A concise and entertaining explanation of how other accounts, and popular culture such as films, have misrepresented medieval warfare.

We don't know how medieval soldiers fought. Did they just walk forward in their armor smashing each other with their maces and poleaxes for hours on end, as depicted on film and in programs such as Game of Thrones?

They could not have done so. It is impossible to fight in such a manner for more than several minutes as exhaustion becomes a preventative factor.

Indeed, we know more of how the Roman and Greek armies fought than we do of the 1300 to 1550 period.

So how did medieval soldiers in the War of the Roses, and in the infantry sections of battles such as Agincourt and Towton, carry out their grim work?

Medieval Military Combat shows, for the first time, the techniques of such battles. It also breaks new ground in establishing medieval battle numbers as highly exaggerated, and that we need to look again at the accounts of actions such as the famous Battle of Towton, which this work uses as a basic for its overall study.

Introduction
1. The genesis of infantry combat
2. The evidence of medieval combat
3. Armour
4. Arms
5.. The Longbow’s Place in Medieval Battle
6.. The effectiveness of poleaxes
7. How were medieval battles fought?
8. Towton as an example
9. Conclusion
Appendices

“A very good read for anyone trying to better understand warfare in the period and also for those interested in analytical approaches to the study of poorly documented conflicts.”

"Wargamers interested in the Wars of the Roses simply must read this book – especially if they are writing or selecting rules for the period – and so should any screenwriters and directors of battles for fantasy or medieval film or television epics!"