The De Re Militari of Vegetius
The De Re Militari of Vegetius

Author: Christopher Allmand

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-09-29

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 1139500961

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Vegetius' late Roman text became a well-known and highly respected 'classic' in the Middle Ages, transformed by its readers into the authority on the waging of war. Christopher Allmand analyses the medieval afterlife of the De Re Militari, tracing the growing interest in the text from the Carolingian world to the late Middle Ages, suggesting how the written word may have influenced the development of military practice in that period. While emphasising that success depended on a commander's ability to outwit the enemy with a carefully selected, well-trained and disciplined army, the De Re Militari inspired other unexpected developments, such as that of the 'national' army, and helped create a context in which the role of the soldier assumed greater social and political importance. Allmand explores the significance of the text and the changes it brought for those who accepted the implications of its central messages.

Vegetius in Context
Vegetius in Context

Author: Michael B. Charles

Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13:

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The date of Vegetius' Epitoma Rei Militaris, addressed to an unnamed emperor, has been the subject of vigorous debate. Although this military text is most often assigned to Theodosius the Great, this volume questions the likelihood of this belief and concludes that a fifth-century date might be preferable. Vegetius in Context examines the polemical nature of the Epitoma, the role of the emperor in late antiquity, the way in which emperors were addressed, attitudes to barbarization and religion, the use of propaganda, the changing political nature of the Empire, and, of course, pertinent military issues. In particular, the volume looks at the works and ideology of numerous authors from late antiquity, including historians, ecclesiastical writers, poets and panegyrists. A firm tenet of the research methodology is that it is necessary to establish an accurate picture of late-antique military, religious and political discourse in order to divine the most likely milieu into which the Epitoma should be placed - thus 'Vegetius in context', as the title suggests.

Mercenaries in Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Mercenaries in Medieval and Renaissance Europe

Author: Hunt Janin

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1476612072

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In medieval and Renaissance Europe, mercenaries--professional soldiers who fought for money or other rewards--played violent, colorful, international roles in warfare, but they have received relatively little scholarly attention. In this book a large number of vignettes portray their activities in Western Europe over a period of nearly 900 years, from the Merovingian mercenaries of 752 through the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648. Intended as an introduction to the subject and drawing heavily on contemporary first-person accounts, the book creates a vivid but balanced mosaic of the many thousands of mercenaries who were hired to fight for various employers.

Greek and Roman Military Manuals
Greek and Roman Military Manuals

Author: James T. Chlup

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 9781138335141

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This volume explores the enigmatic primary source known as the ancient military manual. In particular, the volume explores the extent to which these diverse texts constitute a genre (sometimes unsatisfactorily classified as 'technical literature'), and the degree to which they reflect the practice of warfare. With contributions from a diverse group of scholars, the chapters examine military manuals from early Archaic Greece to the Byzantine period, covering a wide range of topics including readership, siege warfare, mercenaries, defeat, textual history, and religion. Coverage includes most of the major contemporary siege manual writers, including Xenophon, Frontinus, Vegetius, and Maurice. Close examination of these texts serves to reveals the complex ways in which ancient Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines sought to understand better, and impose order upon, the seemingly irrational phenomenon known as war. Providing insight into the multifaceted collection of texts that constituted military manuals, this volume is a key resource for students and scholars of warfare and military literature in the classical and Byzantine periods.

A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry
A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry

Author: Geoffroi de Charny

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2013-03-01

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 0812208684

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On the great influence of a valiant lord: "The companions, who see that good warriors are honored by the great lords for their prowess, become more determined to attain this level of prowess." On the lady who sees her knight honored: "All of this makes the noble lady rejoice greatly within herself at the fact that she has set her mind and heart on loving and helping to make such a good knight or good man-at-arms." On the worthiest amusements: "The best pastime of all is to be often in good company, far from unworthy men and from unworthy activities from which no good can come." Enter the real world of knights and their code of ethics and behavior. Read how an aspiring knight of the fourteenth century would conduct himself and learn what he would have needed to know when traveling, fighting, appearing in court, and engaging fellow knights. Composed at the height of the Hundred Years War by Geoffroi de Charny, one of the most respected knights of his age, A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry was designed as a guide for members of the Company of the Star, an order created by Jean II of France in 1352 to rival the English Order of the Garter. This is the most authentic and complete manual on the day-to-day life of the knight that has survived the centuries, and this edition contains a specially commissioned introduction from historian Richard W. Kaeuper that gives the history of both the book and its author, who, among his other achievements, was the original owner of the Shroud of Turin.

