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Author: William Caferro Publisher: JHU Press ISBN: 9780801883231 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 492
Book Description
John Hawkwood was fourteenth-century Italy's most notorious and successful soldier. A man known for cleverness and daring, he was the most feared mercenary in Renaissance Italy. Born in England, Hawkood began his career in France during the Hundred Years' War and crossed into Italy with the famed White Company in 1361. From that time until his death in 1394, Hawkwood fought throughout the peninsula as a captain of armies in times of war and as a commander of marauding bands during times of peace. He achieved international fame, and his acquaintances included such prominent people as Geoffrey Chaucer, Catherine of Siena, Jean Froissart, and Francis Petrarch. City-states constantly tried to outbid each other for his services, for which he received money, land, and in the case of Florence, citizenship -- a most unusual honor for an Englishman. When Hawkwood died, the Florentines buried him with great ceremony in their cathedral, an honor denied their greatest poet, Dante. His final resting place, however, is disputed. Historian William Caferro's ambitious account of Hawkwood is both a biography and a study of warfare and statecraft. Caferro has mined more than twenty archives in England and Italy, creating an authoritative portrait of Hawkwood as an extraordinary military leader, if not always an admirable human being. Caferro's Hawkwood possessed a talent for dissimulation and craft both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, and, ironically, managed to gain a reputation for "honesty" while beating his Italian hosts at their own game of duplicity and manipulation. In addition to a thorough account of Hawkwood's life and career, Caferro's study offers a fundamental reassessment of the Italian military situation and of the mercenary system. Hawkwood's career is treated not in isolation but firmly within the context of Italian society, against the backdrop of unfolding crises: famine, plague, popular unrest, and religious schism. Indeed, Hawkwood's life and career offer a unique vantage point from which we can study the economic, social, and political impacts of war. -- John France
Author: Publisher: BRILL ISBN: 9004444823 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 370
Book Description
A Companion to Late Medieval and Early Modern Siena introduces the once-powerful commune to a wider audience. Edited by Santa Casciani and Heather Richardson Hayton, this collection explores how Siena built a distinctive civic identity and institutions that endured for centuries.
Author: Alexander Querengässer Publisher: Oxbow Books ISBN: 1789256720 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 256
Book Description
Before the Military Revolution examines European Warfare in the Late Middle Ages from 1300 to 1490. It is not restricted only to well-covered conflicts, like the Anglo-Scottish Wars or the Hundred Years War, but gives due weight to all regions of Europe, including the Empire, the Baltic, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, and considers developments in naval warfare. The Hussite Wars and the wars of the Teutonic Order and the Hanseatic League are covered, as is the expansion of Moscow, the Ottomans and Venice, and battles like Aussig (1426), Copenhagen (1428), Chojnice (1454) are discussed alongside Bannockburn and Agincourt. This age witnesses fundamental change. The feudal system of the High Middle Ages crumbled everywhere in Europe due to climatic change, economic crisis and population decline. This triggered a fiscalization of the military organization, the establishment of taxes and representation of the estates. This book argues that these changes are the most fundamental ones in the military and political organization in Europe until the rise of the constitutional state around 1800 and so comes closer to the original concept of a Military Revolution. It also takes a critical look at other often discussed developments of this age, like the Infantry and Artillery Revolution or the decline of cavalry. Combining a chronological and regional narrative with deeper analysis of themes like chivalry, strategy, economic warfare or military publications makes this book an indispensable read for everyone interested in late medieval history.
Author: Dr John C Appleby Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN: 1409480488 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
With some notable exceptions, the subject of outlawry in medieval and early-modern English history has attracted relatively little scholarly attention. This volume helps to address this significant gap in scholarship, and encourage further study of the subject, by presenting a series of new studies, based on original research, that address significant features of outlawry and criminality over an extensive period of time. The volume casts important light on, and raises provocative questions about, the definition, ambiguity, variety, causes, function, adaptability, impact and representation of outlawry during this period. It also helps to illuminate social and governmental attitudes and responses to outlawry and criminality, which involved the interests of both church and state. From different perspectives, the contributions to the volume address the complex relationships between outlaws, the societies in which they lived, the law and secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and, in doing so, reveal much about the strengths and limitations of the developing state in England. In terms of its breadth and the compelling interest of its subject matter, the volume will appeal to a wide audience of social, legal, political and cultural historians.
Author: Clifford J. Rogers Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0195334035 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 1798
Book Description
This set is an excellent companion to J. R. Strayer's edited Dictionary of the Middle Ages (CH, Nov'87; Supplement I, ed. by W. C. Jordan, CH, Sep'04, 42-0044). The focus on warfare allows the editors to offer larger entries on major topics (e.g., "Agincourt," "Crusades," "Feudalism") and introduce many complementary topics. The editors are concerned with Europe; they expand coverage into Asia or Africa only because of the connection to medieval Europe. Coverage also includes an abundance of entries pertaining to Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the 1,000-plus entries are about a page in length, but a few approach 50 pages. Medium and large-size entries, such as "Chivalry," "Germany," and "Slavic Lands," discuss primary sources and very valuable historiographies. A thorough index helps readers locate the Knights Templar under "Orders, Military, Levantine Orders." Cross-references and bibliographies follow each of the signed entries. Locating reliable and scholarly information on the Knights Templar and Vlad Tepes (Dracula) is tricky. Some of the bibliographies include sources in foreign languages. For example, the references for the Black Army of Hungary are in Hungarian. Noticeably missing are entries for the many wars. This set is particularly suited to research libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by W. M. Fontane.
Author: William Caferro
Author: William Caferro
Author: William Caferro
Author: William Caferro
Author: William Caferro
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Author: 
Author: Alexander Querengässer
Author: Dr John C Appleby
Author: Clifford J. Rogers