A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages, Vol. 1: 378-1278 AD

A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages #1

by Charles Oman

The complete History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages, by master-historian Charles Oman. Excellent in scope and execution, Oman's history of the art of war during the middle ages is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval history. Covering the period from the Fall of Rome to the Hundred Years' War, Oman displays his narrative skill in conveying both the beauty and the horror of warcraft during the middle ages.

Contents include:
Book I: The Transition from Roman to Mediæval Forms in War
The Last Days of the Legion A.D. 235–450
Belisarius and the Goths A.D. 450–552

Book II: The Early Middle Ages A.D. 500–768
The Visigoths, Lombards, and Franks
The Anglo-Saxons

Book III: From Charles the Great to the Battle of Hastings A.D. 768–1066
Charles the Great and the Early Carolingians A.D. 768–850
The Vikings A.D. 800–900
The Vikings Turned Back A.D. 900–1000
The Magyars A.D. 896–973
Arms and Armour A.D. 800–1100
Siegecraft A.D. 800–1100
The Last Struggles of Infantry

Book IV: The Byzantines A.D. 579–1204
Historical Development of the Byzantine Army
Arms and Organization of the Byzantine Army
Strategy and Tactics of the Byzantine Army
Decline of the Byzantine Army 1071–1204

Book V: The Crusades 1097–1291
Introductory
The Grand Strategy of the Crusades
The Tactics of the Crusaders
The Tactics of the Crusaders – continued
The Great Defeats of the Crusaders – Carrhae, Harenc, Tiberias, Acre, Mansourah

Book VI: Western Europe from the Battle of Hastings to the Rise of the Longbow
Introductory
The Armies of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
English Battles and their Tactics 1100–1200
English Battles of the Thirteenth Century
Continental Battles, 1100–1300
Arms and Armour 1100–1300
Fortification and Siegecraft 1100–1300

Book VII: England and Scotland 1296–1333
England and Scotland 1296–1328
Continuation of the Scottish War

Book VIII: The Longbow in France and Spain 1337–1370
The Hundred Years’ War: The Armies of Edward III
The Longbow in France – Creçy
Poictiers, Cocherel, and Auray 1356–64
Navarette and Aljubarotta

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Military Fiction

526 pages, Hardcover

First published March 20, 2014

About the author

Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. His style is an invigorating mixture of historical accuracy and emotional highlights, and it makes his narratives, though founded on deep research, often read as smoothly as fiction, especially in his History of the Peninsular War. Occasionally, his interpretations have been challenged, especially his widely copied thesis that British troops defeated their Napoleonic opponents by firepower alone. Paddy Griffith, among modern historians, claims the British infantry's discipline and willingness to attack were equally important.

He was born in India, the son of a British planter, and was educated at Oxford University, where he studied under William Stubbs. In 1881 he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College, where he would remain for the rest of his career.

He was elected the Chichele Professor of modern history at Oxford in 1905, in succession to Montagu Burrows. He was also elected to the FBA that year, serving as President of the Royal Historical and Numismatic societies, and of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

His academic career was interrupted by the First World War, during which he was employed by the government Press Bureau and Foreign Office.

Oman was a Conservative member of Parliament for the University of Oxford constituency from 1919 to 1935, and was knighted in 1920.

He became an honorary fellow of New College in 1936 and received the honorary degrees of DCL (Oxford, 1926) and LL.D (Edinburgh, 1911 and Cambridge, 1927). He died at Oxford.

Two of his children became authors. Son Charles wrote several volumes on British silverware and similar housewares. Daughter Carola was notable for her biographies, especially that of Nelson.

Reviews

[Claus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers the period between the last days of the legion and all the way to the rise of the longbow. It gives a brief strategic overview of each period before delving into detailed descriptions of tactics, weapons, armour and organisation of the armies involved. Only a few battles are considered from each period, selected for their significance and most importantly to illustrate the particulars of warfare for each period. The book is very well researched and informative as well as being very approachable and exciting. It is great to have a book which describes how the infantry used with such success by the Romans was gradually abandoned with the rise of the cavalry and how warfare evolved through the early middle ages. Visigoths, Franks, Charles The Great, Vikings, The Byzantine Army, The Strategies and Tactics of the Crusades, The Battle of Hastings and the birth of feudalism. It's all in this one tome.

[Chris M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The better of the two volumes, though both are great. A comprehensive overview of the art of war in Europe during the Middle Ages, with some asides for the Crusades.

While dense, it is an excellent the best introduction to medieval warfare, and useful for the veteran historian as well.

Sir Oman tends to focus on British history, being British, but that is less of an issue in the timeframe this volume covers. The second volume is primarily Brit-centric, which is a little frustrating as a lot happened in the 200+ years of the second volume that deserved more attention.

[Carlos Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

這本是我在找的那種書，一部從“大方向”去看軍事藝術發展的作品，而翻譯比《西方戰爭藝術》好，節奏篇幅跟文筆也更流暢。跟那些純解說裝備兵器，戰史的作品相比，本書講解了日耳曼諸民族、維京人、拜占庭跟十字軍的軍事發展，兵種優缺點，跟如何搭配戰術等，特別是他解釋了各種戰術兵種相生相剋的原理，再搭配戰例解說後讓讀者可以一以貫之，再魯鈍的也能理解。與本書真是相逢恨晚，要是早點讀到，玩Total War 也就輕鬆多了(喂)....

[Jason]

I got this book hoping to better understand my beloved fantasy novels which often involve medieval warfare, and I was not disappointed. This book is a breakneck-speed study of 900 years of military history in Europe. In it, Sir Oman shows us all of the military organization, arms and armor, and tactics that was common in an era, as well as the political situation that would all contribute to the makeup of respective armies. Then he takes this knowledge and leads the reader on studies of individual battles, and the reasons they were won and lost. He takes great pains to explain how change was made and how it affected war, from Roman times, through the Byzantine era, Dark Ages Europe, The Crusades and various other battles.



All of his information is from ancient accounts, and though he seems thorough in his cross-referencing and logic, it is nevertheless based on exaggeration-prone medieval witnesses. What is great about this book is Sir Omen's incredible insight and authority. The material is incredibly condensed, yet is still accessible to the layman (that's me). What I also enjoyed about the book is seeing the absolute scorn of a stuffy authority judged upon inept generals and mistaken scribes.



He is cheering for European Christians, which could be a turn-off for someone, and he sometimes bogs things down in minutae (ie heraldry and which baron or duke or knight led so-and-so in such-and-such of a position, although I got the impression even he was cutting out much of the glory-hounding that goes on in this sort of history). The lead up, the couple of chapters describing the arms and armor and institutions of the day, is dreadfully boring but necessary to the lively studies of battles that forms the core of the book.



His context is broad enough to be of interest to a general history reader and Sir Omen's insightful military study (whether or not all the details are right) are priceless for someone studying medieval battle.