Sources for WotR era European information

[pixelgeek]

So I have been reading through various threads in this forum in advance of investing in some Perry WotR minis this week. The period is really starting to interest me and I was wondering if anyone had any good references for information about the various militaries in Europe at the time. I've been seeing references to Burgundian, Milanese and other troops and wanted to be able to get a handle on the various factions, troops and nationalities at play

[SJWi]

Pixelgeek, others more knowledgeable than I can comment more but I suspect you will struggle to find a decent single volume that will cover the whole period to any depth. I would have recommended Ian Heath's now 28-year-old "Armies of the Middle Ages Volume 1" but I suspect it is long out of print. You may find it easier to choose a period or two eg Hundred Year's War, Wars of the Roses. Italian Wars or the Burgundian Wars and do some deeper research on those.

Regards       

[pixelgeek]

Sounds like I might need to take a trip to some local used bookstores.

[Charlie_]

Of course there are a few Osprey books which, though limited in their scope, give a handy introduction to certain European wars and armies of that era.

'Armies of Medieval Burgundy 1364-1477' focuses mostly on the armies of Charles the Bold in the 1470s, a very interesting example of an attempt at a well organised, modern army with all sorts of troop types, which most famously was defeated by the Swiss.

'The Swiss at War 1300-1500' covers these same Burgundian-Swiss wars, along with some early wars the Swiss were involved in.

There is also 'Italian Medieval Armies', 'German Medieval Armies' and 'Scandinavian Medieval Armies' all for the 1300-1500 period which just give a nice overview of the military systems in these regions, which some pretty pictures.

And 'Armies of Castile and Aragon 1370-1516' covers Spain, with a very useful history of the Castilian and Aragonese monarchies of that period and how they unified to become Spain... and of course some rough details on military matters.

All these are in the men-at-arms series and are limited in detail, but if you are entirely new to the subject they should certainly offer something for you, and all have good colour artwork of arms and armour.



Now if you want to get into more detail it's true that it can be tricky to find books in English. Burgundy and the Swiss seem to get the most attention. Other subjects do seem to remain 'blank spaces' between bigger wars. For example if you are interested in the French, there is lots of info on the Hundred Years War and the Italian Wars, but what about the French military between 1453 and 1495??? The information is out there, but handy wargamer-friendly books on such subjects, in English, are non-existent.

[bluewillow]

Lots in French about the Swiss, Breton, Burgundian, German and Italian wars. Not a lot on English, a lot of French books can be translated using google.

Cheers
Matt

[pixelgeek]

Of course there are a few Osprey books which, though limited in their scope, give a handy introduction to certain European wars and armies of that era.

That is probably what I need to start. Thanks

[pixelgeek]

So am I missing something or are most if the weapons and armour in the period almost identical across factions?

[SJWi]

Pixelgeek, again the more knowledgeable out there can comment more definitively. What you say has a grain of truth, but each nationality had its biases/specificities ( eg English Wars of the Roses armies were high on longbows with very few crossbows , the Swiss relied on halberd and pike with relatively few missile troops).  You will have seen from the various replies that no-one seems to be able to come up with a single volume primer for the period. The Osprey Men-at-arms that Charlie mentions are OK. I would second the Swiss and Burgundian books. They also produce "Essential Histories" on the Hundred Years War and Wars of the Roses which I think give good overviews. Worth checking their website as they produce over 200 books on the Medieval Period.

If you are mainly an English speaker I would recommend looking at the Wars of the Roses in more depth, as there is a lot written on the period in English, and the war ranges from large battles to small skirmishes, plus the range of figures is excellent. Most metal manufacturers produce figures but Perry Miniatures in particular have an excellent metal range plus a good value boxes of plastics.       

[Atheling]

no-one seems to be able to come up with a single volume primer for the period.

There is The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century, J.F. Verbruggen (available in a very good English translation link below) which is one of the finest studies I have ever read of warfare in Western Europe. It would be number one of a lot of bookshelves as a primer. In fact, I'm a little astonished that someone has not mentioned it as is probably the most well known primer and would be number one of a lot of bookshelves:
The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century, J.F. Verbruggen
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warfare-Western-Europe-Century-History/dp/0851155707/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CH97UFYP4DYW&dchild=1&keywords=verbruggen&qid=1609838326&sprefix=verbrigg%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1

[Stuart]

This is a great visual reference which includes detailed information on kit and brief summaries of the armies of Europe across a lot of photographs.

The Medieval Soldier: 15th Century Campaign Life Recreated in Colour Photographs, Embleton & Howe.

There’s a condensed similar volume as well;

Medieval Military Costume in Colour photographs, Gerry Embleton. This has illustrations to accompany the photos.

Both good resources for the palette and sculpting

[pixelgeek]

Thanks for all the input folks.

I think I will focus on the War of the Roses for the moment in terms of models and reading and then break into the European theatre (so to speak) at a slower pace

[Captain Harlock]

This is a great visual reference which includes detailed information on kit and brief summaries of the armies of Europe across a lot of photographs.

The Medieval Soldier: 15th Century Campaign Life Recreated in Colour Photographs, Embleton & Howe.

There’s a condensed similar volume as well;

Medieval Military Costume in Colour photographs, Gerry Embleton. This has illustrations to accompany the photos.

Both good resources for the palette and sculpting

these are wonderfull and I recognised John Howe and the Perry bros in some of the pics

[SJWi]

Pixelgeek, good luck with WoTR. Ir you ever want to research the Burgundian Wars I can also recommend "The Burgundian Wars" by Detlef Ollesch and Hagen Seehase.  Anpother book full of eye-candy photos or re-enactors  but good text on a topic not written about much in English.

[Atheling]

Pixelgeek, good luck with WoTR. Ir you ever want to research the Burgundian Wars I can also recommend "The Burgundian Wars" by Detlef Ollesch and Hagen Seehase.  Anpother book full of eye-candy photos or re-enactors  but good text on a topic not written about much in English.

Not a bad book, though not so many photographs as I would have liked. nothing like the quality in terms of information as the Embleton books (IMHO of course)

For the definitive guide to The Burgundian Wars, there are two resources that are invaluable. The first is the Lance and Longbow society's booklet (jam packed with the history of the wars and a whole gamut of invaluable heraldic info:

https://lanceandlongbow.com/shop/publication.php?ID=Pub-033
Available here:
https://lanceandlongbow.com/shop.php

And Paintermans's brilliant blog here:
http://je-lay-emprins.blogspot.com/