EBOOK
About
From mounted warriors of the ancient world to the arrival of gunpowder: the complete story of the knight in one illustrated volume.
The knight is one of history's most recognizable figures and one of its most misunderstood. KNIGHTS separates the institution from the legend. It begins with the horsemen of Assyria, Macedon, Rome and Persia, follows the rise of the mounted warrior under the Franks and Normans, and traces knighthood through chivalry, castles, crusades, tournaments, heraldry and the great battles of the Middle Ages, until cannon and pikemen changed war for good.
You will meet William Marshal, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, the Black Prince, Bertrand du Guesclin and Joan of Arc. You will stand at Hastings, Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt and Towton, inside the Templars' and Hospitallers' fortresses, and on the walls of a besieged castle.
This is also a book about ordinary medieval life. Separate chapters explain how a boy became a page, a squire and a knight, how armor was forged and how it really moved, what a warhorse cost, how castles were built, how castle households ate, dressed and hunted, and how armies camped, marched and were paid. More than 250 illustrations show homes, kitchens, ships, bridges, siege engines, workshops and battlefields, along with maps and portraits.
Every chapter ends with The Historian's Verdict, a clear look at what the evidence proves, what it suggests and what remains unknown. Three Cultural Interludes explore the songs and legends of chivalry, the knight in film and fantasy, and the music and courts of the medieval hall. Appendices include a compendium of rulers and commanders, a timeline, battles and sieges, castles and orders, a cast of characters, a glossary and a guide to further reading.
If you enjoyed SPQR, HELLAS and EGYPT, KNIGHTS continues the series.
The knight is one of history's most recognizable figures and one of its most misunderstood. KNIGHTS separates the institution from the legend. It begins with the horsemen of Assyria, Macedon, Rome and Persia, follows the rise of the mounted warrior under the Franks and Normans, and traces knighthood through chivalry, castles, crusades, tournaments, heraldry and the great battles of the Middle Ages, until cannon and pikemen changed war for good.
You will meet William Marshal, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, the Black Prince, Bertrand du Guesclin and Joan of Arc. You will stand at Hastings, Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt and Towton, inside the Templars' and Hospitallers' fortresses, and on the walls of a besieged castle.
This is also a book about ordinary medieval life. Separate chapters explain how a boy became a page, a squire and a knight, how armor was forged and how it really moved, what a warhorse cost, how castles were built, how castle households ate, dressed and hunted, and how armies camped, marched and were paid. More than 250 illustrations show homes, kitchens, ships, bridges, siege engines, workshops and battlefields, along with maps and portraits.
Every chapter ends with The Historian's Verdict, a clear look at what the evidence proves, what it suggests and what remains unknown. Three Cultural Interludes explore the songs and legends of chivalry, the knight in film and fantasy, and the music and courts of the medieval hall. Appendices include a compendium of rulers and commanders, a timeline, battles and sieges, castles and orders, a cast of characters, a glossary and a guide to further reading.
If you enjoyed SPQR, HELLAS and EGYPT, KNIGHTS continues the series.