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Medieval Siege and Siegecraft
Here Geoffrey Hindley serves us the history of military sieges fromevery angle, tracing the development of fortifications and equipment(offensive and defensive), penning vivid portraits of the weaponsinvolved, exploring the psychology of laying siege, and even describingthe role played by women and camp followers in battle. He shows siegetactics in action through real-life case studies of famous sieges thatchanged the course of history in medieval Europe and the Holy Land. Hisstimulating and accessible study will be fascinating reading formedieval specialists and for anyone who is interested in the history ofwarfare.
182 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
40 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Geoffrey Hindley
48 books19 followersGeoffrey Hindley (1935-2014), educated at Kingswood School, Bath and University College Oxford, was a lecturer and writer. He was three times an invited participant at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University; was visiting associate professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville; and lectured in Europe and America on European culture,
medieval social history and Magna Carta, and the history of music. From 1994 to 2000 he taught English civilization at the University of Le Havre. Right up until his death he was co-president of the Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science of Oxford and London.
medieval social history and Magna Carta, and the history of music. From 1994 to 2000 he taught English civilization at the University of Le Havre. Right up until his death he was co-president of the Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science of Oxford and London.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 10, 2020
Clashes of armored knights and chivalrous duels are the face of medieval warfare, but the heart was control of fortified places, castles, and walled cities which were the economic and military heart of the period. There's a lot that can be said about sieges, but this book isn't it. Rather than any kind of organized approach to the subject, it's a series of disconnected anecdotes across regions and centuries, with only the vaguest thematic link between retellings from medieval chronicles, and the most cursory analysis and synthesis. This book is just barely good enough for me to keep reading, which is not praise. At least it's short.
July 28, 2020
This work is more a collection of anecdotes and stories rather than any sort of historical or scholarly work. The writing style is pleasant enough, and there are some interesting nuggets of information to be found, but the organization is haphazard and scattershot (at best), and the contents of each chapter only line up loosely (at best) with the chapter heading.
Maybe the most damning indictment I can make is that there are fantasy gaming and wargaming resources that are more educational and useful than this in many respects. (the 2nd edition AD&D Castle Guide, for one).
It's a pleasant enough read, but far too poorly-organized to be something easily used as a reference, and far too cursory a treatment on the subject to really merit a place on a shelf. While I bought it second-hand, I'm not sure it's even really worth that.
Maybe the most damning indictment I can make is that there are fantasy gaming and wargaming resources that are more educational and useful than this in many respects. (the 2nd edition AD&D Castle Guide, for one).
It's a pleasant enough read, but far too poorly-organized to be something easily used as a reference, and far too cursory a treatment on the subject to really merit a place on a shelf. While I bought it second-hand, I'm not sure it's even really worth that.
December 28, 2022
This honestly feels like an overly drawn out paper for a college class that needs to be through another round of peer review and should be reorganized as well. The topic is an interesting one, but this was not doing itself any favors.
September 4, 2010
Geoffrey Hindley covers the mechanations, psychology, rules, art and finally -- the horror -- of medieval siege warfare in MEDIEVAL SIEGES & SIEGECRAFT. The writing, although sometimes cumbersome, is not dry. Geoffrey's passion for his subject comes through and the text is enlivened with examples and quotes taken straight out of history. Even those who dislike reading about war may find interest in the story of an earl's son forced to swim across a lake in his nightshirt, the woman whose husband refused to take her back after her captives released her, and the invaders who dressed in female garb and followed the town's women from a well located at the edge of town back through the gates.
