Medieval WarfareBook Reviews

Chronological Periods

Reviews are grouped by category and come from various sources.

• indicates a book reviewed specifically for DeReMilitari. De Re Militari generously thanks the publishers who have generously provided us with copies of their books for review.
• indicates a book reviewed in the H-Net book review lists. The H-Net network has numerous subject-specific mailing lists and publishes hundreds of reviews each year.
• indicated reviews from The Medieval Review. Since 1993, The Medieval Review (TMR; formerly the Bryn Mawr Medieval Review) has been publishing reviews of current work in all areas of Medieval Studies, a field it interprets as broadly as possible.  Here are some of their reviews dealing with medieval military history.
• are reviews found through FindArticles.com

Early Medieval (Late Antique through Norman)

• Stephen Allen, Lords of Battle: The World of the Celtic Warrior (Osprey, 2007), 224pp. -- Reviewed by Shaun Bennett.
• John F. Moffitt, The Enthroned Corpse of Charlemagne: the Lord-in-Majesty Theme in Early Medieval Art and Life (McFarland, 2006), 239pp. -- Reviewed by Irene González Hernando.
  
• Frank D. Reno, The Historic King Arthur: Authenticating the Celtic Hero of Post-Roman Britain (1996; McFarland 2003), 458pp -- Rreviewed by Ilana Krug.
• Benton Rain Patterson, Harold and William: The Battle for England, A.D. 1064-1066 (Cooper Square Publishers, 2001), 209pp. -- Reviewed by Cason Snow.
• Ian Howard, Swein Forkbeard's Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England, 991-1017 (Boydell, 2003), 203pp. -- Reviewed by Cason Snow.
• H.A. Drake, Violence in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Practices (Ashgate,2006), xxi+395pp. -- Reviewed by Edmund P. Cueva.
• Frank Barlow, The Godwins (Pearson Education, 2003), 216pp. -- Reviewed by Richard Abels.
• M.K. Lawson, The Battle of Hastings, 1066 (Tempus, 2002) -- Reviewed by Peter Konieczny
• Raymond E. O. Ella, Four Anglian Kings of Northumbria(Old Yorkshire Press, 2002), 24pp. -- Reviewed by Ilana Krug
• Gordon S. Brown, The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily -- Reviewed by Lawrence Mott
• Geoffrey Greatrex, Rome and Persia at War, 502-532 -- Reviewed by Peter Riedlberger (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)
• Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe 300-1000, 2d ed. -- Reviewed by Sam Collins(The History Teacher)
• Frank R. Trombley and John W. Watt (trans.), Chronicle of Psuedo-Joshua the Stylite -- Reviewed by Jan J. Van Ginkel
• Daibhi O Croinin, Early Medieval Ireland, 400-1200 -- Reviewed by Dorothy C. Africa
• Guy Halsall (ed.), Violence and Society in the Early Medieval West -- Reviewed by Thomas Head (The Historian )
• John M. Hill, The Anglo-Saxon Warrior Ethic: Reconstructing Lordship in Early English Literature -- Review ed by Bernard Bachrach
• Richard Abels, Alfred The Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England -- Reviewed by Bruce O'Brien
• John Peddie, Alfred: Warrior King -- Reviewed by Gernot Wieland
• Stephen Morillo, The Battle of Hastings: Sources and Interpretations -- Reviewed by D.J.A. Matthew (English Historical Review)
• Richard Abels and Bernard Bachrach (eds.), The Normans and their Adversaries at War: Essays in Memory of C. Warren Hollister -- Reviewed by Val Eads
• Richard Abels and Bernard S. Bachrach, The Normans and their Adversaries at War: Essays in Memory of C. Warren Hollister -- Reviewed by Sean McGlynn (English Historical Review)

