Writing Battles: New Perspectives on Warfare and Memory in Medieval Europe

Description

Battles have long featured prominently in historical consciousness, as moments when the balance of power was seen to have tipped, or when aspects of collective identity were shaped. But how have perspectives on warfare changed? How similar are present day ideologies of warfare to those of the medieval period? Looking back over a thousand years of British, Irish and Scandinavian battles, this significant collection of essays examines how different times and cultures have reacted to war, considering the changing roles of religion and technology in the experience and memorialisation of conflict. While fighting and killing have been deplored, glorified and everything in between across the ages, Writing Battles reminds us of the visceral impact left on those who come after.

Rory Naismith is Lecturer in Medieval British History at King's College London, UK. He is the author of Citadel of the Saxons (I.B. Tauris, 2018). Maire Ni Mhaonaigh is Professor in Celtic and Medieval Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. Elizabeth Ashman Rowe is Reader in Scandinavian History at the University of Cambridge, UK.

This imaginative collection of essays reappraises the place of medieval battles in British, Irish and Scandinavian historical and literary traditions. It will be sure to find a place on the reading lists of students and scholars in Medieval Studies and War Studies alike. * Julia Smith, Chichele Professor of Medieval History, University of Oxford, UK * This wide-ranging volume of essays is an outstanding contribution to the cultural, political, and social military history of the Middle Ages. Although the focus is on how medieval battles were understood and commemorated as key cultural and political markers in the British Isles and Scandinavia, the essays range much further, demonstrating how warfare was critical in the making of London, the complex relationship between war and peace, and the continuities and discontinuities between medieval and modern understanding of the meaning of battle. Those who dismiss military history as mere battlefield narratives will find this volume a revelation. * Richard Abels, Professor Emeritus of History, United States Naval Academy, USA * The volume's concentration on the memory of medieval warfare in Northern Europe makes it essential reading for all scholars of European conflict in time and place. It also poses wider questions about the relations of past and present that will interest all students of conflict commemoration and memory. * Michigan War Studies Review *