Medieval Military Combat: Battle Tactics and Fighting Techniques of the Wars of the Roses

Description

A concise and entertaining explanation of how other accounts, and popular culture such as films, have misrepresented medieval warfare. We don't know how medieval soldiers fought. Did they just walk forward in their armor smashing each other with their maces and poleaxes for hours on end, as depicted on film and in programs such as Game of Thrones? They could not have done so. It is impossible to fight in such a manner for more than several minutes as exhaustion becomes a preventative factor. Indeed, we know more of how the Roman and Greek armies fought than we do of the 1300 to 1550 period. So how did medieval soldiers in the War of the Roses, and in the infantry sections of battles such as Agincourt and Towton, carry out their grim work? Medieval Military Combat shows, for the first time, the techniques of such battles. It also breaks new ground in establishing medieval battle numbers as highly exaggerated, and that we need to look again at the accounts of actions such as the famous Battle of Towton, which this work uses as a basic for its overall study. Table of Contents Introduction 1. The genesis of infantry combat 2. The evidence of medieval combat 3. Armour 4. Arms 5.. The Longbow’s Place in Medieval Battle 6.. The effectiveness of poleaxes 7. How were medieval battles fought? 8. Towton as an example 9. Conclusion Appendices Cover Book Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 The Wars of the Roses Chapter 2 The Genesis of Infantry Combat Chapter 3 The Black Hole of Knowledge Regarding Medieval Combat chapter 4Misunderstanding Medieval Tactics,Armour and Weapons ThroughModern Books and Movies Chapter 4 Misunderstanding Medieval Tactics, Armour and Weapons Through Modern Books and Movies Chapter 5 Armour in the Medieval Period Chapter 6 The Longbow’s Place in Medieval Battle Chapter 7 The Fight of the Poleaxe Soldier Chapter 8 How Were Medieval Battles Actually Fought? Chapter 9 Towton as an Example of Medieval Battle Chapter 10 The Myth of Fatalities in Medieval Battle Conclusion Appendix 1 Accounts of the Battle of Towton Appendix 2 Percussive Weapons of the Leeds Armouries Database Appendix 3 Re-enactor Analysis Endnotes Bibliography Index