Crusades and the Military Orders

• Peter Jackson (trans.), The Seventh Crusade, 1244-1254: Sources and Documents (Ashgate, 2007), 276pp. -- Reviewed by Timothy May.
• David Murphy, Condottiere 1300-1500: Infamous Medieval Mercenaries, Warrior 115 (Osprey, 2007), 64pp. -- Reviewed by J. Andrew Villalon.
• David Nicolle, Fighting for the Faith: The Many Fronts of Crusade & Jihad 1000-1500AD (Pen & Sword, 2007), xvi+237pp. -- Reviewed by Lee Ruddin.
• Carol Sweetenham (tr.), Robert the Monk's History of the First Crusade, Historia Iherosolimitana, Crusade Texts in Translation (Ashgate, 2006), x+243pp -- Reviewed by John Hosler.
• David Lindholm and David Nicolle, The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500, illustrated by Angus McBride (Osprey, 2007), 48pp -- Reviewed by Dana Cushing.
• Helen Nicholson, Knight Templar, 1120-1312, Warrior 91 (Osprey, 2004). 64pp -- Reviewed by J.M.B. Porter.
• Peter Edbury and Jonathan Phillips (eds.), The Experience of Crusading 2. Defining the Crusader Kingdom (Cambridge University Press (2003), 311pp. -- Reviewed by Cason Snow.
• Norman Housley, Contesting the Crusades, Contesting the Past series (Blackwell, 2006), xii+198pp. -- Reviewed by Timothy May.
• Marcus Bull and Norman Housely (eds.), The Experience of Crusading 1. Western Approaches (Cambridge University Press (2003), 307pp. -- Reviewed by Lee P. Ruddin.
• Judith Bronstein, The Hospitallers and the Holy Land: Financing the Latin East, 1187-1274 (Boydell, 2005), xv+190pp. -- Reviewed by Zsolt Hunyadi
• Helen Nicholson, Knights Templar 1120-1312, Warrior 91 (Osprey, 2004), 64pp. -- Reviewed by Paul Crawford.
• S.J. Allen and Emilie Amt, eds., The Crusades: A Reader (Braodview, 2003), 430pp. -- Reviewed by Jose Manuel Rodriguez Garcia
• S.J. Allen and Emilie Amt, eds., The Crusades: A Reader (Braodview, 2003), 430pp. -- Reviewed by Zsolt Hunyadi
• Judi Upton-Ward, The Catalan Rule of the Templars (Boydell, 2003), xxviii +113 pp. -- Reviewed by J. Andrew Villalon
• David Nicolle, Crusader Castles in the Holy Land, 1097-1192 (Osprey, 2004), 64pp. -- Reviewed by Timothy May
• Thomas F. Madden (ed.), The Crusades: The Essential Readings(Blackwell, 2002), 352 pp. -- to be reviewed by James Burrett
• The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences, edited by Jonathan Phillips and Martin Hoch, -- Reviewed by Gordan Ravancic
• The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences, edited by Jonathan Phillips and Martin Hoch -- Reviewed by A.J. Forey (English Historical Review)
• The Templars, by Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate -- Reviewed by Daniel Mondekar
• The Crusaders, by Norman Housley -- Reviewed by Phillip Nel
• Dei Gesta per Francos: Crusade studies in honour of Jean Richard, edited by Michel Balard, Benjamin Z. Kedar and Jonathan Riley-Smith -- Reviewed by Paul Crawford
• Crusaders, Condottieri, and Cannon: Medieval Warfare in Societies Around the Mediterranean, edited by L.J. Andrew Villalon and Donald J. Kagay -- Reviewed by Niall Christie
• Religion and the Conduct of War, c. 300- c. 1215 , by David Bachrach -- Reviewed by Don Kagy
• A Middle English Chronicle of the First Crusade - The Caxton Eracles, edited by Dana Cushing  -- Reviewed by Helen Nicholson
• Crusading and Warfare in Medieval and Renaissance Europe by Norman Housley -- Reviewed by David Hay
• The Capture of Alexandria by Guillaume de Machaut, trans. Janet Shirley -- Reviewed by Clifford Rogers
• Encounter between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, by Yvonne Friedman -- Reviewed by Norman Housley
