Primary Sources from External Websites

Many other websites contain primary sources that give information about medieval military history. In this section, we provide a list of these items, with links to their websites. Often they are moved or taken away, and some of our links may not work. If you know of an source that we can add, please email us at deremilitari@hotmail.com 

 

Other Major Websites Providing Primary Sources

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts - a large database of Irish medieval sources

In Parentheses - distributing texts, translations, and commentaries from a wide variety of areas and disciplines, including medieval studies.  All items are in PDF format

Leeds Medieval History Texts in Translation - by Graham Loud, an impressive collection of texts that are translated into English for the first time.

Medieval Sourcebook - the largest online resource for medieval sources

Textos medievais traduzidos - primary resources in Portuguese

Translated Texts by William North - covers Byzantine, German and Papal sources

Translations from Byzantine Sources - by Paul Stephenson

Northvegr Foundation - covers Icelandic sagas and other materials related to medieval Scandinavia

 

Third Century and Earlier ( to 300 CE) - Please also see Warfare in the Ancient World section for more items.

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu - a translation of the famous military text, first written  around the 505-496 BCE

A Description of Germany by Tacitus

The Strategemata, by Sextus Julius Frontinus

 

Fourth Century (301-400 CE)

De Re Militari, by Flavius Vegetius Renatus

 

Fifth Century (401-500 CE)

Priscus at the court of Attila in 448

Zosimus' Historia Nova: Book Six

 

Sixth Century (501-600 CE)

Jordane's Origins and Deeds of the Goths

Description of Belisarius, a Byzantine General, by Procopius

Gregory of Tour's History of the Franks

 

Seventh Century (601-700 CE)

Chronicon, by Isidore of Seville

Selections from the Chronicle of Fredegar (587-641)

 

Eight Century (701-800 CE)

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation

 

Ninth Century (801-900 CE)

Einhard's Life of Charlemagne

The Monk of St. Gall on the Wars and Military Exploits of Charlemagne

William Caxton's English Charlemagne Romances, written in 1485

Annals of St. Bertin on Viking attacks between 843 and 859

Chronicon Prophetica (written in 883)

The Life of King Alfred

Annals of the Reign of Alfred the Great, by Asser (PDF file)

 

Tenth Century (901-1000 CE)

Annales Cambriae (The Annals of Wales)

The Byzantine Attack on Bulgaria in 917, according to Theophanes Continuatus

Prince Oleg's Campaign Against Constantinople in the early 10th century, according to the Russian Primary Chronicle

Nikephoros Phokas captures Crete and celebrates a triumph, 961, according to Leo the Deacon  

The Battle of Brunanburh

 

Eleventh Century (1001-1100 CE)

The Battle of Kleidion, 29 July 1014, according to John Skylitzes  

Excerpts from the Saga of Harald Hardrada  

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 according to Orderic Vitalis

The Battle of Hastings in 1066, according to William of Malmesbury

Kekaumenos, Nouthetikos Logos or Advice to an Emperor (ca. 1078) (PDF) 

The Norman Invasions of Italy, according to the Breve Chronicon Northmannicum (1041-1085)

Arnulf of Milan, Book of Recent Deeds (PDF)

The Deeds of Robert Guiscard, by William of Apulia  

 

Twelfth Century (1101-1200 CE)

The Deeds of God through the Franks, by Guibert of Nogent

Anglo Saxon Chronicle, translated by  James Ingram and J.A. Giles - from The History Net  

Rebellion of Robert Of Belleme against Henry I in 1102, according to Orderic Vitalis  

The Deeds Done by Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of Duke Robert his Brother, by Geoffrey of Malaterra

The Deeds Done by King Roger of Sicily, by Alexander of Telese

Two Byzantine accounts of John II's encounters with the Hungarians, 1127-29  

Histoire des Ducs de Normandie et des Rois d'Angleterre: the empress Matilda and Queen Matilda of England  

The Capture of Almeria and Tortosa in 1147, by Caffaro di Rustico of Genoa  

Letters of the Crusaders Written from the Holy Land  

The Chronicle of St. Clement, Casauria, by John Berard (1023 - 1155)  

The Conquest of Ireland, by Giraldus Cambrensis (PDF)

The Chronicle of Richard of Devizes (PDF)

Four Arthurian Romances from Chretien de Troyes -

De Expugnatione: The Conquest of the Holy Land by Saladin, by Ralph of Coggeshall

Itinerary of Richard I and others to the Holy Land, by Richard of Holy Trinity, (once ascribed to Geoffrey of Vinsauf) (PDF)

Texts concerning the Conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily by Henry VI

St. Thomas Aquinas, On War

 

Thirteenth Century (1201-1300 CE)

Danish History Books I-IX, by Saxo Grammaticus

Histoire des Ducs de Normandie et des Rois d'Angleterre: Matilda de Braose fights the Welsh  

The Sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade

Chronicle texts concerning the Fourth Crusade

Memoirs or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantionple, by Geoffrey de Villehardouin

Letters of Innocent III concerning the Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire of Constantinople  

Excerpts from the Chronicle of the Cid  

Genghis Khan's conquest of Samarkand (1220), according to Juviani

Selection from the Annals of Jan Dlugosz dealing with the Mongol Invasion of Poland in 1241

William of Rubruck's Account of the Mongols 1253-1255

Heimskringla or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179 - 1241)

Source Documents Relating to the Wars of Edward III  - from ORB: The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies 

Walter de Manny attacks Mortagne, 1339

Jeanne of Flanders, countess of Montfort, leads a sortie (1342)

The Life of the Black Prince by Chandos Herald (PDF)

The Chronicle of  Ramón Muntaner (PDF)

The Lay of Igor's Raid (also available at this website)  

The Zadonshchina, including the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380

Romance of the Three Kingdoms - a 14th century Chinese novel dealing with the civil war at the end of the Later Han Dynasty

Tales from Froissart

Deeds of Arms: A Collection of Accounts of Formal Deeds of Arms of the Fourteenth Century

Deeds of Arms - From the Archives: Documents relating to Formal Deeds of Arms of the Fourteenth Century

 

Fifteenth Century (1401-1500 CE)

The Brus, by John Barbour  

15th Century Deeds of Arms

A Venetian Memorandum on the European States in the 1420's  

Levy of Troops for Wars in Bohemia, 1422 - from Chronique: Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournaments Resource Library

Bartolomeo de Giano,  A Letter on the Cruelty of the Turks (1438) (PDF) 

The Unconquered Knight, by Gutierre Diaz de Gamez (PDF)

A Treatise on the Form and Organization of a Tournament, by by René of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily

The Chronicle of Novgorod (1016-1471) (PDF)

Ars Gladitoria: A Fighting Treatise from the 15th century, by Fillipo Vadi - from Chronique: Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournaments Resource Library

History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy from the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, by Nicolo Machiavelli - from The History Net

The Art of War by Nicolo Machiavelli

 

Sixteenth Century and Later (after 1501 CE)

A Book of Five Rings - written in 1645, by Miyamoto Musashi, the renowned swordsman of the Edo period

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