This volume has a special focus on the topic of proxy actors and irregular forces in medieval warfare. John France and Jochen G. Schenk offer broad overviews: France addresses the military role of non-noble combatants and the significance of differences between medieval and modern ideas of the -legitimacy- of war-fighters, while Schenk applies a concept originating in political science - Mary Kaldor's idea of -New Wars- - to the conflicts of the Middle Ages, showing that in some ways, what is old is new again. Alex Mallett likewise ties the past to the present, comparing Muslim responses to...