• The Reign of Richard Lionheart: Ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199, by Ralph V. Turner and Richard H. Heiser -- Reviewed by James Bothwell
• Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, by James Reston, Jr. -- Reviewed by Michael Pedrotty
• A Concise History of the Crusades. Critical Issues in History, by Thomas F. Madden -- Reviewed by Patrick J. Holt
• Gendering the Crusades, ed.by Susan B. Edgington and Sarah Lambert -- Reviewed by Christopher Corley
• God Wills It! An Illustrated History of the Crusades, by Wayne Bartlett -- Reviewed by Jennifer A. Price
• Crusade Charters, 1138-1270, by Corliss Konwiser Slack -- Reviewed by Norman Housley
• Crusade Propaganda and Ideology: Model Sermons for the Preaching of the Cross, by Christopher Maier -- Reviewed by John Tolan
• La Guerre Sainte: La formation de l'idee de croisade dans l'Occident chretien, by Jean Flori -- Reviewed by Christopher J. Tyerman (English Historical Review)
• Contemporary Sources for the Fourth Crusade, by Alfred Andrea -- Reviewed by Dorothy Abrahamse
• The Trial of the Templars in Cyprus: A Complete English Edition, translated by Anne Gilmour-Bryson -- Reviewed by Helen Nicholson
• The Knight's Hospitaller, by Helen Nicholson -- Reviewed by Sophia Menache
• Crusader Castles, by Hugh Kennedy -- Reviewed by Maria Georgopoulou
• The Crusades, c.1071-c.1291, by Jean Richard, translated by Jean Birrell -- Reviewed by Kevin Madigan (Christian Century)
• The Crusades, c.1071-c.1291, by Jean Richard, translated by Jean Birrell -- Reviewed by Christopher Tyerman (English Historical Review)
• The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives, by Carole Hillenbrand; and The Crusades, c.1071-c.1291, by Jean Richard, translated by Jean Birrell - both reviewed by Malcolm Barber ( History Today)
• The Crusade against Heretics in Bohemia, 1418-1437, edited by Thomas Fudge -- Reviewed by David Mengel
• The Crusades and Crusader Societies, 1095-1500. Selected Proceedings of the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 10-13 July 1995, edited by Alan V. Murray -- Reviewed by Miri Rubin (English Historical Review)
• The Invention of the Crusades, by Christopher Tyerman -- Reviewed by Thomas F. Madden (The Historian)
• The Invention of the Crusades, by Christopher Tyerman -- Reviewed by K. S. B. Keats-Rohan (English Historical Review)
• A Concise History of the Crusades, by Thomas F. Madden -- Reviewed by Peter W. Edbury (English Historical Review)
• Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300, by John France -- Reviewed by Peter W. Edbury (English Historical Review)
• The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, by Jonathan Riley-Smith -- Reviewed by Peter Jackson (English Historical Review)
• Defenders of the Holy Land: Relations Between the Latin East and the West, 1119-1187, by Jonathan Phillips -- Reviewed by K.S.B. Keats-Rohan (English Historical Review)
• The Military Orders, by Alan Forey -- Reviewed by José Manuel Rodríguez García
• The Military Orders Vol. II: Welfare and Warfare, edited by Helen Nicholson -- Reviewed by K. S. B. Keats-Rohan (English Historical Review)
• The First Crusaders, 1095-1131, by Jonathan Riley-Smith -- Reviewed by Miri Rubin (English Historical Review)
• The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, by Donald E. Queller and Thomas F. Madden -- Reviewed by Louis Haas (The Historian)
• The First Crusade. The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, edited by Edward Peters -- Reviewed by K. S. B. Keats-Rohan (English Historical Review)
• Crusader Castles, by Hugh Kennedy -- Reviewed by Christopher Tyerman (English Historical Review)

