Soldiers' Lives through History - The Middle Ages
Book Code:
GR3350
ISBN:
0-313-33350-5
ISBN-13:
978-0-313-33350-7
336 pages, figures
Greenwood Press
Publication:
4/30/2007
Availability:
In Stock
Media Type:
Hardcover
Trim Size:
7 x 10
Subjects:
Reviews:
-
Rogers does not flinch as he describes the lives of soldiers serving from Scotland to Portugal and from the Frankish Levant to the Baltics from the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the fifteenth century. Wisely taking an impressionistic rather than analytical approach to this enormous subject, he strives for a balanced portrait of what soldiers did to kill each other and protect themselves, how they were organized and led, how the warfare in which they were engaged was conducted, and how they were supported and supplied. He covers soldiering in peacetime, the business of recruitment, life in camp and on the march, sieges, battle strategies and consequences (including the truly horrific medical care) and the art of the "little war," in which participants provided escorts, committed extortion or ambushed each other.
—Reference & Research Book News
August 2007
Description:
"The most dangerous arms in the world are those of horse and lance, because there is no means of stopping them," wrote a 15th-century commander, Jean de Bueil. From the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the 15th century, the men (and a few women in disguise) who reported for military service or who led other men, scouted and skirmished, plundered and burned. If they did not slaughter the peasants they met, they took them prisoner to be sold as slaves or ransomed at heavy cost. It was a brutal time. Rogers illuminates the history of medieval soldiers in wartime and in peacetime, describing the lives of those who attacked, and those who defended, the fortified castles, towns, and lands of Europe and beyond in the Middle Age.
Written for students and anyone interested in history of the Middle Ages, Soldiers' Lives through History-The Middle Ages includes extensive quotations from the primary sources of the period, including the soldiers' own words. Chapters include these topics and more:
Joining the "Host," or royal army.
The cavalryman's gear, including plate armor, shields, the sword, the lance, the dagger, axes, and most important, a good horse and its armor.
The harbingers and foragers who looked for lodging, camp locations, and food.
Camp life, which often included elaborate tents and pavilions; heralds, musicians, clerks, chaplains, cooks, body-servants, smiths, carpenters, miners, barber-surgeons, physicians, and others.
Women, such as the noblewomen who themselves organized armies to support their financial interests, and women who went to battle, women at court, and women in town.
Sieges of towns and castles.
The devastation caused by soldiers, including plundering valuables; killing or enslaving townspeople and peasants; and burning towns, fields, and crops.
Imprisonment and torture of enemies and those considered heretics to the faith of the conquering armies
Medical care on the field and in camps.
The life of one typical soldier, Sir Thomas Gray of Heton.
To help the reader, there are a variety of resources: a timeline that provides a context for the dates, events, and places discussed in the book; extensive endnotes; a comprehensive selected bibliography of recommended sources; and a thorough index.
LC Card Number:
2006038692
LCC Class:
U760
Dewey Class:
355
www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR3350.aspx
