Book Review

The Grail Quest Books - Harlequin,Vagabond and Heretic by Bernard Cornwell.

ISBNs 0-0065-1384-0, 0-0065-1385-9 & 0-0071-4989-1 RRP £6.99 each

A series of books written by Bernard Cornwell, who you may recognise as the writer behind the "Sharpe" series of books set during the Napoleonic war (which were made into television films with the title role going to Sean Bean). These Grail Quest Books chronicle the adventures of a young bowman called Thomas of Hookton, during some of the early battles during the Hundred Years War. I can thoroughly recommend them to anyone wanting a casual way to pick up history and get a flavour for the time. If you access Bernard Cornwell's website you'll find further research and reading as he's listed some of his source books (some of which are also listed below).

English Longbowman, 1330-1515 (Warrior S.)

By Clive Bartlett, Gerry Embleton (Illustrator)

ISBN 1-8553-2491-1 RRP £10.99

If you only buy one book on the medieval archer this is the one I’d recommend. If you can get past the skimpiness of the publication (only 63 pages long) and the fact that the big bright illustrations look like they’ve come straight out of "The Ladybird Book of Ye Olde Medieval Shenanigans", you’ll find an impressive amount of information on the medieval archer. It covers recruitment, training, earnings, plunder, victualling, movement & transport, religious beliefs, defensive wear and, of course, weapons. The book also briefly covers shooting technique and unit formation but for me the one thing it has that nearly all the other books I’ve read don’t is a look at medieval hair styles and underwear. This type of detail can really bring the history to life! The book does mention battles but doesn’t go into any great detail, so treat it as a companion to any history you’ve read.

The Traditional Archers Handbook: A Practical Guide

By Hilary Greenland

ISBN 0-9524-6276-1 RRP £13.95

This is not a history book but a concise manual on all things longbow. In here you’ll find subjects such as the care of your bow, tuning your bow, matching arrows to your bow, bracing heights and strings, nocking points, everything you’ll ever need to make arrows (including how to make your own spinetester) and a step by step guide to ‘whipping’, all explained in a simple to follow non-technical way. And for the adventurous it even goes into how to make several different types of bow. There are other manuals out there but this one appears to cover the most information for the least amount of money.

The Crooked Stick: A History of the Longbow (Weapons in History S.)

By Hugh David Hewitt Soar

ISBN 1-5941-6002-3 RRP £15.99

This is a fairly new publication with ten chapters covering the history of the longbow. Each chapter covers a period history of the longbow, from Neolithic times through to the modern Olympic sport. Chapter Two covers a fair amount on medieval hunting practices but for the medieval enthusiast it’s all over by Chapter Six “The Decline of the War Bow”. But if you want to learn more about some of the later history of archery under the Victorians and it’s evolution into the modern sport, this could be the book for you.

The Great Warbow (from Hastings to the Mary Rose)

By Robert Hardy, Matthew Strickland

ISBN 0-7509-3167-1 RRP £25.00

This is a huge glossy book packed with information. The authors' main aims are to dispel myths about the short bow and myths about the proposed technological advances leading up to the use of the longbow during The Hundred Years War. They state that it was the tactical deployment of the longbow that was revolutionary rather than the longbow or new shooting techniques themselves.

What I liked about this book was the way in which the information was smoothly presented to the reader. The first section looked at the Mary Rose longbows in some detail along with the representation of archery in medieval art and how modern scholars have interpreted shooting technique from often misleading stylised and plagiarised iconography. After whetting the reader’s appetite the second section chronologically covers medieval missile combat from 1066 through to the Hundred Years War. Here you'll learn such things as to just why crossbowmen were considered the elite of missile units as well as how trained Turkish horse archers could shoot five arrows in two and half seconds at the Crusading armies (Legolas eat your heart out!).

Section three covers each of the major battles in the Hundred Years War and beyond by explaining the events leading up to each battle, the role of both cavalry, foot and missile units and the aftermath and impact of each battle.

This book is written well enough to hold your interest and thorough enough to justify the £25 asking price. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the longbow.

British History for Dummies

By Sean Lang

ISBN 0-7645-7021-8 RRP £14.99

If you don't know your Edward III from your Henry V then this book is for you. It covers the whole of British history from the Romans through to the modern age in a very light and amusing way. I'd thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who, like me, sometimes needs help putting together the random jigsaw pieces of history they've managed to pick up over the years.

Medieval Lives

By Terry Jones

ISBN 0-5635-2275-5 RRP £7.99

This is a companion book to the TV series of the same name and at the time the show was criticised for being a bit too light on facts and a bit too heavy on the Monty Pythonesque sketches. I have to say that as a social history the book isn't bad. More than that, I’d have to say this is one of the best social history books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read quite a few). It’s humorous, enlightening and is extremely well researched.

Each chapter in this very enjoyable book deals with a different type of Medieval person, the Peasant, the Lady, the Knight, the Monk etc, and shows that the reality is often very different from the popular stereotype. I'd recommend this book to anyone whose knowledge of medieval social history is based on the collective works of Hollywood.

Medieval Warfare: A History

Edited by Maurice Keen

ISBN 0-1982-0639-9 RRP £52.50

This book is a comprehensive collection of essays on Medieval Warfare. It’s pricey at £52.30, but I picked up a second hand copy from Amazon.com for just under £20. So, is it worth the money? Well the essays cover a vast range and scope of pre-medieval and medieval warfare, covering a time period from around 800 AD to 1500 AD. The list of essays are “Corolingian and Ottonian Warfare”, “The Vikings”, “An Age of Expansion, c.1020-1204”, “Warfare in the Latin East”, “European Warfare, c.1200-1320”, “The Age of the Hundred Years War”, “Fortifications and Sieges in Western Europe, c. 800-1450”, “Arms, Armour and Horses”, “Mercenaries”, “Naval Warfare after the Viking Age, c1100-1500”, “War and the Non-Combatant in the Middle Ages” and “The Changing Scene: Guns, Gunpowder, and Permanent Armies”. The book is light on pictures and diagrams and heavy on written information. It’ll definitely open the reader up to medieval warfare beyond the fighting that went on between England and France during the Hundred Years War, however, the price makes this one suitable for the hard core enthusiast only.

Everyday Life in Medieval England

By Christopher Dyer

ISBN 1-8528-5201-1 RRP £12.99

I bought this book wanting to learn a lot more social history. This book will give a picture on how medieval people worked, what type of buildings they owned, how they ate, how much they earned, how medieval villages were planned and run, pretty much everything the title of the book suggests.

Firstly, despite claims that it’s an easy read the book should come with a free bottle of mineral water because some of it is really very dry. All of the theories have a basis in surviving documented evidence which can mean, under the chapter on diet for example, going through manorial harvest victualling accounts to come to the conclusion that the average diet in the late 13th century was barley bread, milk and cheese, some beer and a little fresh meat, but by the late 14th century it was wheat bread, a little milk and cheese and lots of beer and fresh meat. So be warned, you may have to do a bit of work to build up a clear picture of “Everyday Life in Medieval England” but on the plus side at least you know the information will be accurate. I’d say this is definitely another book for the hardcore enthusiast.

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Archery, medieval style.

Book Review by Mark Tustian

I'd always enjoyed history, which was part of the attraction in learning how to use the longbow.

Over time, I've begged, borrowed and actually bought quite a few books pertaining to the medieval longbow. What follows is a quick review of some of the books I've read for those who may be looking for extra reading around the subject.

I’ve rated them in order with the ‘must read’ first, going down the list to the ‘hard core medieval enthusiast’ at the bottom;