Late Medieval/Renaissance

• Simon Millar, Vienna 1683: Christian Europe repels the Ottomans, Campaign 191 (Osprey, 2008), 96pp. -- Reviewed by Paul Crawford
• Paul E.J. Hammer (ed.), Warfare in Early Modern Europe 1450-1660, International Library of Essays on Military History (Ashgate, 2007), 508pp. -- Reviewed by Mark Charles Fissel.
• Niccolò Machiavelli, Art of War, trans. Christopher Lynch (University of Chicago Press, 2003), 312pp. -- Reviewed by L.J. Andrew Villalon.
• Louis Sicking, Neptune and the Netherlands: State, Economy, and War at Sea in the Renaissance, History of Warfare 23 (Brill, 2006), xxxi+531pp. -- Reviewed by Mark Charles Fissel.
• Christine Shaw (ed.), Italy and the European Powers: The Impact of War, 1500-1530, History of Warfare 38 (Brill, 2006) -- Reviewed by Sergio Mantovani.
• Francesco Ambrogiani, Vita di Costanzo Sforza (1447-1483) Pesaro città e contà, Link 3 (Pesaro: Società pesarese di studi storici, 2003). 277pp. -- Reviewed by Sergio Montovani.
• Sergio Mantovani, "Ad honore del signore vostro patre et satisfactione nostra". Ferrante d'Este condottiero di Venezia (Modena- Ferrara: Deputazione di Storia Patria per le Antiche Province Modenesi, 2005) 158pp -- Reviewed by Brian Ditcham.
• Yuval Noah Harari, Renaissance Military Memoirs: War, History, and Identity, 1450-1600, Warfare in History series (Boydell, 2004), 225pp. -- Reviewed by Don Kagay
• David Worthington, Scots in Habsburg Service, 1618-48 (Brill, 2003) -- Reviewed by Mark Charles Fissel
• From Crécy to Mohács: Warfare in the Late Middle Ages (1346-1526) ACTA, 22nd Congress of the International Commission for Military History (Vienna: Heersgeeschichte Museum, 1997), 408pp. [contributions in English, German, French, and Spanish] -- Reviewed by Brian D.H. Ditcham
• The Military and Society in Russia, 1450 - 1917, edited by Eric Lohr and Marhall Poe -- Reviewed by Philip Kaveny
• Towton 1461 (Osprey Campaign 120), by Christopher Gravett -- Reviewed by A. Compton Reeves
• Luigi Guicciardini, The Sack of Rome, translated by James H. McGregor -- Reviewed by Sergio Mantovani
• The Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: 15^th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vardi, translated by Luca Porzio and Gregory Mele -- Reviewed by Holger Berwinke
• Religious Warfare in Europe, 1400-1543, by Norman Housley -- Reviewed by David Sobek
• Crusading and Warfare in Medieval and Renaissance Europe by Norman Housley -- Reviewed by David Hay
• War and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Britain, edited by Diana Dunn -- Reviewed by A. Compton Reeves  
• The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe, edited by Clifford J. Rogers -- Reviewed by Maj. M. J. Petersen
• War and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Britain, edited by Diana Dunn -- Reviewed by John France (English Historical Review)
• English Warfare, 1511-1642, by Mark Charles Fissel- reviewed by Barbara Donagan
• Surviving the Tudors: The 'Wizard' Earl of Kildare and English Rule in Ireland, 1537-1586, by Vincent P. Carey -- Reviewed by Carole Levin
• England's Colonial Wars 1550-1688: Conflicts, Empire and National Identity, by Bruce Lenman -- Reviewed by Pádraig Lenihan
• The King's Army: Warfare, Soldiers, and Society during the French Wars of Religion, 1562-1576, by James B. Wood -- Reviewed by Daniel Hickey
• The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513-1550: A Military History, by Gervase Phillips -- Reviewed by Barrett L. Beer
• The Twilight of a Military Tradition: Italian Aristocrats and European Conflicts, 1560-1800, by Gregory Hanlon -- Reviewed by W. M. Reger IV
• Violence in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800, by Julius R. Ruff and Guns and Violence: The English Experience, by Joyce Lee Malcolm -- Reviewed by Roger B. Manning
• Mercenary Companies and the Decline of Siena, by William Caferro -- Reviewed by Brian G. H. Ditcham  
• Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe, by Bert S. Hall -- Reviewed by Randall Storey
• Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe, by Bert S. Hall -- Reviewed by Louis Hass (The Historian)
• The Medieval Military Revolution: State, Society and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, edited by Andrew Ayton and J.L. Price -- Reviewed by Bernard Bachrach
• The Medieval Military Revolution: State, Society and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, edited by Andrew Ayton and J. L. Price -- Reviewed by Kelly DeVries (The Historian)
• Anatomy of a Siege: King John's Castle, Limerick, 1642, by Kenneth Wiggins -- Reviewed by Philip Dixon (English Historical Review)

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