Reviews for Medieval Costume, Armour and Weapons

The average rating for Medieval Costume, Armour and Weapons based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-10-27 00:00:00 Jason Raynes This book is a treasure trove of information about the medieval times. Focusing on the Kingdom of Bohemia from 1350 t0 1450, it displays the dress, armor, arms, equipment, tack, and even the siege weapons based on authentic sources. While some readers may not be interested in Bohemia specifically, I think this focus makes the the content more interesting. Not only were the trends of the Hussite movement influential to Europe militarily as well as socially, as the authors point out, but it is also a rare subject in the English speaking world, making the information here valuable and scarce. In any case, the authors constantly compare and contrast the Bohemian trends with those of Germany and France, which gives the reader a wider perspective, if that is so desired. The book is split into two parts. First is some 70 pages of descriptive text, providing background information to the various garments, arms, and armor. While dense, this information greatly augments the value of the illustrations that follow. Speaking of these, the second part, the main body of the book, is the collection of illustrations. Most of these are black and white, but there are a fair number of colored drawings. The illustrations are relatively simple, but they are extremely accurate, and detailed when necessary. Take for instance the technical drawings of crossbows, trebuchets, catapults, and more. This book probably is of more appeal to the serious rather than the casual reader as I think the latter may find the text to be a bit of a slog, but I'm sure the illustrations will make for a pleasant time thumbing through the pages for every party.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-08-28 00:00:00 Aaron Carson About as ugly a collection as I've ever seen. Lark has produced far better volumes in this series, such as their 500 Rings volume.