been analysed, and their probable effectiveness in battle has been assessed by means of mechanical tests.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Das technologisch ausgerichtete Werk präsentiert eine Fülle neuen Materials zur Geschichte der europäischen Rüstungsindustrie - im umfassenden Sinne des Wortes."
M.M., Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters, 2004.

"Devoted students of armor will definitely want to seek out this book and its references..."
Steven A. Walton, Sixteenth Century Journal, 2004.

"...richly illustrated work offers a detailed discussion of the scientific aspect of medieval arms production as well as taking a comparative view of countries across Europe."
K. Stöber, Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature.

"...the study represents an enormous amount of labor, and the findings are of substantial importance to scholars...The author deserves considerable credit for undertaking a vast amount of research and assembling much significant information...an important book that holds useful information for the patient and diligent reader."
William Caferro, Speculum, 2004.

About the Author

Alan R. Williams, Ph.D. (1974) in History of Science, University of Manchester, is Visiting Research Fellow, Engineering Department, Reading University. He has published extensively on the metallurgy of armour and weapons, and is the co-author of The Royal Armoury at Greenwich (1995).

Alan R. Williams, Ph.D. (1974) in History of Science, University of Manchester, is Visiting Research Fellow, Engineering Department, Reading University. He has published extensively on the metallurgy of armour and weapons, and is the co-author ofThe Royal Armoury at Greenwich (1995).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brill Academic Pub (February 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 954 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9004124985
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9004124981
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.02 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 1.75 x 11.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,734,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Douglas W. Strong

One of the best armour books ever written!

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2006

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This is a highly detailed study of the metallurgy of medieval and Renaissance armour. It reveals some surprising facts and challenges some commonly held beliefs. The level of accuracy and detail are unmatched in this book. It features hundreds of pieces of armour from collections all over the world.

I highly recommend this book!

9 people found this helpful

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Daniel McFarlin

The Definitive Tome

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2008

It's difficult not to be truly staggered by the exhaustiveness of this book. It's also fitting that as the culmination of a life's work this book documents the life of medieval armor from early chainmail to the elaborately adorned plate armor that we've come to associate with european knights. Virtually every aspect of armor is explored. The reader is first exposed to the essential theoretical and practical metallurgy that underlies the physical properties of armor. The author then uses this framework to motivate the descriptions of the design, development and production of armor. Of particular interest are the experiments conducted by the author to investigate the fundamental property of armor: protective efficacy against contemporary battlefield threats. Combined with the thorough treatment of the complex, co-evolutionary arms race between projectile and armor, the experimental results are sure to provoke a rethink of many medieval conflicts.

3 people found this helpful

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M. Dalton

Why is it out of print

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2010

This needs to be re-issued as a paperback, there is a huge interest in European medieval armor and weaponry right now and this is the best single source on it, the amount of tests they did here and the amount of data presented is very valuable. Somebody please re-issue this or put it on print-on-demand!!

8 people found this helpful

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It's Me

It's interesting and a valuable book for the collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2014

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But it's not quite what I was expecting. I was hoping form more armour/weapons analysis on construction and thicknesses of metals used, and perhaps some analysis of changing armour/weapons development both over time and regionally. Where this book really focused it's attention was the micro-metallurgy of tested samples - and it does a superb job - but it's a bit science heavy for those (like me) without an engineering background.

One person found this helpful

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