A Knight and His Armor

by Ewart Oakeshott

This is another in the famous Knight series by the renowned medieval historian Ewart Oakeshott. Explore another fascinating dimension of medieval warfare in this engaging account of knights and their various kinds of armor. Oakeshott focuses on the armor of the later Middle Ages, from 1100 to 1500. He examines how armor developed, how craftsmen made the important garments, and he looks in detail at the different kinds of helmets and which were the best. He also looks at the other important aspects of a knight's armor and finishes up with a discussion of how the armor was worn. Along the way he dispels a number of myths about medieval armor. Originally published in 1961-and of interest to young and older readers-this updated and revised edition of A Knight and His Armor has an extensive and useful glossary. Accurately illustrated by the author, the book captures the wonder and magic of a past time. "Oakeshott here provides a detailed history of how armor developed, how and of what it was made, and how it was worn."-Library Journal

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[vhatos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Невелика книжка, в якій автор розповідає про обладунки та озброєння середньовічних лицарів, використовуючи музейні експонати та посилаючись на історичні факти. Може бути цікаво шанувальникам історичної літератури та фентезі.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this book accomplished the goal I was hoping for (teaching me the names and looks of pieces of medieval armor), but some things were a little odd? It was an interesting choice to have drawings rather than photos, and even MORE interesting to take artistic liberty in the illustrations. This quote is talking about one such illustration:

“For instance, Figure 9 is a mounted warrior embossed on the side of a great golden vase that was made in about AD 860. This vase is part of a treasure found at a place with a name English speakers find tough to pronounce, Nagyszentmyklos, in Hungary. I have redrawn the figure in a modern manner, for though the ninth century goldsmith showed the warrior's entire armor in careful detail, this warrior had a rather odd look and a very odd horse. He had no sword either; there was probably a good reason why he was shown without one, but for our purpose I have given him one.”

Also the last chapter seems to be…entirely fanfiction about Schott von Hellingen? Anyway it’s a short easy read so it was worth the time.

[Paintedbear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, engaging, and concise.

[M. Lorrox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I found the history to be fascinating and the lengths the author took to present accurate portrayals of rare complete armors to be impressive.

[Kody Dibble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting read!