A chapter covers the various tools of war and provided interesting information. For instance, siege towers were huge and might reach a height of 60 feet. One gigantuan siege tower even capsized the boat meant to transport it. Of interest, too, were the various incindiary weapons, especially Greek fire, which I'll use as an example of the detail in this book. A secret formula of combustibles perfected by the Byzantines ignited upon contact with water. It was used primarily in naval warfare (although it did show up in castle sieges). It burned with ferocity, even as one account claims, beneath the water. One eyewitness account of a lighted barrel catapulted toward a besieging army describes it as a fireball with a long tail that lit up the night as if it were day and roared like a dragon. Not surprisingly, its deployment ended more than one siege. The formula for Greek fire has been lost in the mists of time. While some believe it contained naphtha or petroleum in some form, and also oils and resins, no one today knows for certain what was in it.
The book covers both the strengths and vulnerabilities of castles and names the measures taken by miners and masonry sappers to topple towers and bring down walls. We learn of the formalities, the trickery employed and, yes, even the chivalry found in medieval warfare. Sadly, too, we learn of man's inhumanity to man. A chapter discusses the surprising role of women in medieval warfare. Another chapter deals with the problem of logistics.
Illustrations scatter throughout the book, and a more-organized section of photographs enliven the center pages. Color illustrations and photographs would be preferable than black-and-white, however the scope and execution of this amazing resource redeems this flaw.
I recommend this book for adults who enjoy reading nonfiction historicals written in a personable style.
A chapter covers the various tools of war and provided interesting information. For instance, siege towers were huge and might reach a height of 60 feet. One gigantuan siege tower even capsized the boat meant to transport it. Of interest, too, were the various incindiary weapons, especially Greek fire, which I'll use as an example of the detail in this book. A secret formula of combustibles perfected by the Byzantines ignited upon contact with water. It was used primarily in naval warfare (although it did show up in castle sieges). It burned with ferocity, even as one account claims, beneath the water. One eyewitness account of a lighted barrel catapulted toward a besieging army describes it as a fireball with a long tail that lit up the night as if it were day and roared like a dragon. Not surprisingly, its deployment ended more than one siege. The formula for Greek fire has been lost in the mists of time. While some believe it contained naphtha or petroleum in some form, and also oils and resins, no one today knows for certain what was in it.
The book covers both the strengths and vulnerabilities of castles and names the measures taken by miners and masonry sappers to topple towers and bring down walls. We learn of the formalities, the trickery employed and, yes, even the chivalry found in medieval warfare. Sadly, too, we learn of man's inhumanity to man. A chapter discusses the surprising role of women in medieval warfare. Another chapter deals with the problem of logistics.
Illustrations scatter throughout the book, and a more-organized section of photographs enliven the center pages. Color illustrations and photographs would be preferable than black-and-white, however the scope and execution of this amazing resource redeems this flaw.
I recommend this book for adults who enjoy reading nonfiction historicals written in a personable style.
November 3, 2020
Rather than a descriptive, technical or thematically driven assessment of medieval siege war, this is mainly a collection of interesting anecdotes drawn from fairly diverse sources. There is also some material drawn from modern analytical historians to comment on these stories. This all makes for an interesting, amusing read and it all is actually quite informative. Probably its strongest area in this respect was the development of incendiary and explosive materials.
Really this is the type of book for someone with only a passing knowledge of the topic rather than to go into great depth. In a field where I myself have depth of reading, I've been critical of books like this that don't really bring anything new and I've already read the sources. However in Hindley's case I have no way of knowing how accessible and well known his materials are? In any case this is a good primer. It doesn't overstay it's welcome, it has enough of a selection of illustrations and a lively writing style (although sometimes a critical editor could have added clarity). Overall it doesn't attempt too much but delivers well what it does do.
Really this is the type of book for someone with only a passing knowledge of the topic rather than to go into great depth. In a field where I myself have depth of reading, I've been critical of books like this that don't really bring anything new and I've already read the sources. However in Hindley's case I have no way of knowing how accessible and well known his materials are? In any case this is a good primer. It doesn't overstay it's welcome, it has enough of a selection of illustrations and a lively writing style (although sometimes a critical editor could have added clarity). Overall it doesn't attempt too much but delivers well what it does do.
