The Book of the Medieval Knight

by Stephen Turnbull

Fearless in battle, gracious in victory, knights lived their lives on a heroic scale, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Vividly retold with superb color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. "...fantastic...recommend this book most highly....Excellent...."-- Midwest Wargamer's Assoc. .... "Superbly illustrated...outstanding....Glorious full-color photographs...exquisite and informative study."-- BRAVO .

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, Medieval, Military History

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1985

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, this book is of the medieval knight and therefore spends most of its time covering English and French History. So, I'm not sure where these comments come from wanting middle eastern knights. They weren't knights. They had different names.

The scope of this book covers the Hundred Years War to the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses . . . expect to cover mostly French and English History, as these were the two cultures who began the chivalric code and were the main players during that era.

While it's true that there were knights in other areas of western and eastern Europe, they all emulated the French and the English. That's why Turnbull spent his time with these two countries.

If you want a similar example to THE MEDIEVAL KNIGHT but hate anglocentric History, check out his THE BOOK OF THE SAMURAI or even THE MONGOLS. Just stop whining! :D

There are some good illustrations and diagrams in this book as well as details about the smaller events in England, Scotland and to a lesser extent other areas of Europe.

PRESENTATION/AREAS COVERED: B; WHEN READ: 2001 (revised review end of July 2012); OVERALL GRADE: B.

[Brianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's kind of a bad sign when a history text is illustrated with pictures of the author's son standing by war relics.

I also thought the author was on the Lancaster side of the War of the Roses (if an author's not going to be impartial, he should really be for York), though I did appreciate his portrayal of Richard III.

The one thing I did learn from this book was that England and Wales signed agreements amidst their fighting stating that, for instance, a city would surrender to England if the Welsh troops didn't make significant advancements in their battles. (Didn't get more troops, didn't advance to within fighting distance of the English, etc) Which is both intriguing and hard to understand (in the 21st century). Granted, the author doesn't make it any easier to understand, with his writing style. But at least I learned something. Sort of.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not intended for those who wish to learn more of the medieval knight, rather for those whose interest lies in the medieval history of the English and French. Sheds little light onto the thoughts, feelings, and people of the time. More of a chronicle. This happened, then this. The end.

[Tad Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first went into it, I was expecting a simple take on knights with descriptions of "this is what they wore," and "this is what they did." The book is far from that, instead diving head first into a very detailed history of the military history of the 14th and 15th centuries, particularly the hundred years war.

As an American, I knew absolutely nothing about any of this and was jumping into the deep end of the pool. By the end of the book, however, I think I learned about as much as I would've if I'd taken a class on this same topic.

It reads a like a text book most of the time, both to its benefit and detriment. He occasionally references people or events without as much elaboration as I'd like, and I got lost more than once.

Overall, it's not a book I'd recommend to everyone, but for the brave, this is a great way to learn.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book was somewhat misleading in its title. Though it is about knights, it's less about medieval knights as a whole, and more about the 100 Years War and the War of the Roses from the lens of knightly technology. Very fascinating, but not quite what the title promises.