Medieval Sword School (HEMA)

German Medieval Martial Arts

The Arms and Armour of the Medieval Joust

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I recently attended a study day at Sutton Hoo on the War of the Roses by Toby Capwell and he has a few books for sale with him and I picked up this one. It was rude not and he did sign it. #fanboy.

This book is part of the Royal Armouries Arms and Armour series

The day itself was minding blowing but that’s another story. Last night I sat and devoured the book in one sitting. I literally couldn’t put it down. It is a hugely fascinating topic and one I hadn’t considered as a medieval martial art before.

The book covers the development of jousting over a 600 odd year period. From simple jousting with spears to the pinnacle of jousting armour development in the late 1500s**.

While a relatively small book in size, less than 100 pages, this book packs a lot in and leaves me with a new understanding of this martial art as well as the desire to read a lot more on this topic.

Things I didn’t realise

  • There were different kinds of jousting – jousts for peace and jousts for war
  • Some jousts didn’t use tilts ( the dividers between the jousters) and in fact tilts were considered by some, like the Germans , as foreign jousting.
  • Technology was developed to both protect the rider as well and create the ability to transfer as much energy from one rider to the other through the lance.

It truly is a fascinating read and a good introductory book into this subject. Thankfully the author has written other books in this subject as well as being a jouster himself.

Tobias Capwell FSA is Curator of Arms and Armour at The Wallace Collection, London. He is an expert on the study of medieval and Renaissance armour, and a skilled competitor in the modern competitive jousting community.

Now where’s my horse…

You can buy this book and the rest of the Arms and Armour series direct from the Royal Armouries. They are currently running a 3 for 2 offer.

** Note from Toby

One minor correction – it is my intention to cover the whole history of jousting up to the 17th century, however the present book only covers the period c. 1150-1500. The sixteenth and seventeeth centuries are coming in the sequel- ‘Arms and Armour of the Renaissance Joust’, out next year…

Other Books by Tobias Capwell

Arms and Armour of the Renaissance Joust (Coming April 2020)

Armour of the English Knight 1400-1450

Siege Warfare during the Crusades

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It was ironic when this book arrived as I had just returned for a sneaky side trip to Rochester, and went to see Temple Manor, a Templar house just outside Rochester.  It gave me an idea for a story about a templar returning from Acre.  Acre is the last siege in this book.

The first thing I need to say is the first appendix about all the sieges during the crusades is unbelievable.  There were hundreds of sieges, and there is a lot of detail in the book about what used such has siege towers, or battering rams, mining or artillery use.  It truly is fascinating.  Certainly going to help with my short story idea.

The second thing to say this is a hugely researched and detailed book.  It covers the sieges of the period and goes in to details of both the defences deployed, as well as the attacking strategies too.   It then goes on to cover the weapons used to attack fortifications as well as then the defence modifications need to counteract them. 

It really is a truly remarkable feat of innovation for both sides.  New attacking weapons needed to be developed while at the same time new defences and counter measures where also developed.

I was also surprised by the detail of some of the naval forces used.  Some of the coastal sieges had lots of Italians involved, from Venetians, Genoese to Pisans.  Again something I had not thought about before.

The photos of some of the castles again are amazing to think, were built by invading forces.  Castles that would not look out of place in rural England or Wales, pop up in the Holy Land.

I really enjoyed this book. I can see this book being of huge use to wargamers of this period and re-enactors too.

You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

Lost Legion Rediscovered – The mystery of the Theban legion

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This is a really interesting book, I love being sent books on topics and events I had no clue about. Which seems to be a lot…

So Thebes is in Egypt, I get that but I didn’t realise there was a Roman Theban legion that were massacred in what we now call Switzerland.

The initial description of this comes from writing by Bishop Eucharius in AD383. Yet there was very little supporting evidence that this Theban legion existed of that they were massacred because they refused to follow orders.

The author Donald O’Reilly has spent a long time piecing this together and looks like this mystery is totally interwoven with the last days of the Roman Empire. It also provides some interesting insights to the early periods of Christianity and the Constantine meeting of the bishops at Nicea.

This book is much more than a look at the mystery surrounding the legion. This is a very interesting read about the lead up to the last days of Empire.

One mind blowing fact for me, was the discovery of a hoard of Egyptian Roman coins found on London. Also the church as an important feature in peoples lives during this period of time. I didn’t realise the church was so established in the 3rd century. I had not thought about it before.

I really did enjoy reading this book and it was not what I was expecting. To be fair I was expecting a book about an event similar to Varus’s lost legions in Germany.

A pleasant surprise. This is a good book to help understand the period in more detail.

You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

Armies of Celtic Europe 700BC to 106AD

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I have read a few books by Gabriele Esposito and found them really interesting and packed to the rafters of great images and reconstructions of dress and equipment.

This book, while less than 200 pages, is packed solid.

This is a great book for re-enactors and those interested in this time period. There is a huge amount of stuff out there on the Romans but very little it seems on their contemporaries.

This book looks to change that, and I think it does. It provides an invaluable resource and covers a lot of the major events in the Celtic tribes history including their sack of Rome, and migrations.

The book also gives us a glimpse into the armour and weapons of the later Roman Empire.

I really enjoyed this book and think everyone should have a copy of this book. The only slight disappointment was a 1 page chapter of Celtic warfare tactics. It might have been good if there were images or drawings of their chariots.

It was also great to share the details of the re-enactment groups pictured in the book. These do warrant further investigation.

But overall an excellent book and looking forward to the next one.

You can buy the book here from Pen and Sword books.

Please note I was not paid to write this review but was sent a review copy of the book. All comments are my own, and the publishers have not amended the review in any way.

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KDF Broadstairs (Thanet Fecht Schule) is a German Longsword HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) Group based in Broadstairs, Thanet.

Canterbury Medieval Combat is a HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) Group based in Canterbury, Kent.

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