November 10, 2017
This was a highly entertaining and easy read through a lot of anecdotal info on Sieges in the Medieval era. Bitty at times, but full of good detail and well organized. Well worth the time to read if you have an interest in the subject as historical event. Not a technical book, but a lot of tales.
November 1, 2015
This work is an academic study of siege warfare throughout history along with cursory description of tactics, weapons, and fortifications. It lacks thoughtful depth.
December 30, 2023
A defensive mindset; battlefields were often unpredictable whereas, by logistical decision or psychological game, a siege was open to calculated strategy or guile.
The history of the siege is bound up with that of city culture itself: agriculture required storage facilities, which then required administration and a garrison. So, as human settlements became more concentrated and complex so did the nature of their hostile interactions... small raiding parties were replaced by deliberate attacks on fortified positions - and it was from these positions that large swathes of the surrounding countryside could be controlled.
This book discusses various case studies from which certain general principles can be drawn, whether that be the honour-bound rules of engagement or the feasible options that were actually available to besieger/besieged.
A few castles worth mentioning are Rhuddlan with its intimidating gate towers - technical overkill - or the Krak des Chevailers which withstood twelve sieges over its 130 years as a crusader bastion before finally being taken by a simple ruse involving a pigeon carrying a forged letter.
(Also, 'siege' comes from the Latin 'sedere', to sit down.)
The history of the siege is bound up with that of city culture itself: agriculture required storage facilities, which then required administration and a garrison. So, as human settlements became more concentrated and complex so did the nature of their hostile interactions... small raiding parties were replaced by deliberate attacks on fortified positions - and it was from these positions that large swathes of the surrounding countryside could be controlled.
This book discusses various case studies from which certain general principles can be drawn, whether that be the honour-bound rules of engagement or the feasible options that were actually available to besieger/besieged.
A few castles worth mentioning are Rhuddlan with its intimidating gate towers - technical overkill - or the Krak des Chevailers which withstood twelve sieges over its 130 years as a crusader bastion before finally being taken by a simple ruse involving a pigeon carrying a forged letter.
(Also, 'siege' comes from the Latin 'sedere', to sit down.)
August 23, 2018
As someone who is deeply interested in fortifications and siege warfare [1], it is little surprise that I would find a book about medieval sieges to be interesting and worthwhile. And so it is. This particular book is focused on the Middle Ages, and it should be of little surprise to anyone who is aware of the warfare during this period that sieges were of particular importance, in large part because battles were extremely chancy and the relationship between rulers and cities and towns during this period was especially fraught with disagreement and conflict. In addition to that, the importance of holding castles to be seen as a person of importance during the Middle Ages and the issue of unlicensed castles that aided revolts and discontent against rulers certainly made fortifications and defended places areas of particular importance during the entire Middle Ages to a degree seldom seem in the history of the West. For these reasons, among others, this book does a good job at informing the reader of various aspects of the siegecraft of the Middle Ages, something that should be of interest to those who find castles interesting.
After an introductory discussion of the importance of siegecraft in the warfare of the Middle Ages, the author begins this book with a discussion of fortified towns and cities (1). He notes that sieges often dealt with strong points in a landscape (2) that were often fortified to increase their power, and that these castles were designed and built by well-paid professionals (3), even if that payment was in tokens. The author looks at aspects of siegecraft like war machines (4), fire weapons, including Greek fire (5), and artillery (6) that could be used on both the attack and the defense. There is a discussion of attack and defense (7), logistics (8), issues of psychology and morale and deception (9) as well, showing the author's interest in making the book as complete as possible. The book closes its main contents with chapters on women at war (10), the rules of engagement (11), and the horrors of total war (12) before closing with an appendix on Vegetius and his role as the writer of the classic medieval text on warfare, as well as a glossary of technical terms, notes on sources, bibliography, and index. All told, the book is just a bit more than 150 pages, making it a relatively quick read.
