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Gory, but compelling reading (NORTHERN ECHO )
a much needed corrective to the view that chivalry definied medieval fighting (CONTEMPORARY REVIEW )
a much needed corrective to the view that chivalry definied medieval fighting (CONTEMPORARY REVIEW )
Scotland on Sunday, April 6, 2008
"This is a fascinating study of battlefield brutality."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This has been waiting for me to get to it for a while; now seemed a good time to dive into it. Having read a very large amount of history from a number of periods and countries, I'm not really surprised by what may be classed as "cruelty and atrocity" in medieval warfare - it happened, there's no doubt - and for whatever reasons. But it's interesting to see it incorporated as a theme into a historical non-fiction book. This book is particularly important due to the wide geographical and chronological scope in which the theme is explored. Having said that, the focus is on England, France and the Crusades - there is no in-depth exploration of the theme in the context of Italy or Sicily, Scandinavia, the Iberian states or other European areas.
To balance out the other side of the story i.e. why would knights who portray themselves as perfect examples of chivalry appear to commit such acts - I suggest reading around chivalry and its role in the middle ages - perhaps The Knight and Chivalry by Richard Barber would be a good start - and even some specific reading around histories of the Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaler and the Teutonic Knights. It's important to understand that while chivalry (and its concomitent rights and responsibilities, codes and literature) may have played little to no part in actual warfare, it was still, and for many valid reasons, a very important part of medieval culture, and remained relevant to large sections of society.
It's also important to realise that savagery, cruelty, atrocity, whatever you want to call it, was not absent from political or religious life outside warfare in medieval times (or any other time, for that matter). Being burnt to death for being a `heretic' or a `witch', being boiled to death for poisoning someone, or being hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor - are these more or less `barbaric' fates than those dealt or suffered in medieval warfare? The entirety of medieval culture needs to be explored in order to be able to pass a balanced judgment on the `normality' or otherwise of the methods used in warfare.
These are not criticisms of the book; merely reminders that these things need to be studied not in isolation, but in conjunction with other aspects of medieval life in order to be able to go some way to understanding the `mentalité' of the people who lived in those times. A good read; recommended for anyone interested in Medieval European history.
To balance out the other side of the story i.e. why would knights who portray themselves as perfect examples of chivalry appear to commit such acts - I suggest reading around chivalry and its role in the middle ages - perhaps The Knight and Chivalry by Richard Barber would be a good start - and even some specific reading around histories of the Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaler and the Teutonic Knights. It's important to understand that while chivalry (and its concomitent rights and responsibilities, codes and literature) may have played little to no part in actual warfare, it was still, and for many valid reasons, a very important part of medieval culture, and remained relevant to large sections of society.
It's also important to realise that savagery, cruelty, atrocity, whatever you want to call it, was not absent from political or religious life outside warfare in medieval times (or any other time, for that matter). Being burnt to death for being a `heretic' or a `witch', being boiled to death for poisoning someone, or being hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor - are these more or less `barbaric' fates than those dealt or suffered in medieval warfare? The entirety of medieval culture needs to be explored in order to be able to pass a balanced judgment on the `normality' or otherwise of the methods used in warfare.
These are not criticisms of the book; merely reminders that these things need to be studied not in isolation, but in conjunction with other aspects of medieval life in order to be able to go some way to understanding the `mentalité' of the people who lived in those times. A good read; recommended for anyone interested in Medieval European history.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Based on the reviews of other customers I expected this book to be full of horrifying stories. That was not the case. This book gives good insight in the logic of warfare why sometimes it is prudent to apply atrocity, while in other cases it might be better not to do so. For readers that are new in medieval warfare it may look very grimm sometimes but for those who have already red a lot about that topic it will be less shocking and will give you valuable new insights.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
By Sword and Fire is a fine book. A history of war in a period that was surrounded by it. The Crusades, Wars of Independence in Scotland, the Hundred Years War-the list could go on. There were stories of hardship: the fall of Chateu Galliard in 1204 for example, or the Siege of Calais in 1347. Or battles like Bouvines in 1214, Striling in 1297, Poitiers in 1356. A great book.
Sean did his homework for this book. He balance evidence with good storytelling. The very eccence of this book was that is was a story of how the ordinary people could get in the way of a looting army that could destroy their homes and livelyhoods. A book on how war was waged to achieve a final goal. Anyone who got in the way was free range. This was a spetacular book of war, famine, sword, and fire.
I loved this book and the way it was written. It was a good story of how war will destroy more than it creates. A wonderful book.
Sean did his homework for this book. He balance evidence with good storytelling. The very eccence of this book was that is was a story of how the ordinary people could get in the way of a looting army that could destroy their homes and livelyhoods. A book on how war was waged to achieve a final goal. Anyone who got in the way was free range. This was a spetacular book of war, famine, sword, and fire.
I loved this book and the way it was written. It was a good story of how war will destroy more than it creates. A wonderful book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Misleading title
I was somewhat disappointed with this book gin=ven the title.
I was expecting to sit down & read in graphic detail(for my sins)about all the savagery committed in this period... Read more
I was expecting to sit down & read in graphic detail(for my sins)about all the savagery committed in this period... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Kevin P. Neal
Atrocity in the middle ages
This book was interesting but not quite as fascinating as I had hoped. I believe some more illustrations etc would have helped.
Published 7 months ago by rjames
gruesomely fascinating
McGlynn is convincing when he claims that contemporary medieval desciptions of wartime atrocities were fairly accurate rather than being grossly exaggerated. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Graham R. Hill
A great and easily read book
It's quite an interesting book and the central thesis of the book - that medieval atrocities and what we would now term "war crimes" were committed more often than not in the cold... Read more
Published 12 months ago by F. Mari
by sword and fire: cruelty and atrocity in medieval warfare
think of the worst cruely you could inflict on a human being and this book will have a an incident relating to it. Read more
Published 20 months ago by churstonchris
Common Savagery
This is a well written account of some examples of the butchery man is capable of. I have long studied military History,so the content wasn't surprising to me. Read more
Published 23 months ago by A. Tomlinson
Compulsory Reading!
This is indeed a seminal and engaging work which had me gripped all the way through as another reviewer has commented. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Ms. L. E. Spurr
Fantastic read.
For any body who wants to learn about the times of our medieval past - how we treated one another, wars, the cruelty and atrocities it brought - then I suggest you look no further... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2008 by Glenn M. Renshaw
A gritty and enlightening read
A well written and accurate portrayal of warfare in medieval times and a must read for anyone with an interest in history. Read more
Published on 20 July 2008 by Mary Beeken
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