{"product_id":"war-in-the-middle-ages-isbn-9780631144694","title":"War in the Middle Ages","description":"Covering the ten centuries following the fall of Rome, War in the Middle Ages engages all aspects of its subject, including the military customs and conditions of the various Western European states; armor and weaponry recruitment; and rules of combat developed to limit bloodshed. \u003cp\u003ePhilippe Contamine writes with an awareness that, in both theory and fact, medieval warfare was constantly evolving. He opens with a chapter on Roman military disintegration and the practice of warfare in the barbarian kingdoms erected on the empire's ruins. He then shows how feudalization multiplied conflicts, and describes the resulting growth of the \"great stone civilization\" of the castle. In the area of military method, he emphasizes three innovations: gunpowder, standing armies and the increased use of infantry, supplying in each case a wealth of data and documentation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContamine traces the rise of a new literature of strategy and changes in the concept of courage which he puts in the context of actual risk. He points out that the chivalric ideals of the later Middle Ages operated within narrow limits, outside which aristocrats and commoners freely slaughtered each other. Contamine also analyzes the theories of just and unjust war that developed at this time, and illustrates a phenomenon more typical of the period; the religious glorification of the warrior.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEver mindful of the chaos and devastation that war brings, War in the Middle Ages nonetheless offers a clear and consistent picture of the military ethos of a millennium.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements viii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Maps and Figures ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTranslator’s Note x\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface to the English Edition xii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Abbreviations xv\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I The State of Knowledge: General Characteristics of Medieval Military History 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 The Barbarians From the Fifth to the Ninth Century 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 The Feudal Age From the Beginning of the Tenth to the Middle of the Twelfth Century 30\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Medieval Society in its Prime From the Mid-Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Century 65\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Free Companies, Gunpower and Permanent Armies from the Beginning of the Fourteenth to the End of the Fifteenth Century 119\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II Themes and Perspectives 173\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Arms and Armour 175\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Artillery 193\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 The Art of War 208\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 War, Government and Society 238\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 Towards a History of Courage 250\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 Juridical, Ethical and Religious Aspects of War 260\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III Bibliography 309\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 General 311\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 The Art of War: Conflicts, Campaigns, Sieges and Battles 311\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Institutions, Societies and Military Attitudes 315\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Arms, Armour and War Engines 337\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Cannons and Gunpowder Artillery 343\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Castles and Fortifications 345\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 War, Economy and Taxation 353\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 War and Peace: Law, Ethics and Christianity 355\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 361\u003c\/p\u003e  \"This is, quite simply, the best book on medieval European warfare available in any language ... \u003ci\u003eWar in the Middle Ages\u003c\/i\u003e is not only required reading for all medieval or military historians; it is also enjoyable, clear and crisp ... it must rank as the best buy among history books.\" \u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The best survey of the period in French or English. This is military history at its finest, relating its subject to society at large. There is much to glean on society and organization for war in a crucial thousand years of European history.\" \u003ci\u003eInternational History Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Philippe Contamine's indispensable survey ... [is] now available in a welcome and clear English translation by Michael Jones... What should be emphasized is how useful it is to have so much information between one pair of covers, and that this information is provided by a careful historian who has here produced both a work of reference and a stimulus to further research.\" \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003ePhilippe Contamine is a French historian of the Middle Ages who specialises in military history and the history of the nobility. Contamine is a past president of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, the Société de l'histoire de France, and the Societé des Antiquaires de France.   Covering the ten centuries following the fall of Rome, War in the Middle Ages engages all aspects of its subject, including the military customs and conditions of the various Western European states; armor and weaponry recruitment; and rules of combat developed to limit bloodshed. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhilippe Contamine writes with an awareness that, in both theory and fact, medieval warfare was constantly evolving. He opens with a chapter on Roman military disintegration and the practice of warfare in the barbarian kingdoms erected on the empire's ruins. He then shows how feudalization multiplied conflicts, and describes the resulting growth of the \"great stone civilization\" of the castle. In the area of military method, he emphasizes three innovations: gunpowder, standing armies and the increased use of infantry, supplying in each case a wealth of data and documentation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContamine traces the rise of a new literature of strategy and changes in the concept of courage which he puts in the context of actual risk. He points out that the chivalric ideals of the later Middle Ages operated within narrow limits, outside which aristocrats and commoners freely slaughtered each other. Contamine also analyzes the theories of just and unjust war that developed at this time, and illustrates a phenomenon more typical of the period; the religious glorification of the warrior.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEver mindful of the chaos and devastation that war brings, War in the Middle Ages nonetheless offers a clear and consistent picture of the military ethos of a millennium.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990465167589,"sku":"NP9780631144694","price":61.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780631144694.jpg?v=1761787936","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/war-in-the-middle-ages-isbn-9780631144694","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}