John Sadler, a lifelong enthusiast of military engagements in northern
England as befitting his Northumberland roots, has an impressive
list of publications largely focusing on battles and wars between
England and Scotland. In an attempt to provide more attention to
the civil war of the mid-thirteenth century between royal and baronial
factions, which perhaps has unfairly been overshadowed by scholarship
devoted to the later Wars of the Roses and English Civil War, Sadler
concentrates chiefly on the pivotal campaigns of 1264 and 1265 in The
Second Barons' War.
Sadler's book is logically organized along chronological lines.
In the first two chapters, the author sets the stage for the meat
of the discussion by covering respectively an overview of medieval
war, including weapons, armor, strategy and military realities, and
a summary of Henry III's reign including the events and political
circumstances leading to an eventual military conflict with Simon
de Montfort and the other barons. Similarly, the final chapter promises
to discuss the legacy of the two battles of Lewes and Evesham,
although the chronological scope of that legacy has been disappointingly
limited merely to the end of the Barons' War rather than beyond.
The intervening four chapters are particularly devoted to close studies
of the Lewes and Evesham campaigns, with
explanation and analyses of the more strictly strategic and tactical
aspects rather than political or contextual causations and implications.
Indeed, Sadler is clearly more excited about retelling and investigating
the pure military details.
Sadler's work is readable, engaging, and, although perhaps somewhat
light on the scholarly aspect, is nonetheless undeniably scholarly.
First of all, Sadler does provide proper citations and notes. A fairly
extensive "select" bibliography containing a substantial
section of primary sources, comprises both current and classic scholarship
on the book's main topics of the battles of Lewes and Evesham, and more generally the reigns of Henry III and Edward
I including their clashes with de Montfort. The author is clearly
comfortable working with chronicle sources, as he both provides
an exhaustive list of them in the bibliography, and refers to them
often in his text.
Sadler has incorporated some very helpful elements into his book,
some of which are of especial assistance to those not familiar either
with the important people involved in this political and military
struggle, or with the particulars of military formations and tactics.
Just after the table of contents, the author has included a detailed
timeline of the events of English royal history from Magna Carta in1215
to the death of Henry III and the accession of his son, Edward I
in 1272, with understandably expansive details for the years 1264
and 1265. Following this timeline is a seven-page-long list of people
important to this conflict, including biographical information, family
connections, and even brief histories of each person's attitude toward
royal policies (pp. xix-xxv). In chapters three through six, the
ones detailing the specifics of the Lewes and Evesham campaigns and actual battles, Sadler has included
maps illustrating the paths taken by enemy forces, as well as pictorial
depictions of the battles' narrative. The map of the battle of Lewes,
for instance, not only provides the routes taken by both the royal
and baronial armies to the site of the battle, but also includes
an inset map showing the drawn battle lines, formations of the two
armies, and course of the battle in which Prince Edward (later Edward
I) managed to destroy and disperse the baronial left flank composed
of Londoners. (56) Eight glossy pages between the chapters on Lewes
and Evesham (between pages 70 and 71) contain
black and white photographs of the sites of Lewes and Evesham today. Important landmarks and structures discussed
in the text are here brought to life visually. Additionally, Sadler
has compiled a short glossary of common medieval military terms that
he has used throughout his book. For the novice military historian,
the explanation of these specialized terms could be immensely helpful.
Before the scholarly apparatus at the end of the book, Sadler added
three appendices, two of which might be useful for the broad audience
of the book, although the third has quite a narrow application. The
first appendix is essentially an historiographical study that discusses
in some detail certain alternative views for an element of the progression
of the battle of Evesham. While perhaps
it is important for more serious scholars of this battle to be introduced
to this historiographical debate, it was wise for Sadler to isolate
this discussion in an appendix rather than bog down the momentum
of his narrative by incorporating it into the corresponding chapter.
The second appendix is more of a travel guide, providing helpful
hints for journeying and discerning landmarks should one wish to
travel to the battle sites of Lewes and Evesham themselves.
The last appendix would appeal to a very narrow readership indeed,
as the author has proffered suggestions should one wish to make their
gaming experience more true to history when playing one of the strategy
war games that deals specifically with these two battles. In
some ways the inclusion of this information detracts from the scholarly
bent of the book, although it is possible that the appendix might
broaden the audience for whom this book would be useful.
In general, Sadler's book is solid and well written even if somewhat
narrow of scope. However, it is ideal if one is looking for a good
military overview of the two central campaigns of the Second Barons'
War, without requiring significant contextualization, background
information, or socio-political ramifications.