Medieval Military

Contained here is Julius Caesar's own account of his military adventures in Gaul at the head of the Roman army, uniquely presented in Caesar's first-person perspective (rather than as a third-person narrative as in the original Latin). Included are seven sections ("books") of the Gallic War, each encompassing one year of Caesar's battles and intrigues; though there is an eighth book, it is generally accepted to have been written by another general, shortly after Caesar's death in 44 BCE.

In this indispensable volume, one of America's ranking scholars combines a life's work of research and teaching with the art of lively narration. Both authoritative and beautifully told, The Middle Ages is the full story of the thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance - a time that saw the rise of kings and emperors, the flowering of knighthood, the development of Europe, the increasing power of the Catholic Church, and the advent of the middle class.

AD 1041. After successfully avenging the death of his father, Halfdan and the crew of the Sea Wolf seek adventure in strange new lands, far from their Scandinavian home. They join the fleet of Harald Hardrada, the legendary Viking commander, sailing back to Constantinople from the battlefields of Georgia. There they join the Varangians, the personal bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperors populated almost exclusively by Viking warriors. But Constantinople has changed during Hardrada's long absence.

Medieval knights were like armoured tanks in combat. They often made quick work of their enemies. They may not have realized it, but they owed their success to science. Learn how science helped medieval knights win victory!

Betrayal by friend and foe alike beset Sir John Hawkwood as he enters the murky world of Italian politics. He will emerge from the experience as a true leader of men but first he has to outwit his enemies of which there are many. With Montferrat secured from the Savoyards and with the White Company now firmly in his hands, Sir John Hawkwood leads his men to Pisa where they have been hired to fight the Florentines. The hero of Poitiers is about to enter a world of treachery, intrigue and double dealing for which he is quite unprepared.

England, 1553. Richard Fitzwarren is a man determined to forge his own path. Once a man of importance, he was driven from his home with his half brother to scratch out a living as a mercenary. With little prospects, Richard must take whatever work comes his way, even when it leads to being thrown into the middle of a plot for the throne. But when his impulsive sibling draws attention from his wrathful family, the pair barely escapes with their lives.

The tale of William the Conqueror is written down by numerous contemporaries with various perspectives. It's a tale that would inspire some, while fascinate and even terrify others. It’s a tale of a man from a seemingly small land rising to rule one of the most powerful, stable kingdoms in all of Europe at the time - a kingdom that would sow the seeds of an empire that would sprout many centuries later.

The Emperor Henry of the Holy Roman Empire is dying, and his wife, the Empress Matilda, is in danger from those who would use her to gain the title and the power. King Henry of England sends Alfraed of Norton to rescue her and avoid a war. With enemies from France, Flanders and the empire, as well as Norman traitors, the handful of Northern Knights have to fight across Europe and back. A fast-moving novel that moves from Germany to the Scottish borders in the turbulent times of the early 12th century, when friends could become foes overnight.

The Black Death! England has won the war with France, but the disease which rampages through the land takes both rich and poor, warrior and worker. John Hawkwood and his two companions spend the winter in the north. It is in the spring that he begins to mould his company into a fighting force, and he serves the Baron Mortimer on the Welsh Border. There his men learn to fight as one, and John Hawkwood begins the change from archer to man at arms.

Danger stalks across the surface. Tension and panic rise within the clan as whispers of a massive raider army of a size never before heard of, rallying together. They plan a grand crusade to sweep across the white wastes, eliminating any who stand in their way. Their numbers are legion, their power and resources near limitless. And their course is set to cross the clan.

Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades - sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church.

A Soldiers way is rough and hard, even when his own heart tells him to be gentle... Lady Emeline Fairhaven is the uncommonly beautiful young widow in charge of her late husband's castle and all those who dwell within. Fiercely independent and loyal, she's long since given up hope for her own happiness with the handsome young soldier she once loved. All she wants now is to be left in peace and to be a good overseer to her people. Rowan Hawthorne started from nothing but rose quickly through the ranks of Edward III's army with his legendary skills on the battlefield. Now, he is a force to be ...

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

The Hellenica is Xenophon’s continuation of Thucydides’ history of the Peloponnesian War, literally resuming from where the previous author’s history was abruptly left unfinished and narrating the events of the final seven years of the conflict and the war’s aftermath. Some historians consider the Hellenica to be a personal work, written by Xenophon in retirement on his Spartan estate, and intended primarily for circulation among his friends, who would have known the main protagonists and events, having most likely participated in them.

How have the crusades contributed to Islamist rage and terrorism today? Were the crusades the Christian equivalent of modern jihad? In this sweeping yet crisp history, Thomas F. Madden offers a brilliant and compelling narrative of the crusades and their contemporary relevance.

The year is 1203 and John has succeeded Richard the Lionhearted as England's king. That's when Thomas is captured while trying to deliver a letter from the Pope to the crusaders gathering to once again try to liberate Jerusalem from the Saracens. The gritty realities of the time and the fighting, action, and betrayal are continuous as William takes his archers and galleys to Constantinople in an effort to rescue him.

Alfraed is now the Earl of Cleveland but his new position throws him into a world of intrigue. There are plots and coups as the enemies of England try to wrest the land from King Henry. The Earl has to fight the Scots, the Welsh and Vikings before he travels to Normandy to fight alongside the king. Filled with battles and knightly combat, the fast-moving novel reflects the chaotic times before the first English Civil War.

In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.

The 15th century Romanian Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is one of the most fascinating personalities of medieval history. Already during his own lifetime, his true story became obscured by a veil of myths. As a result, he has been portrayed both as a bloody tyrant - who degenerated down throughout the centuries into the fictional vampire of the same name created by Bram Stoker at the end of the 19th century - and as a national and Christian hero who bravely fought to defend his native land and all of Europe against the invading Turkish infidels.

Alternate history—1116 AD. Three hundred years of cruel Viking raids have finally united Christian Europe against the pagan Northlands. A great crusade has been called to pacify the wild Norse kingdoms. The banner of the cross has been raised against the North, and all the power and fury of the West rides under it. Ordulf, a talented young German swordsmith, is ripped from his comfortable life and cast into the bloody chaos of the crusade. As fate deals him a cruel blow in the lands of his enemies, he will have to forge a new path through the chaos or be consumed by it.