A vivid and original account of warfare in the Middle Ages and the cruelty and atrocity that accompanied it.
Sean McGlynn investigates the reality of medieval warfare. For all the talk of chivalry, medieval warfare routinely involved acts which we would consider war crimes. Lands laid waste, civilians slaughtered, prisoners massacred: this was standard fare justified by tradition and practical military necessity. It was unbelievably barbaric, but seldom uncontrolled.
Such acts of atrocity were calculated, hideous cruelties inflicted in order to achieve a specific end. Sean...

Monarchy is an enduring institution that still makes headlines today. It has always been preoccupied with image and perception, never more so than in the period covered by this volume. The collection of papers gathered here from international scholars demonstrates that monarchical image and perception went far beyond cultural, symbolic and courtly display -- although these remain important -- and were, in fact, always deeply concerned with the practical expression of authority, politics and power.This collection is unique in that it covers the subject from two innovative angles: it not only...

Details an invasion that could have changed Britain as we know it, prompted by events at Runnymede where the barons brought an errant king to heel and in doing so provided an opportunity for conquest
Taking advantage of the turmoil created in England by King John s inept rule and the barons demands, Prince Louis of France invaded England and allied with the English rebels. The prize was the crown of England. Within months Louis had seized control of one-third of the country, including London. This is the only book to cover the bloody events of the invasion, one of the most dramatic but...

The Albigensian crusade (1209-29) by the Catholic Church against the Cathar heretics of southern France is infamous for its brutality. Marked by massacres and acts of appalling cruelty, these deeds are commonly ascribed to the role of religious fanaticism. This book is the first to offer a dedicated military history of the whole Crusade; in so doing it refutes this old view. By telling the story of the Crusade through its dramatic sieges, battles and campaigns and offering expert analysis of the warfare involved, the author reveals the Crusade in a new light--as a bloody territorial conquest...