Roman Military Service
Roman Military Service

Author: Sara Elise Phang

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-01-14

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0521882699

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In this book, Sara Phang explores the ideals and realities of Roman military discipline, which regulated the behavior of soldiers in combat and their punishment, as well as economic aspects of their service, including compensation and other benefits, work, and consumption. This thematically organized study analyzes these aspects of discipline, using both literary and documentary sources. Phang emphasizes social and cultural conflicts in the Roman army. Contrary to the impression that Roman emperors "bought" their soldiers and indulged them, discipline restrained such behavior and legitimized and stabilized the imperial power. Phang argues that emperors and aristocratic commanders gained prestige from imposing discipline, while displaying leadership in person and a willingness to compromise with a restive soldiery.

Military Literature in the Medieval Roman World and Beyond
Military Literature in the Medieval Roman World and Beyond

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2024-05-30

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 9004696431

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What do the mysterious Roman author Vegetius, the Byzantine emperor Leo VI, and the Chinese general Li Jing all have in common? They are three of the dozens of authors across the medieval Mediterranean world and beyond who wrote works of military literature, sometimes called military handbooks, manuals, or treatises. This book brings together a multidisciplinary international team of scholars who present cutting edge essays on diverse aspects of medieval military literature. While some chapters offer novel approaches to familiar authors like Vegetius, some present research on under-valued topics like Byzantine military illustrations, and others provide holistic studies on subjects like early modern treatises, they all move the discussion of medieval military literature forward. Contributors are Michael B. Charles, Georgios Chatzelis, Pierre Cosme, Maxime Emion, Immacolata Eramo, Michael Fulton, David Graff, John Haldon, Catherine Hof, John Hosler, Savvas Kyriakidis, Łukasz Różycki, Katharina Schoneveld, Georgios Theotokis, Conor Whately, Michael Whitby, and Nadya Williams.

Authority and Expertise in Ancient Scientific Culture
Authority and Expertise in Ancient Scientific Culture

Author: Jason König

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-01-20

Total Pages: 871

ISBN-13: 1316849066

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How did ancient scientific and knowledge-ordering writers make their work authoritative? This book answers that question for a wide range of ancient disciplines, from mathematics, medicine, architecture and agriculture, through to law, historiography and philosophy - focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on the literature of the Roman Empire. It draws attention to habits that these different fields had in common, while also showing how individual texts and authors manipulated standard techniques of self-authorisation in distinctive ways. It stresses the importance of competitive and assertive styles of self-presentation, and also examines some of the pressures that pulled in the opposite direction by looking at authors who chose to acknowledge the limitations of their own knowledge or resisted close identification with narrow versions of expert identity. A final chapter by Sir Geoffrey Lloyd offers a comparative account of scientific authority and expertise in ancient Chinese, Indian and Mesopotamian culture.

Pelagonius and Latin Veterinary Terminology in the Roman Empire
Pelagonius and Latin Veterinary Terminology in the Roman Empire

Author: Adams

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-07-17

Total Pages: 707

ISBN-13: 9004377360

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The language of Latin veterinary medicine has never been systematically studied. This book seeks to elucidate the pathological and anatomical terminology of Latin veterinary treatises, and the general linguistic features of Pelagonius as a technical writer. Veterinary practice in antiquity cannot be related directly to that of the modern world. In antiquity a man could claim expertise in horse medicine without ever passing an examination. Owners often treated their own animals. The distinction between 'professional' and layman was thus blurred, and equally the distinction between 'scientific' terminology and laymen's terminology was not as clear-cut as it is today. The first part of the book is devoted to some of the non-linguistic factors which influenced the terminology in which horse diseases and their treatment were described.