Book Reviews

The Journal of Medieval Military History, Volumes I and III.
Edited by Bernard S. Bachrach (volume I only), Kelly DeVries and Clifford J. Rogers. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 2002, 2005. ISSN 1477-545X. 169, 183pp (respectively); 6 3/8 ” x  9 1/2”; 3 maps (volume III); hrdbnd. $85 per volume. In the United States order through Boydell Press, 668 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731, or via www.boydell.co.uk/sous.htm. Those mentioning this review and the code “$06002” will receive a 25% discount.

The Journal of Medieval Military History from The Boydell Press is a traditional, scholarly tome, which is also the written organ of the de re militari society (www.deremilitari.org) . Each volume (volume II was unavailable for review) compiles about eight scholarly essays on martial subjects. As set out in the chief editor’s introduction in volume I, the journal concentrates on war and its immediate contexts, but within broad chronological and cultural spans (late Eastern and Western Roman Empires through continental Europe’s Thirty Years’ War.) To some, such a definition of “medieval” might be uncomfortably wide. However, the editor notes that within this context connections, sometimes subtle, with the Middle Ages do exist--either in the form of those broken or which continued as underlying influences. Topics covered to date have included the raising and makeup of Charlemagne’s armies; 13th century military logistics; Flemish militias; medieval accounts of the lives of saints used to study early medieval warfare; and an investigation of the 11th century Sichelgaita of Salerno as woman -warrior or propaganda tool.

Like other academic journals, The Journal of Medieval Military History is hardly inexpensive light reading likely to be snapped up by casual readers whose knowledge of medieval history is restricted to popular books and cable television programs. It will be of the greatest interest and use to the specialist student, academic and military history professional seeking to remain abreast of current scholarship. Its existence is proof of the interest in pre-modern warfare history, buttressed by the continuing numbers of symposia and conferences on both sides of the Atlantic, and the stream of academic books published within the last half-decade, especially by publishers such as Boydell.