France J. Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300

London: UCL Press Limited, 1999. — 344 p. — ISBN: 9781857284676This book examines the history of war in what are usually called the “High Middle Ages”. At the beginning of the second millennium, Europe was no longer threatened by external attack and it was clearly set on a course of remarkable economic, social and political development. In 1095 the First Crusade was launched, establishing a great military endeavour that was a central preoccupation of Europeans until the end of the thirteenth century. The fourteenth century ushered in great changes in war and society under the influence of economic change, the Black Death and the invention of gunpowder. This is not to say that in the period 1000–1300 warfare was unchanging. But change was subtle, and across this period armies and warfare bore a common stamp which was different from what had gone before and certainly different from what came after. It is a truth barely worth labouring that an army will reflect closely the nature of the society that produces it. The writer of military history, therefore, is not concerned with some discrete and separate corner of history which can be written about on its own, but must consider the whole political, social and economic development of the age in order to understand the nature of war and the changes that occurred in it.Proprietorial warfare
The weapons of war
War, society and technology
Warfare and authority
Men of war: cavalry
Men of war: infantry
The nature of the castle
Castles and war
Fortifications and siege
Armies
Commanders
Campaign, battle and tactics Battle and the development of war
Europe, ideology and the outsider
Crusading and warfare in the Middle East
Perspectives
Appendix I: The Battle of Bouvines, 27 July 1214