Renaissance Italian military history is a sad story of devolution, culminating in conquest by foreign powers. It stands as a “distant mirror” of the foreign oppression endured by nineteenth century Risorgimento Italy, when the academic study of Renaissance military history first began.
The Nineteenth Century Memory of Renaissance Italian Warfare: Ercole Ricotti and Jacob Burckhardt
October 10, 2017 by
The Princesses Who Might have been Hostages: The Custody and Marriages of Margaret and Isabella of Scotland, 1209-1220s
October 9, 2017 by
In 1209, stemming from the Treaty of Norham, Scottish hostages were sent south into England. Margaret and Isabella, daughters of King William of Scotland, went along, too.
The Battle of Nicopolis (1396), Burgundian Catastrophe and Ottoman Fait Divers
October 9, 2017 by
The Battle of Nicopolis was the first major encounter between the Ottoman Empire and the Western European states of the later Middle Ages.
Whether a True Christian May Wage War: Hussite Polemics About Just War
October 2, 2017 by
Hussite warfare and ideology have been the subject of detailed reflection for nearly two hundred years now. They have represented different nations, attitudes and methodologies.
East meets West: Mounted Encounters in Early and High Mediaeval Europe
September 26, 2017 by
By the Late Middle Ages, mounted troops – cavalry in the form of knights – are established as the dominant battlefield arm in North-Western Europe.
Surrender in Medieval Europe: An Indirect Approach
September 14, 2017 by
The demise of slavery meant that for the first time women and children came to be regarded as non-combatants, and high-status warriors treated as a source of profit (ransom).
‘Greek fire’ revisited: current and recent research
September 13, 2017 by
The first point to make is that it seems now widely agreed that liquid fire was, in fact, a petroleum-based weapon, and had no connection whatsoever with explosive materials or mixtures,
“A New kind of monster … part-monk, part-knight”: the paradox of clerical militarism in the Middle Ages
September 4, 2017 by
The interaction between clerics and warfare was a source of constant tension, debate, and conflict in the Middle Ages.
Beyond the Medieval military revolution: Robert Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, and the wars of England 1298–1369
September 1, 2017 by
Beyond the Medieval military revolution: Robert Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, and the wars of England 1298–1369 By Daniel Franke PhD Dissertation, University of Rochester, 2014 Abstract: In the last twenty-five years, a formidable body of scholarship has emerged that argues that a military revolution in occurred in England during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). […]
Military Surgical Practice and the Advent of Gunpowder Weaponry
August 18, 2017 by
Using both late medieval surgical manuals and examples of gunshot wound treatment found in chronicles of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it shows instead that those late medieval surgeons who treated gunshot wounds did so in a manner not unlike their treatment of non-gunshot wounds, without cauterization.
The Viking Shield in the British Isles: Changes in use from the 8th-11th Century in England and the Isle of Man
July 31, 2017 by
The Viking Shield in the British Isles: Changes in use from the 8th-11th Century in England and the Isle of Man By Emma Boast Master’s Thesis, University of York, 2011 (re-edited 2017) Abstract: This investigation into the study of the Viking shield will include analysis and interpretation of archaeological material, from England and the Isle of […]
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes: Injury and death in Anglo-Scottish combat, c.1296-c.1403
July 9, 2017 by
For all that has been written about this period, little, however, has been produced regarding the realities of war, the impact that it had on the individual soldier, or the wounds suffered by those who engaged in these conflicts.
Willing Body, Willing Mind: Non-Combatant Culpability According to English Combatant Writers, 1327–77
June 1, 2017 by
In this essay I challenge these notions by exploring English combatants’ presentation of devastation and attacks against noncombatants during the wars of Edward III.
Infantry versus Cavalry: The Byzantine Response
May 18, 2017 by
The Byzantines encountered many different nations on the battlefield during their long history.
Henry V and the crossing to France: reconstructing naval operations for the Agincourt campaign, 1415
May 17, 2017 by
On 11 August 1415 a large fleet slipped out of the Solent and headed to the Chef de Caux.
The Affects of Warfare Upon Trade: Growth in a War-Torn World, Northern Europe 1000-1700
May 4, 2017 by
By requiring rulers to raise new revenue streams, warfare forced them to bargain for new resources. This bargaining granted concessions to cities and merchants, in the form of city charters and monopolies, which encouraged trade and therefore increased the economic well-being of the affected states.
The Lack of a Western European Military Response to the Ottoman Invasions of Eastern Europe from Nicopolis (1396) to Mohacs (1526)
May 3, 2017 by
On 25 September 1396, on the plains south of the central Bulgarian city of Nicopolis, a battle was fought.
The Ostrogothic Military
April 24, 2017 by
This chapter explores the place of the army and military organisation within the Ostrogothic kingdom.
The Mongol Invasion of Croatia and Serbia in 1242
April 17, 2017 by
The Mongol invasion of Croatia and Serbia constitutes a single, albeit extremely interesting, episode in the great western campaign of 1236-1242, so meticulously planned and executed by the armies of Batu, grandson of Chingis Khan and founder of the “Golden Horde”.
The Needle is Mightier than the Sword: The Effect of Embroidery in Medieval War Material Culture
April 2, 2017 by
Beginning in the early Middle Ages, military garments evolved from simple identifying clothing with little ornamentation, to richly decorated garments that reflected the increasingly complex – and somewhat artificial – heraldic composites.
Catapults are not Atomic Bombs: Towards a Redefinition of Effectiveness in Premodern Military Technology
March 5, 2017 by
Since at least the sixteenth century most historians have believed that the longbow significantly changed English strategy and tactics in the later Middle Ages.
The Soldier’s Life: Early Byzantine Masculinity and the Manliness of War
February 21, 2017 by
The Soldier’s Life: Early Byzantine Masculinity and the Manliness of War By Michael Stewart Byzantina Σymmeikta, Vol. 26 (2016) Introduction: The ancient Romans admired the characteristics that they believed allowed them to establish hegemony over their rivals. It comes as little surprise then that the hyper-masculine qualities of the Roman soldier became the standard by which […]
Thoughts on the Role of Cavalry in Medieval Warfare
February 19, 2017 by
Thoughts on the Role of Cavalry in Medieval Warfare By Jack Gassmann Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Vol.2 (2014) Abstract: This article explores the role of cavalry in medieval warfare starting with it’s origins in the Carolingian age, examining how cavalry was used as a strategic asset within the context of the period on at an operational […]
Maces in medieval Transylvania between the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries
February 12, 2017 by
Medieval mace heads have often been ignored by scholars and many artefacts of this type lay unpublished and sometimes unknown in various museums even today.
Crenellations: Crowning Castles
January 26, 2017 by
Crenellations are one of the most recognizable elements of a medieval castle. These upright projections resemble teeth, bared at invaders to prevent their attempted entries and at allies to show the owner’s strength. Each upright section is called a merlon or crenel, and they protected defenders from attacks. Defenses could be further increased by the […]
How you can Follow Us!