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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.1
EAN num: 9780813391533
ISBN number: 0813391539
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 360
Printing Date: May 25, 2004
Publishing house: Basic Books
Release Date: May 25, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 519662
Studio: Basic Books
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Product Description:
Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels examines the motives and terrors of war during the Middle Ages, the rise and fall of ethnic and religious groups, and the actions of good and evil military leaders during this violent and colorful period. In this sweeping chronicle, historical figures and major campaigns such as Charlemagne, the Magyars, and the Crusades are presented not as icons but as a living part of their times, with all their achievements and human failures. Santosuosso asserts that war, for most of the Middle Ages, was carried out for God, personal gain, and honor. Both Christians and Muslims often explained their acts of violence in war as the will of God. Besides the religious motivation, soldiers, if upper class, believed that acts of bravery were a necessary aspect of gaining honor in society. Finally, war constituted a way to make material gains in a period of chronic underemployment and low prosperity. Particular emphasis is given to massive transitions from one period to the subsequent in the medieval era. The author explains how these changes reflected an environment where charismatic leaders, the Church, and the aristocracy played leading roles as 'managers' of the art and practice of war and normally as main actors on the battlefield.
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Rated by buyers -
Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Wasy of Medieval Warfare is an excellent novel about the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the chaos that it created. From the Germanic trips surging across the Rhine to the Muslim Armies that stormed out of Arabia to conquer the entire Middle East, this novel is a must for anybody who has a thirst for knowldge about what happened when Rome fell.
Rated by buyers 
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This is the kind of book that really turns my crank... obscure barbarian tribes, weapon use and tactics, tales of lost dynasties, imperial decline and the advent of new tribes, races and their own eventual conquest and submission.
The book has all of that.. unfortunately it suffers from an incomplete development of almost all of its major theses. Its review of tactics is most notable and I was impressed with the detial of the political organisation, and military mobilisation that Santosousso uses, but was left wondering how he defined his major thematic chapters.
The book starts at the end of the latter Roman Empire and the clashes between Rome and the Goths, then those between the Goths and Longobards, Byzantines and other barbarian tribes. These in turn switch to those of the Franks, the ascendency of the Muslim tribes and then the advent of the Medieval Christian warriors and their eventual demise with the nascent advent of citizen armies. All of this is great, but the narrative is marred by
1) lack of continuity: whole chuncks of history are leaped and interesting tactics and peoples totally ignored. ie. mongols are totally left out which is odd considering that there is a whole chapter dedicated to those perrenial losers of history, the Magyars.
2) The author throws in the occassional bloody story, but really once he gets our blood up with anecdotal elegance he switches to military organisation descriptions. These are fine but one gets the feeling that we would rather be reading some tales of blood and glory.
3) The description of miliary tactics and organisation, though good, omits a fundemental question: how were some of the tribes able to conquer others, and why did others decline?
I did like the grand historical sweep of the book and it did hold my interest most of the time. I guess the real problem I had with this book is that I was just expecting much more than Santosousso offerred me... I felt slightly famished after reading it... like eating an appetiser and then being told it was really the main course...
Rated by buyers -
Santosuo has given us a wonderfully researched history of medieval warfare. The book covers from the Barbarian tribes of the 6th century to the Mongol and Turk empires of the 15th century. Most of the major military engagements are covered along with the notable leaders of the respective periods. I found the general discussions of the political and military situations very interesting. But I got bogged down in the details concerning the make up of various armies. This work is a highly detailed account of tactics, formations and arms and equipment. Anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of medieval warfare will enjoy this book.
Rated by buyers 
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In Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels: The Ways Of Medieval Warfare, historian Antonio Santosuosso (Professor Emeritus of History, University of Western Ontario, Canada) draws upon his many years of research and expertise to provide readers with an inherently fascinating survey of medieval warfare ranging from the fifth through the fifteenth century. More than just a catalog of conflicts, Professor Santosuosso examines the changes and the motivations of these conflicts with respect to their political, cultural, and social contexts. Of special interest is the understanding of medieval warfare as a means of carrying out religious imperatives, securing wealth, and enhancing personal reputations. This wonderfully written history expands beyond Europe to careful consider Muslim warfare from a Muslim perspective before the advent of the Crusades. Of seminal value to academia, Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels is also very highly recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in Medieval History.
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