Chivalry Books

The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry, by R. Ewart Oakeshott Arms and armor from prehistory to the age of chivalry are covered in this detailed analysis of medieval arms development. More than 30 centuries are studied here, but the tone is lively and light, using evidence of arms found during excavations and descriptions in literature and art to lend insight into early warfare. (UK ) Archaeology

Chronicles of the Age of Chivalry, Elizabeth Hallam (Editor), Hugh Trevor-Roper (Preface) The voices of the past bring history most clearly alive, and no contemporary accounts are more vivid or compelling than the writings of the medieval chroniclers. In this extraordinary work, editor Elizabeth Hallam allows the diligent monk scribes to tell us in their own words how they witnessed the lives and deeds of kings, queens, princes and churchmen. (UK )

Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe, Richard W. Kaeuper Medieval Europe was a rapidly developing society with a problem of violent disorder. Chivalry was not only part of the solution but was also part of the problem.The interation of chivalry with major governing institutions ('church' and 'state') emerging at that time was similarly complex: kings and clerics both needed and feared the force of the knighthood. (UK )

Strong of Body, Brave and Noble : Chivalry and Society in Medieval France,Constance Brittain Bouchard This book explores the nature of the nobility, focusing on France in the High Middle Ages (11th-13th centuries). Constance Brittain Bouchard examines their families; their relationships with peasants, townspeople, and clerics; and the images of them fashioned in medieval literary texts. She incorporates throughout a consideration of noble women and the nobility's attitude toward women.

Knights in Shining Armor, Gail Gibbons A profile of medieval knighthood describes the skills, armor, and weapons utilized by knights and includes brief retellings of stories about such famous knights as Sir Lancelot and Saint George. Ages 4-8 (UK )

The Knight in History, by Frances Gies For six centuries the medieval knight dominated the battlefields and stirred the imagination of the Western world. Born out of the chaos of the early Middle Ages, the armored, mounted warrior revolutionized warfare and became the keystome of the new political structure of feudalism. In the end, the knight was anachronistically stranded in the age of gunpowder and the national state, but memory of him proved durable. (UK )

See also: History, Chivalry, Calendars Posters