The epic conflict between Rome and Carthage remains one of the most compelling stories of military history. The wars included such legendary events as the crossing of the Alps by Hannibal, and the Bat
The ancient warrior code which persisted in medieval Christian Europe dictated that a man's greatest virtues were physical strength, skill at arms, bravery, daring, loyalty to the chieftain and solida
On 12 October 1492 Columbus discovered the New World. In the following decade a number of Spanish colonies were founded in the West Indies, many of the settlers being ex-soldiers. They were a hardy, a
This text by Terence Wise explores some of the fascinating peoples who comprised the ancient armies of the Middle East: the Sumerians, who were the first to introduce the use of bronze into warfare, a
In the early crusades men of all ranks from all over Europe took the cross and went to fight Islam as volunteers. Some went out of religious fervour, others to escape the plagues and famine which were
Much myth and fantasy surrounds the events of the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485): a bloody and prolonged dynastic struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster. Terence Wise's fascinating text lays
If there is one thing we can be sure of concerning the Saxons, Vikings and Normans who inhabited the medieval world, it is that they were a good deal more advanced than some writings would have us bel
Almost continual warfare raged in Europe during the period 1300-1500. These wars were the furnaces in which many of the modern European nations were forged. Parallel with this emergence of the nations
Coats of arms were at first used only by kings and princes, then by their great nobles, but by the mid-13th century arms were being used extensively by the lesser nobility, knights and those who later
