Here are 5 books on the coming soon section of the Pen and Sword Website I am looking forward to reading…

Armies of Ancient Greece Circa 500 to 338 BC

Conflict was rife among the Greeks of the Classical period, including some of the most famous wars and battles of the whole ancient period, such as the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, the Spartans’ heroic last stand at Thermopylae, the gruelling Pelopponesian War and the epic March of the Ten Thousand. 

The Greek heavy infantry spearmen, or hoplites, are one of the most recognizable types of ancient warrior and their tighly-packed phalanx formation dominated the battlefield. Covering the period from the Persian Wars to the Macedonian victory at the Battle of Chaeronea.

Gabriele Esposito examines not only the hoplites but also the other troops that featured in Greek armies with growing importance as time went on, such as light infantry skirmishers and cavalry. He details their arms, armour and equipment, organization and tactics. His clear, informative text is beautifully illustrated with dozens of colour photographs showing how the equipment was worn and used.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Armies-of-Ancient-Greece-Circa-500-to-338-BC-Hardback/p/17683

Military History of Late Rome 395-425 

This ambitious series gives the reader a comprehensive narrative of late Roman military history from 284-641. Each volume gives a detailed account of the changes in organization, equipment, strategy and tactics among both the Roman forces and her enemies in the relevant period, while also giving a detailed but accessible account of the campaigns and battles.

This volume covers the period from Julian’s accession as sole Emperor in 361 to the permanent division of the Empire into East and West on death of Theodosius I. It therefore encompasses significant defeats for Rome against very different enemies: Julian’s expedition against the Sassanid Persians and Valen’s defeat by the Goths at Adrianople, both emperors being killed. Full attention is paid to all the campaigns of this critical period, illustrating the varied threats which put immense pressure on all the Empire’s frontiers and the varying success of the Roman responses.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Military-History-of-Late-Rome-395-425-Hardback/p/11234

Religion & Classical Warfare: The Roman Republic

Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Romans were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Mars, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Roman Republic.

Aspects considered in depth will include: declarations of war; evocatio and taking gods away from enemies; dedications and ceremonies; the cult of the legionary eagle; the role of women in Republican warfare; omens and divination; live burials of people in times of military crisis; and the rituals of the Roman triumph.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Religion-Classical-Warfare-The-Roman-Republic-Hardback/p/17171

Military History of Late Rome 425–457

The Military History of Late Rome 425-457 analyses in great detail how the Romans coped with the challenge posed by masses of Huns in a situation in which the Germanic tribes had gained a permanent foothold in the territories of West Rome. This analysis reassesses the strategy and tactics of the period . The book shows how cooperation between the West Roman Master of Soldiers, Aetius, and East Roman Emperor Marcian saved Western civilization from the barbarian nightmare posed by the Huns of Attila. 

A fresh appraisal of the great clash at the Catalaunian Fields in 451 offers new insights into the mechanics of the fighting and shows that it was a true battle of nations which decided nothing less than the fate of human civilization. Had Aetius and his allies lost the battle and had Marcian not cooperated with Aetius in 451 and 452, we would not have seen the rise of the West and the rise of the scientific thinking.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Military-History-of-Late-Rome-425457-Hardback/p/16421

Leading the Roman Army

The Roman imperial army represented one of the main factors in the exercise of political control by the emperors. The effective political management of the army was essential for maintaining the safety and well-being of the empire as a whole. This book analyses the means by which emperors controlled their soldiers and sustained their allegiance from the battle of Actium in 31 BC, to the demise of the Severan dynasty in AD 235.

Recent discoveries have revolutionised our understanding of the Roman army. This study provides an up to date synthesis of a range of evidence from archaeological, epigraphic, literary and numismatic sources on the relationship between the emperor and his soldiers. It demonstrates that this relationship was of an intensely personal nature. He was not only the commander-in-chief, but also their patron and benefactor, even after their discharge from military service. Yet the management of the army was more complex than this emperor-soldier relationship suggests.

An effective army requires an adequate military hierarchy to impose discipline and command the troops on a daily basis. This was of particular relevance for the imperial army which was mainly dispersed along the frontiers of the empire, effectively in a series of separate armies. The emperor needed to ensure the loyalty of his officers by building mutually beneficial relationships with them. In this way, the imperial army became a complex network of interlocking ties of loyalty which protected the emperor from military subversion.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Leading-the-Roman-Army-Hardback/p/17876

While I know this is not medieval in nature, there are plans in March 2020, to start offering Lightsaber combat training. If this is something of interest, then this post is for you.

There are a few places to get these sabers at present but we were very kindly gifted a second ex demo lightsaber by black armoury so I am suggesting people by their sabers here:

https://www.blackarmoury.com/en/lightsabres/635-8535-sabre-laser-saber-shogun.html#/couleurs-rouge

They have three colour choices right now so choose wisely…

They are very well priced with the exchange rate and quick delivery for in stock items.  The shogun saber is pretty bomb proof.  It comes with light but no sound.  

Having research a few places over Christmas, sound and effect light sabers are available. But like swords can run in to a lot of money.  Cheap sabers again, like cheap swords, will be okay for wall hanging.  

I have seen a few ads on Facebook of copied video using combat lightsabers, but the ones being sold for under £50 will probably break quickly.
2020 is going to be fun….

The 1066 Norman Bruisers

The 1066 Norman Bruisers conjures up the vanished world of England in the late Middle Ages and casts light on one of the strangest quirks in the nation’s history: how a bunch of European thugs became the quintessentially English gentry.

In 1066 go-getting young immigrant Osbern Fitz-Tezzo crossed the Channel in William the Conqueror’s army. Little did he know that it would take five years to vanquish the English, years in which the Normans suffered almost as much as the people they had set out to subdue. For the English, the Norman Conquest was an unmitigated disaster, killing thousands by the sword or starvation. But for Osbern and his compatriots, it brought territory and treasure – and a generational evolution they could never have imagined.

Osbern’s descendants settled in Cheshire, which played a pivotal role in medieval England as the launch pad for Edward I’s Welsh wars, the chief recruiting ground for royal armies and Richard II’s regional powerhouse. Successive members of the Boydell family fought for monarchs and magnates, oversaw royal garrisons, travelled abroad as agents of the crown and helped to administer the laws of the land. When they weren’t strutting across the stage of northwestern England, mingling with great men and participating in great events, they engaged in feuds, embarked on illicit love affairs and exerted their influence in the small corner of the country they had made their own. By 1378, when William Boydell died from wounds sustained in combat, the nation he defended was England and the enemy he opposed dwelled just forty miles from the place where Osbern had probably grown up.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-1066-Norman-Bruisers-Hardback/p/16853

Britain in the Age of Arthur

King Arthur is one of the most controversial topics of early British history. Are the legends based on a real historical figure or pure mythological invention? Ilkka Syvannes study breaks new ground, adopting a novel approach to the sources by starting with the assumption that Arthur existed and that Geoffrey of Monmouths account has preserved details of his career that are based on real events. 

He then interprets these by using common sense and the perspective of a specialist in late Roman military history to form a probable picture of what really happened during the period (roughly AD 400-550). This approach allows the author to test the entire literary evidence for the existence of Arthur to see if the supposed events of his career match what is known of the events of the period, the conclusion being that in general they do. 

Arthurs military career is set in the context of the wider military history of Britain and Europe in this period and along the way describes the nature of armies and warfare of the period.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Britain-in-the-Age-of-Arthur-Hardback/p/12858

Weapons, Warriors and Battles of Ancient Iberia

In ancient times, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was home to warriors of great renown. Spanish and Celtiberian warriors, both infantry and cavalry, provided the backbone of the Carthaginian armies that terrorized Italy under Hannibal and proved even more ferocious in defence of their homeland against later Roman occupation. 

The Lusitanian resistance under Viriathus was among the toughest the Romans encountered anywhere. Professor Quesada Sanz details the arms, armour and equipment of the various warriors of the region in fantastic detail, drawing on his intimate knowledge of the latest archaeological and historical research. His clear and informative text is supported throughout by a wealth of photographs, diagrams and exquisite colour artwork by Carlos Fernandez del Castillo. 

This beautiful book is a rare combination of detailed, comprehensive information and sumptuous visual appeal that will be cherished by anyone with an interest in the warriors and weapons of the ancient world. The Spanish edition won the Hislibris Award for the ‘Best Historical Book’ for 2010 and is here faithfully translated into English.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Weapons-Warriors-and-Battles-of-Ancient-Iberia-Hardback/p/9786

Military History of Late Rome 425–457

The Military History of Late Rome 425-457 analyses in great detail how the Romans coped with the challenge posed by masses of Huns in a situation in which the Germanic tribes had gained a permanent foothold in the territories of West Rome. This analysis reassesses the strategy and tactics of the period . 

The book shows how cooperation between the West Roman Master of Soldiers, Aetius, and East Roman Emperor Marcian saved Western civilization from the barbarian nightmare posed by the Huns of Attila. A fresh appraisal of the great clash at the Catalaunian Fields in 451 offers new insights into the mechanics of the fighting and shows that it was a true battle of nations which decided nothing less than the fate of human civilization. 

Had Aetius and his allies lost the battle and had Marcian not cooperated with Aetius in 451 and 452, we would not have seen the rise of the West and the rise of the scientific thinking.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Military-History-of-Late-Rome-425457-Hardback/p/16421

The Man Behind the Tudors

Thomas Howard, 2nd duke of Norfolk, lived a remarkable life spanning eighty years and the reigns of six kings. Amongst his descendants are his granddaughters, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and his great-granddaughter, Elizabeth I. The foundations of this dramatic and influential dynasty rest on Thomas’ shoulders, and it was his career that placed the Howard family in a prominent position in English society and at the Tudor royal court.

Thomas was born into a fairly ordinary gentry family, albeit distantly related to the Mowbray dukes of Norfolk. During the course of the fifteenth century, he and his father would rise through the political and social ranks as a result of their loyal service to Edward IV and Richard III. In a tragic turn of events, all their hard work was undone at the Battle of Bosworth and his father was killed fighting for King Richard. 

Imprisoned for treason and stripped of his lands and titles, Thomas had to start from the beginning to gain the trust of a new king. He spent the next thirty-five years devoting his administrative, military and diplomatic skills to the Tudors whilst rebuilding his family fortunes and ensuring that his numerous children were well-placed to prosper.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Man-Behind-the-Tudors-Hardback/p/16900