One of our presenters, Piers, has suggested that the reason feudalism (i.e. the system of service-for-protection) grew out of areas conquered by Germanic peoples, but did not evolve (or really "take") in Celtic areas, was because, in Germanic culture, a warrior could sell his loyalty but Celtic culture not so: it was much more rigidly kin-based.

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Was at Glen Waverley Secondary, doing three periods of Medieval Islam and one of Tournament, which worked fine except it is a while since I only did a single period of Tournament, so not as many kids got a hit as I would like. After effectively a four week break, am now very busy again.

We are back there tomorrow. The Medieval Islam presentation ( Read more... )

The increased troops was only part one: now comes the offensive. More. It is the “battle of the belts”. The Anbar offensive. Looking at the successes and failures of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The largest offensive since the original conquest. It includes operations against al-Qaeda and Shi’a militia. With the Iraqi army increasingly involved. Whose ( Read more... )

Maurice Keen is one of my favourite medieval historians, not least because he takes the knightly class seriously. He is particularly good at building a picture by assembling a series of illustrative cases. Medieval history is somewhat less prone to some of the foibles of modern academic history, as medievalists are much more likely approach the ( Read more... )

Hatcher and Bailey’s Modelling the Middle Ages: The History and Theory of England's Economic Development examines the various “supermodels” of medieval (particularly English medieval) history. The demographic model (Malthusian or neo-Malthusian), the class model (Marxist) and the commercialisation model (Smithian ( Read more... )

Edwin S. Hunt and James M Murray’s A History of Business in Medieval Europe 1200-1550 is an excellent history of medieval business. The business focus gives it an alertness to practicality which is not always a feature of medieval history, even medieval economic history. Having a retired businessman as one of the authors (Hunt, Murray is an ( Read more... )

Pierre Riche’s Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne is an enjoyable, and comprehensive, survey of society within the Carolingian Empire. The ‘first Europe’ as Riche labels it, the first genuinely European (as distinct from Mediterranean) civilisation. ( a passing order )

There is quite a pattern in Western history of the division between those who are impressed by the achievement of Classical antiquity and those who are more sympathetic to the West’s medieval heritage. Between those who think Western civilisation clearly extends back to Classical Greece and Rome and those who think that Classical civilisation ( Read more... )

A couple of years ago, coming back from Spring War, Rohan, Margi and I stopped in with Sir Edward and Yolande (also known as James and Donyale). James is a sword enthusiast and I asked him about good books. Oakeshott he recommended. So, when I saw it on sale at last Festival, I ordered a copy.

The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armour from ( Read more... )

Jonathon Riley-Smith’s The Crusades: A Short History is a comprehensive history of the Crusading movement from Pope Urban II (successful) preaching in 1095 to Napoleon’s capture of Malta from the Knights of St John in 1798. The prose is matter-of-fact, the information content very high. Riley-Smith argues that it was the notion of a political ( Read more... )