Fusing historical events with a gripping fictional narrative, this first book in the Mongoliad trilogy reveals a secret history of Europe in the thirteenth century. As the Mongols swept across Asia and were poised to invade Europe in 1241, a small band of warriors, inheritors of an ancient secret tradition, conceived a desperate plan to stop the attack. They must kill the Khan of Khans; if they fail, all of Christendom will be destroyed. In the late...

The story of the wars and conquests initiated by the First Crusade and its successors is itself so compelling that most accounts move quickly from describing the Pope's calls to arms to the battlefield. In this highly original and enjoyable new book, Christopher Tyerman focuses on something obvious but overlooked: the massive, all-encompassing, and hugely costly business of actually preparing a crusade. The efforts of many thousands of men and women,...

The wars of the fourteenth-century English kings with France and Scotland resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of men involved in warfare on land and sea. This book draws upon new research to identify and analyze these soldiers at all social levels in the specific context of the county of Essex.

Delve into the pivotal moments of medieval Europe with "1356: The Battle of Poitiers," a comprehensive exploration of the Battle of Poitiers and its enduring impact on the course of the Hundred Years' War. This meticulously researched book presents a vivid account of one of history's most transformative military engagements, offering readers a deep dive into the tactical, political, and societal reverberations that rippled across 14th-century Europe.

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William the Conqueror was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. The descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035 under the style William II. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental...

The centuries-long history of the legendary and deadly English longbow is explored and explained in a "classic work . . . an engaging, enjoyable read" (De Re Military).

From the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, the longbow was the weapon that changed European history more than any other. In the skilled hands of English and Welsh archers it revolutionized all the medieval concepts and traditions of war. It was the winning factor...

In the spring of 878 at the Battle of Edington the tide of English history turned. Alfred's decisive defeat of Guthrum the Dane freed much of the south and west of England from Danish control and brought to a halt Guthrum's assault on Alfred's Wessex. The battle was the culmination of a long period of preparation by Alfred in the wilderness - a victory snatched from the jaws of catastrophic defeat. As such, this momentous turning point around which...

What was it like to fight in a Wars of the Roses battle? What kind of men fought at St Albans, Northampton, Wakefield, Towton, Tewkesbury and Bosworth? How was the medieval soldier recruited, paid, equipped, fed and billeted? And how was a battle contested once both sides resorted to all-out conflict? First published in 1998, this classic study of “The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses” examines these and other questions using various...

Palm Sunday 1461 was the date of a ruthless and bitterly contested battle fought by two massive armies on an exposed Yorkshire plateau for the prize of the Crown of England. This singular engagement of the Wars of the Roses has acquired the auspicious title of the longest, biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. The slaughter left an indelible mark on the population that has been largely forgotten until relatively recent times: Shakespeare...

Martial Arts researcher Antony Cummins reveals the hitherto hidden world of Viking hand-to-hand combat, which employed the sword, the spear, the axe and the shield. Based upon a careful analysis of the Viking sagas, the techniques described are recreated precisely, from knocking down a spear in mid-flight to the shield cleave. Illustrated with over 250 images, The Illustrated Guide to Viking Martial Arts in effect represents the earliest combat manual...