This is one of the first titles in an exciting new series of guides for wargamers. Taking one of the most pivotal and famous episodes in British military history, it gives a wargamers perspective of the dramatic events of 1066 and the Norman conquest up to around 1070, and advice on how to recreate these on the gaming table. Advice is given on factors to consider when choosing an appropriate set of commercially available rules, or devising your own, to best suit the scale and style of battle you want and capture the flavor of the period. The relevant ranges of figures and terrain pieces and buildings are also reviewed. Analysis of the forces involved, organization, tactics and strategies will help with building your armies and there are interesting scenarios included. Whether this is a new period for you, or you are looking to refresh your existing interest in the period, this handy guide is sure to hold much if interest for you.

Warfare, Raiding and Defence in early medieval Britain is an examination of warfare in the period AD400-850, often called the Dark Ages, which is roughly the period between the end of Roman rule and the arrival of large Viking armies. It uses written sources, archaeological evidence and surviving features in the landscape to analyse the nature of warfare in those days, paying particular attention to the large defensive earthworks typical of the period. Luckily these earthworks survive long after the warriors have turned to dust; their locations in the landscape are mute witness to the nature of early medieval warfare. This period helped forge and mould the nations of modern Britain. This book shows that raiding was the driving force behind the political, cultural and linguistic changes that affected post-Roman Britain, and provides a picture of how raids and counter-raiding measures worked in practice. Includes 70 colour illustrations.

This first update to the Cumulative Bibliography of Medieval Military History and Technology (Brill, 2002) includes additional entries for the period before 2000 and new entries for the period 2000-2002.

Gives a vivid and exciting portrayal of how and why castles were raised in Wales after the Norman conquest, and how they became the scenes of particularly bloody, large-scale campaigns in the violent war between Wales and England.

‘Bill Cooke is to be congratulated on his extensive and knowledgeable account of Warrington’s history.’ – Harry Wells, author of Medieval Warrington In 2015 Warrington was named by the Royal Society of Arts as the ‘least culturally alive town in England’. But was this a fair evaluation? In his new book, Bill Cooke offers a dramatic reexamination of the town. Looking back on its fascinating history dating back to the Romans, The Story of Warrington demonstrates an extensive and diverse cultural history. Should Warrington apologise for the person who supported Richard III against the Princes in the Tower? Why was Warrington thought of as the Athens of the North? What role did the town play in the Industrial Revolution and the slave trade? How did Warrington help win the Cold War? With insights into these questions and more, readers are presented with the other side of the argument and learn key facts about the history of this British town.

In 1095 the First Crusade was launched, establishing a great military endeavour which was a central preoccupation of Europeans until the end of the thirteenth century. In Western warfare in the age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 John France offers a wide-ranging and challenging survey of war and warfare and its place in the development of European Society, culture and economy in the period of the Crusades. Placing the crusades in a wider context, this book brings together the wealth of recent scholarly research on such issues as knighthood, siege warfare, chivalry and fortifications into an accessible form. Western warfare in the age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 examines the nature of war in the period 1000-1300 and argues that it was primarily shaped by the people who conducted war - the landowners. John France illuminates the role of property concerns in producing the characteristic instruments of war: the castle and the knight. This authoritative study details the way in which war was fought and the reasons for it as well as reflecting on the society which produced the crusades.

In the far north-east corner of Wales, a line of hills looks east across the plain into England, guarding the way towards Snowdonia. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Clwydian Range has a very rich archaeology. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of this landscape: a history of Wales in microcosm. At the northern end of the Welsh March, the Clwydian Range is a crossroads, a place where outside influences have always been profound. The book consequently places the Range's archaeology in the context of the broader themes in Welsh and British history. We learn of: the mammoth bones left in the area's caves by Paleaeolithic hunters; the great chain of Iron Age hillforts that crown the Range; the bronze brooches in Romano-British burials; from the medieval period, motte and bailey castles and Gothic churches; the watercourses, mines and engine houses of the industrial era; the Range's links with the great poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Throughout, the photographs capture the spirit of Hopkins' original 'landscape plotted and pieced'. The Clwydian Range is perhaps typical of Britain, where places have a great depth of historical connections. This book shows how much there is to be discovered. Ian Brown, formerly County Heritage Officer for Clwyd, managed the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Mick Sharp and Jean Williamson are two of Britain's leading archaeological and landscape photographers.

This book examines the making of the March of Wales and the crucial role its lords played in the politics of medieval Britain between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and the English conquest of Wales in 1283. Max Lieberman argues that the Welsh borders of Shropshire, which were first, from c.1165, referred to as Marchia Wallie, provide a paradigm for the creation of the March. He reassesses the role of William the Conqueror's tenurial settlement in the making of the March and sheds new light on the ways in which seigneurial administrations worked in a cross-cultural context. Finally, he explains why, from c.1300, the March of Wales included the conquest territories in south Wales as well as the highly autonomous border lordships. This book makes a significant and original contribution to frontier studies, investigating both the creation and the changing perception of a medieval borderland.