The Medieval Way of War

As with most Festschriften, this volume—published in honour of Bernard S. Bachrach, a prolific and widely respected scholar of medieval military history—brings together an eclectic range of essays. As the editor, Gregory Halfond, explains, the seventeen essays ‘embrace the interdisciplinarity and topical diversity’ (p. 4) that characterise Bachrach’s work and are divided into three parts: ‘The history and historiography of war in Late Antique and Early Medieval Europe’ (chs. 1–5); ‘Warfare in the East in the Crusading Era’ (chs. 6–9); and ‘European warfare in the Central and Later Middle Ages’ (chs. 10–17). Bachrach’s colleagues, former students and admirers make up a veritable roll-call of leading scholars, with eight emeritus professors, seven professors and three senior scholars contributing articles. It is somewhat regrettable, however, that a lengthy volume such as this, consisting as it does of seventeen chapters, should feature only one female academic (Lorraine C. Attreed)—and even then only as a co-author. While Festschrift editors are, of course, constrained by the personal networks of the honorand, as well as by the availability or suitability of colleagues to provide chapters, the contributor list of this particular volume does little to challenge the preconception, held by many within the wider academy, that military history remains a male-dominated Boys’ Own endeavour

Ancient history · Antique · Archaeology · Battle · Historiography · Honor · Honour · Military history · Classics · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Medieval History and Crusades