University of Toronto Press, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4426-0497-1
First published in 1992, Medieval Military Technology has become the definitive book in its field, garnering much praise and a large readership. This thorough update of a classic book, regarded as both an excellent overview and an important piece of scholarship, includes fully revised content, new sections on the use of horses, handguns, incendiary weapons, and siege engines, and eighteen new illustrations.
Contents
Chapter 1: Arms
The Spear/Lance
The Axe
The Sword
The Dagger
The Staff-Weapon
The Mace
The War Hammer
The Sling
The Bow
The Crossbow
Chapter 2: Armor
Early Medieval Armor
Armor in the Bayeux Tapestry
Twelfth-Century Armor
Shields, Helmets, and Heraldry in the Thirteenth Century
Fourteenth-Century Body Armor
Cloth-Covered Armor from the Battlefield of Visby
Later Fourteenth-Century Armor Developments
Plate Armor
Late Medieval Infantry Armor
Late Medieval Helmets
Late Medieval Shields and Barding
Chapter 3: The Stirrup, Mounted Shock Combat, Chivalry, and Feudalism
White’s Thesis
Criticism of White’s Thesis
Chapter 4: Non-Gunpowder Artillery
Torsion Catapults
Traction Trebuchets
Counterweight Trebuchets
Greek Fire
Chapter 5: Gunpowder Artillery
Early History of European Gunpower Weapons
Siege, Battlefield, and Naval Applications
Types and Manufacturing of Gunpowder, Gunpowder Weapons, and Projectiles
Societal Impacts and Administrative Changes
Chapter 6: Siege Machines
Ladders
Siege Towers
Battering Rams and Mining Devices
Chapter 7: Early Medieval Fortifications
Late Roman and Barbarian
Carolingian
The Viking Invasions and Reactions
Chapter 8: The Motte-and-Bailey Castle
The Influence of William the Conqueror
Construction Techniques
Chapter 9: Stone Castles
The Origin of Stone Castles
Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Stone Castles
Crusader Castles
The Golden Age of Castle Construction
Edward I’s Castles in Wales
Chapter 10: Urban Fortifications and Fortified Residences
Fortified Residences
Town Walls
The Influence of Gunpowder Weapons
Chapter 11: Early Medieval Warships
Late Roman and Early Medieval Ships
Viking Ships
William the Conqueror’s Fleet
Chapter 12: High and Late Medieval Warships
Crusader Ships
Thirteenth-Century Ships
Technological Innovations
Later Medieval Ships
Excerpt from the Introduction: In this, the second edition, almost all of the original text has been substantially rewritten with the collaboration of a second author, Robert Douglas Smith, an artefactual scholar, whose expertise has come from more than a quarter of a century of studying, curating, and conserving the very arms, armor, and artillery presented in the book. Of course, the medieval military technology is still the same, and this has allowed the organization of the book to remain unaltered. However, the interpretation of this technology has changed and developed. Since the first edition many historians and artefactual experts have made medieval military history and technology one of the liveliest and most interesting fields in all of historical research and scholarship, let alone in the fields of medieval and military history. Many of these scholars have retrodden old ground, although more often than not presenting new ideas and interpretations of it, but many others have opened new roads of research.
By Kelly DeVries and Robert D. Smith
University of Toronto Press, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4426-0497-1
First published in 1992, Medieval Military Technology has become the definitive book in its field, garnering much praise and a large readership. This thorough update of a classic book, regarded as both an excellent overview and an important piece of scholarship, includes fully revised content, new sections on the use of horses, handguns, incendiary weapons, and siege engines, and eighteen new illustrations.
Contents
Chapter 1: Arms
Chapter 2: Armor
Chapter 3: The Stirrup, Mounted Shock Combat, Chivalry, and Feudalism
Chapter 4: Non-Gunpowder Artillery
Chapter 5: Gunpowder Artillery
Chapter 6: Siege Machines
Chapter 7: Early Medieval Fortifications
Chapter 8: The Motte-and-Bailey Castle
Chapter 9: Stone Castles
Chapter 10: Urban Fortifications and Fortified Residences
Chapter 11: Early Medieval Warships
Chapter 12: High and Late Medieval Warships
Excerpt from the Introduction: In this, the second edition, almost all of the original text has been substantially rewritten with the collaboration of a second author, Robert Douglas Smith, an artefactual scholar, whose expertise has come from more than a quarter of a century of studying, curating, and conserving the very arms, armor, and artillery presented in the book. Of course, the medieval military technology is still the same, and this has allowed the organization of the book to remain unaltered. However, the interpretation of this technology has changed and developed. Since the first edition many historians and artefactual experts have made medieval military history and technology one of the liveliest and most interesting fields in all of historical research and scholarship, let alone in the fields of medieval and military history. Many of these scholars have retrodden old ground, although more often than not presenting new ideas and interpretations of it, but many others have opened new roads of research.
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