One very intriguing aspect of this book is the way that it manages to take out a great deal of the romance of siege warfare in the Middle Ages--or at any other time--without assuming that the people involved were total hypocrites. The rules of war, such as they were, were very harsh when it came to sieges, and engaging in logistical warfare is a commitment to making ordinary civilians feel the pain of the follies of their political leaders, one of the reasons why I have always been so fond of that particular warfare as a student of military history myself. Even if sieges lack the excitement that battles tend to have for most students of military history, the importance of taking and holding land and strongpoints means that anyone who wants to understand the military history of the Middle Ages needs to take sieges and siegecraft seriously. Since this is not the sort of subject that draws a lot of attention from many writers, it is definitely worthwhile that this book serves as a helpful introduction to the matter, where readers can take advantage of the sources included for further and deeper reading about the subject, for those who are interested.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
After an introductory discussion of the importance of siegecraft in the warfare of the Middle Ages, the author begins this book with a discussion of fortified towns and cities (1). He notes that sieges often dealt with strong points in a landscape (2) that were often fortified to increase their power, and that these castles were designed and built by well-paid professionals (3), even if that payment was in tokens. The author looks at aspects of siegecraft like war machines (4), fire weapons, including Greek fire (5), and artillery (6) that could be used on both the attack and the defense. There is a discussion of attack and defense (7), logistics (8), issues of psychology and morale and deception (9) as well, showing the author's interest in making the book as complete as possible. The book closes its main contents with chapters on women at war (10), the rules of engagement (11), and the horrors of total war (12) before closing with an appendix on Vegetius and his role as the writer of the classic medieval text on warfare, as well as a glossary of technical terms, notes on sources, bibliography, and index. All told, the book is just a bit more than 150 pages, making it a relatively quick read.
One very intriguing aspect of this book is the way that it manages to take out a great deal of the romance of siege warfare in the Middle Ages--or at any other time--without assuming that the people involved were total hypocrites. The rules of war, such as they were, were very harsh when it came to sieges, and engaging in logistical warfare is a commitment to making ordinary civilians feel the pain of the follies of their political leaders, one of the reasons why I have always been so fond of that particular warfare as a student of military history myself. Even if sieges lack the excitement that battles tend to have for most students of military history, the importance of taking and holding land and strongpoints means that anyone who wants to understand the military history of the Middle Ages needs to take sieges and siegecraft seriously. Since this is not the sort of subject that draws a lot of attention from many writers, it is definitely worthwhile that this book serves as a helpful introduction to the matter, where readers can take advantage of the sources included for further and deeper reading about the subject, for those who are interested.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
February 25, 2020
I was expecting a scholarly treatise on weapons development (e.g. how they moved from catapults to trebuchets) - this is not a scholarly work (I'm not sure it pretends to be). There are a lot of stories about how this battle or that siege took place, but the book just touches on them lightly. The diagrams seem to come from one of two sources, and add little to the text; I would have appreciated maps and drawings showing the various parts of the castle that were being attacked.
This is not what I was looking for; your mileage may vary.
This is not what I was looking for; your mileage may vary.
October 31, 2014
This review of great medieval sieges is interesting and filled with exciting incident, but it jumps around a lot through time and space. A little more technical detail would have been welcome, but this is a good introduction to the subject.
December 26, 2019
A lot of really great information and illustrations of medieval sieges. The organization within chapters is sometimes not as structured or streamlined as might be preferred, hopping from story to story without a lot of explanatory or transition material, but otherwise it falls out as expected.
June 4, 2014
ONe of the best books to examine medieval siege warfare and siegecraft I have ever read. Well written and very informative.
February 1, 2016
4.5/5
A great gateway book for anyone interested in exploring the theme of medieval siege warfare. A bit cluttered perhaps, but memorable nevertheless.
A great gateway book for anyone interested in exploring the theme of medieval siege warfare. A bit cluttered perhaps, but memorable nevertheless.
January 27, 2020
Extremely poorly written
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews