Through colorful illustrations and accounts of actual sieges in every chapter, this book describes how armies from medieval times up to the English Civil War attacked and besieged British castles and how changing weaponry shaped the defences we see the remains of today.
This profusely illustrated and thoroughly researched book describes in detail the diverse methods used to attack and defend castles during the Middle Ages. In a groundbreaking study — the first to shed light on the purpose, construction techniques, and effectiveness of medieval fortifications, noted nineteenth-century architect and writer Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc discusses such architectural elements as dungeons, keeps, battlements, and drawbridges. In addition to describing a vast number of European structures — among them fortifications at Carcassonne, Paris, Avignon, Vincennes, Lubeck, Milan, and Nuremberg — he examines the use of artillery and trenches, as well as such weapons as battering rams, mines, and the long-bow. A concise, scholarly reference for architectural historians, this absorbing history will appeal as well to medievalists, military buffs, and anyone interested in the evolution and development of the castle.
The Italian Job meets Ocean’s Eleven in “the kookiest . . . craziest” crime caper ever written by crime fiction Grandmaster Donald Westlake (New York Times). Four teams of international thieves race through Paris to steal a king’s ransom from the walls of a disassembled castle. When four groups of international heist artists team up to pull off the theft of the century—stealing an entire castle, and the treasure hidden in its walls—what could possibly go wrong? Well, consider this: none of the master thieves speak each other’s languages . . . and no one knows precisely where the loot is stashed . . . and every one of them wants to steal it all for him or herself. It’s Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Donald E. Westlake at his wildest, a breathless slapstick chase through the streets of Paris only one step ahead of the law—and each other.
THE STORY: The home of the Blackwoods near a Vermont village is a lonely, ominous abode, and Constance, the young mistress of the place, can't go out of the house without being insulted and stoned by the villagers. They have also composed a nasty s
From acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies comes the reissue of their classic book on day-to-day life in medieval cities, which was a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. Evoking every aspect of city life in the Middle Ages, Life in a Medieval City depicts in detail what it was like to live in a prosperous city of Northwest Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The year is 1250 CE and the city is Troyes, capital of the county of Champagne and site of two of the cycle Champagne Fairs—the “Hot Fair” in August and the “Cold Fair” in December. European civilization has emerged from the Dark Ages and is in the midst of a commercial revolution. Merchants and money men from all over Europe gather at Troyes to buy, sell, borrow, and lend, creating a bustling market center typical of the feudal era. As the Gieses take us through the day-to-day life of burghers, we learn the customs and habits of lords and serfs, how financial transactions were conducted, how medieval cities were governed, and what life was really like for a wide range of people. For serious students of the medieval era and anyone wishing to learn more about this fascinating period, Life in a Medieval City remains a timeless work of popular medieval scholarship.
Beware! You've been imprisoned in a medieval castle, and may be trapped forever! Can you escape the fortress walls? It is 1389, and you are locked in a tower of a medieval castle. The door is guarded. The castle bustles with nobles, servants, craftspeople, and entertainers. But it is also a mighty fortress fiercely defended by soldiers. The castle's massive walls protect it from enemy attack, while inside there is a maze of dark passageways. Stay calm, use your wits, and consult the heraldic wheel on the front cover. If you follow the clues, solve the riddles, and decode the puzzles, you will make your escape! -- publisher website.
The adventure continues in this exciting companion to The Castle in the Attic. As William turns twelve, he wonders if Jason is still his best friend. In the past year, Jason has grown a foot taller, while William is still a shrimp. When Jason challenges William to “jump the trains,” William is terrified. How else can he prove himself to Jason? William gets his answer when his former housekeeper sends him a magic token that once again transports him to Sir Simon’s castle in the Middle Ages, this time with Jason. There the two friends face a dangerous army of rats and their gigantic leader. Once before, William was a hero in Sir Simon’s day. Now it’s up to William to destroy the rats and save the kingdom in the final battle for the castle.
In this buried chapter of American history, a nearly forgotten case of famed attorney Clarence Darrow comes hauntingly to the surface. In 1925 the NAACP approached Darrow to defend Ossian Sweet -- a highly respected black doctor who, after integrating an all-white neighborhood in Detroit, found himself the victim of a community attack. When Sweet and his family fought back, they were caught in a melee in which a white man was fatally shot. The trial that ensued, one of the most urgent and compelling in the nation's history, would test the basic tenets of the American Dream -- the right of a man to defend his own home. Tautly researched and harrowingly reported, One Man's Castle is an important slice of American legal history and the history of the civil rights (Kirkus Reviews).