This is a study of the archer and his weapon, from the Norman Conquest to the Wars of the Roses. It opens with a definition of various types of bow and challenges the usual assumption that the "longbow" was a new and devastating weapon used only by the English army from the late-13th century onwards. Bradbury shows from a close study of early evidence, including that of bows used for hunting, that the archer's role before the time of Edward I was an important but rarely-documented one, and that his new prominence in the 14th century was the result of changes in development of military tactics and the organization of armies rather than a change of weapon. Having examined the archer's role in warfare, Bradbury turns to the archer's role in society, based on the legend of Robin Hood, and shows how the stories about him can reveal much to us about the standing of the yeoman archer. The final chapters look at the archer in the 15th century and then chronicle the rise of the handgun as the major infantry weapon, at the bow's expense. By the end of the Tudor age, despite injunctions that archery should be regularly practised by all able-bodied men, the bow belonged to a past golden age rather than to current warfare. Jim Bradbury writes and lectures on battles and warfare in England and France in the Middle Ages, and is the author of "The Medieval Siege".

Product Description: In the early modern world three dominant cultures of war were shaped by a synergy of their internal and external interactions. One was Latin Christian western Europe. Another was Ottoman Islam. The third, no less vital for so often being overlooked, was east–central Europe: Poland/Lithuania, Livonia, Russia, the freebooting Cossacks, a volatile mix of variations on a general Christian theme...read more

Provides an examination of the methods that states in the Napoleonic era used to obtain the manpower they needed to prosecute their wars.

Product Description: The medieval period was a time of feudalism and fanaticism, to causes religious or secular, fought by men who threw their lives into the maelstrom of bloody hand-to-hand combat, enduring horrendous wounds and deprivations of all kinds...read more

Argues that the seventeenth century was the first in which battles were waged, rather than raids and seiges, and discusses war's effectiveness as an extension of state policy (view table of contents)

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A study of military tactics in colonial New England dispels myths that settlers adopted methods used by Native Americans, demonstrating their increasing reliance on British troops and conventional European principles of warfare. (view table of contents)

A study of military tactics in colonial New England dispels myths that settlers adopted methods used by Native Americans, demonstrating their increasing reliance on British troops and conventional European principles of warfare. (view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

Seven comprehensive chapters, enhanced by photographs, maps, and charts, outline the war-torn history of Celtic culture, taking readers through the Bronze and Iron ages, clashes with the Greek and Roman peoples, and their ultimately settlement in Britain. (view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

This is a study of the archer and his weapon, from the Norman Conquest to the Wars of the Roses. It opens with a definition of various types of bow and challenges the usual assumption that the "longbow" was a new and devastating weapon used only by the English army from the late-13th century onwards. Bradbury shows from a close study of early evidence, including that of bows used for hunting, that the archer's role before the time of Edward I was an important but rarely-documented one, and that his new prominence in the 14th century was the result of changes in development of military tactics and the organization of armies rather than a change of weapon. Having examined the archer's role in warfare, Bradbury turns to the archer's role in society, based on the legend of Robin Hood, and shows how the stories about him can reveal much to us about the standing of the yeoman archer. The final chapters look at the archer in the 15th century and then chronicle the rise of the handgun as the major infantry weapon, at the bow's expense. By the end of the Tudor age, despite injunctions that archery should be regularly practised by all able-bodied men, the bow belonged to a past golden age rather than to current warfare. Jim Bradbury writes and lectures on battles and warfare in England and France in the Middle Ages, and is the author of "The Medieval Siege".