Grasp The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, And Walled Cities Of The Middle Ages Generated By J.E. Kaufmann Format PDF
fascinating! An excellent reference work, especially if you are designing a castle for use in fiction, whether for something written or your tabletop gaming campaign.
If authenticity or accuracy is very important, I'd recommend doing further research with the sources listed in the bibliography, This is very reliant on drawings, and the photos are unfortunately all black and white, The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, And Walled Cities Of The Middle Ages by J, E. Kaufmann and H. W. Kaufmann is one of the most comprehensive, detailed books on castle architecture in the medieval period, The book is split into five major sections: Elements of Medieval Fortifications, Early Medieval Fortifications, The Age of Castles, Decline of the High Castle Walls, and Medieval Castles and Fortifications this last section showing detailed architectural plans of a number of castles throughout medieval europe.
The first section, Elements of Medieval Fortifications, discusses the various parts that make up a castles construction and how those elements evolved over the years.
You will learn about the motte and bailey castle, towers, gatehouses and drawbridges, enceintes and battlements, the moat, inside the castle walls, and siege techniques used to try to undermine these impressive structures.
The second and third sections, Early Medieval Fortifications and The Age of Castles, describe the evolution of the castle throughout medieval europe, starting with the wooden castles of the Early Middle Ages and on into the High Middle Ages when castle architecture and construction was at its peak, defined by the magnficent stone strongholds that filled the landscape from medieval England all the way to the desert plains of the Middle East.
The fourth section, Decline of the High Castle Walls, explains how gunpower and cannon weaponry brought about an end to the importance of the medieval castle.
Read about the fall of Constantinople, the siege of fortifications during the Reconquista, and the siege and fall of Rhodes.
This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand in greater detail the history of the medieval castle.
There are plenty of photos, diagrams, and illustrations to visually aid the reader, along with castle terminology,
Put on pauseDecemberas haven't touched in months, Great resource for medieval novels, Good description and useful illustrations, I'm still relatively new to reading about the Middle Ages, but I have a few books under my belt now.
This books is a very fascinating look at the defensive makeup and layout of castles during that time period, It starts with a bit on Roman fortifications and wooden grody, then moves on to what most of us consider to be castles, and then finishes off just as cannons are being introduced.
The main focus is on the specific defensive attributes and their variations across different parts of Europe, mostly.
Aspects of siege warfare are discussed, but it's mostly about defense, There are numerous photographs of castles still in existence, and includes sketches showing the layout of those as well as others no longer extant.
What is beyond the scope of this book, however, is anything regarding the daily management of a castle or interior design.
If I were to pick a complaint, it would be that the blackandwhite photography is grainy and doesn't communicate the image clearly.
I augmented my reading with internet searches, though, so that wasn't a huge problem, I also found the index and glossary at the back a bit lacking when I wanted to refresh my memory about certain things.
All in all, it is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it, It's not a scholarly work by any means, but it's a great place to start, I look forward to rereading this one for sure, This is one of the most comprehensive castle related books I have ever
read,
While other books may talk about the technical end, or may just give you diagrams, or may just give you timelines with photos of other castles this book gives detailed history of specific castles, the whys, the hows, and couples them with cross referenced diagrams that are easy to understand at just a glance.
This book is a prime resource for anyone interested in the general evolution of European/Medieval Fortresses/Castles, the seige equipment, and logistics of every day life outside of warfare.
This heavily illustrated volume should appeal to students of military history and medieval history generally, and also to wargamers and interested tourists.
It opens with a general history of fortifications mostly but not entirely in Western Europe from late antiquity to the decline of the highwalled defensive wall with the advent of cannon, discussing every aspect of castle and fortress design in all their variations, and with detailed plans and line drawings on almost every page, as well as blackandwhite photos no color of representative surviving examples.
Subsequent chapters take you on a countrybycountry across Europe and into the Balkans, with a few brief excursions into the Crusader kingdoms.
A great deal of historical detail regarding sieges and campaigns is included, An excellent survey of a complex subject, The castles of the Medieval world continue to interest readers, both as architectural wonders and because of their dramatic role in world history.
The general public is largely unaware of just how many castles survive today or over how wide an area of Europe and the Middle East they are to be found.
Fortifications specialist J. E. and H. W. Kaufmann and technical artist Robert Jurga authors of the acclaimed Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II have once again combined European sources and personal observations to present a unique portrait of military architecture.
They reveal how the medieval fortress combined both Roman and barbarian features, with some influences from as far away as China.
Detailed coverage is given for castles in the British Isles, France, Germany, Moorish Spain, and as far east as Poland and Russia, as well as Muslim and Crusader castles in the Middle East.
The Medieval Fortress covers the origin and evolution of the castles and other walled defenses, their major components, and the reasons for their eventual decline, which was not solely due to the introduction of gunpowder.
Also receiving extensive coverage are the weapons and equipment of garrisons and besieging troops, Over a hundred photographs andextraordinarily detailed technical drawings accompany the main text, which also takes an indepth look at representative castles of each major type.
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