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An outstanding feature of the Norse-Gaelic seaways is the network of dramatic castles built on or near the shore. They typically dominated main lines of sea communication, and were accessed by?birlinn? or galley. They played a central role in the Hebrides during the Hebrides? heyday, broadly from the Norse period through to the end of the Lordship of the Isles, when the islands were at the crossroads of the Norse-Gaelic world. In recent years considerable inter-disciplinary scholarly effort has gone into reinterpreting their history, dates, functions, and method of construction.0.
“An island history almost without comparison . . . one of the finest Highland books of the 21st century” from the renowned Scottish historian (West Highland Free Press). The tiny diamond-shaped island of Pabay lies in Skye’s Inner Sound, just two and a half miles from the bustling village of Broadford. One of five Hebridean islands of that name, it derives from the Norse papa-ey, meaning “island of the priest.” Many visitors since the first holy men built their chapel there have felt that Pabay is a deeply spiritual place, and one of wonder. These include the great 19th-century geologists Hugh Miller and Archibald Geikie, for whom the island’s rocks and fossil-laden shales revealed much about the nature of Creation itself. Len and Margaret Whatley moved to Pabay from the Midlands and lived there from 1950 until 1970. Leaving a landlocked life in Birmingham for the emptiness of an uninhabited island was a brave and challenging move for which nothing could have prepared them. Christopher Whatley, their nephew, was a regular visitor to Pabay whilst they lived there. In this book, based on archival research, oral interviews, memory and personal experience, he explores the history of this tiny island jewel, and the people for whom it has been home, to create a vivid picture of the trials, tribulations and joys of island life. “If the island itself is a diamond, this work is a sparkling gem.” —The Press and Journal “Beautifully written, and presents a richly detailed and fascinating historical narrative . . . It’s as much a testimony to how people have shaped the island and how the island has shaped them.” —Dundee Courier
How military technology has transformed the world The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry and how it transformed not only the conduct of warfare but also the very structure of power in the West, from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era. Across this period, improvements in firepower shaped the evolving art of war. For centuries, weaponry had remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army. That all changed around 1870, when the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technology soon meant that only a handful of great powers could afford to manufacture advanced weaponry, while other countries fell behind. Going beyond the battlefield, Firepower ultimately reveals how changes in weapons technology reshaped human history.
Medieval warfare on both land and sea examined by leading scholars in the field. Different aspects of medieval warfare form the focus for this collection of essays by both established and new scholars. They range from a reconsideration of several problems of military historiography to explorations of the medieval view of divine influence on the battlefield, and the emergence of complex strategic and tactical norms of naval warfare in the medieval Mediterranean. Other topics examined include the role of mercenaries; crusader warfare; and Anglo-Norman women at war.Contributors: BERNARD S. BACHRACH, THERESA M. VANN, PAUL E. CHEVEDDEN, STEPHEN MORILLO, EDWARD G. SCHOENFELD, KENT G. HARE, KELLY DEVRIES, STEVEN ISAAC, JEAN A. TRUAX, STEVEN G. LANE, DOUGLAS C. HALDANE, LAWRENCE V. MOTT
Pero López de Ayala’s Chronicle of King Pedro provides a compelling and richly informative account of the turbulent reign of the notorious but enigmatic fourteenth-century Castilian monarch who came to be known as Pedro el Cruel. It is a vitally important source for our understanding of the history of the Iberian Peninsula during this critical period in its development and of the complex social and political divisions by which the Spanish kingdoms were torn. This three-volume Chronicle gives us a gripping and wide-ranging picture of a period characterized by harsh brutality, conflict and betrayal but at the same time by the ideals of chivalry, memorably personified in figures such as the Black Prince and Bertrand du Guesclin. At its centre is the chilling portrait of King Pedro, a brilliantly constructed image of self-destructive evil. The translation is accompanied by a Spanish text taken from Germán Orduna’s groundbreaking edition and by detailed notes. The introduction explores the background to the Chronicle’s composition and sets López de Ayala’s account against a broad canvas of events in the Spanish kingdoms and beyond. It examines how the chronicler’s subtle artistry was used to create a picture of a deeply flawed monarch which has continued to exercise a profound fascination over the centuries.
This collection of essays and articles from a wide range of journals is intended to make more accessible to students and scholars some of the most important writing in English in this field from the 1950s to the present day. The volume draws attention to work on both the design and the use of ships in warfare in the period c.1000-c.1500. The collection deals with both the Mediterranean and northern waters in this period and not only makes clear what work has been done in this field but indicates areas where more research is needed.
The vast majority of castles in England, Wales, Ireland, and France have virtually no military history' of sieges or physical conflict across the whole panorama of more than five centuries'. This is quite a sobering thought.
This volume examines the development and evolution of the war galley known as the Dromon, and its relative, the Chelandion, from first appearance in the sixth century until its supercession in the twelfth century by the Galea developed in the Latin West. Beginning as a small, fully-decked, monoreme galley, by the tenth century the Dromon had become a bireme, the pre-eminent war galley of the Mediterranean. The salient features of these ships were their two-banked oarage system, the spurs at their bows which replaced the ram of classical antiquity, their lateen sails, and their primary weapon: Greek Fire. The book contextualizes the technical characteristics of the ships within the operational history of Byzantine fleets, logistical problems of medieval naval warfare, and strategic objectives. Surviving Byzantine sources, especially tactical manuals, are subjected to close literary and philological analysis.