Japan’s martial history has produced some of the most recognisable warriors in the world, but separating the historical people from the legends surrounding them can be difficult. In Japanese Fighting Heroes, Jamie Ryder embraces both, producing an entertaining and highly accessible journey through Japanese history, folklore and popular culture. The book is not simply a […]
Murder and Mayhem in Late Medieval England covers a subject particularly close to my heart. I regularly give talks to local history groups on medieval crime, violence and punishment, so I approached Kathryn Warner’s book keen to see what new stories and evidence it might uncover. I wasn’t disappointed. Warner draws extensively on coroners’ rolls, […]
John C. Carr’s The Knights Hospitaller is a lively and wide-ranging history of one of the medieval world’s most remarkable organisations. Founded to care for sick and vulnerable pilgrims in Jerusalem, the Knights of St John gradually became an elite military order, fighting in some of the most important campaigns of the Crusades and later […]
Gabriele Esposito’s Armies of Arthurian Britain is a colourful, accessible and highly detailed guide to the warriors who fought for control of Britain after the end of Roman rule. Covering the period from the decline of the Western Roman Empire to the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the book brings together military history, weapons, organisation […]