-Will appeal to a wide audience. It is beautifully presented...the illustrations add further glory to a thorough historical analysis which is based on extensive research in Europe-wide sources... particularly useful in bringing to our attention lesser-known materials from the Iberian peninsula. The level of discussion, range and thoroughness of treatment and excellence of annotation make this a useful reference work for the academic historian too: it is hard to find any aspect of tournaments that is not covered.-HISTORY The first serious study of tournaments throughout Europe reveals their...

A delightful translation of one of the finest, and most beautiful, examples of a medieval Bestiary.

The destruction of the French army at Crecy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous, and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite. The young Edward III's triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crecy anything seemed possible Edward's claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any...