John D. Hosler & Steven Isaac 
Military Cultures and Martial Enterprises in the Middle Ages 
Essays in Honour of Richard P. Abels

Essays on aspects of medieval military history, encompassing the most recent critical approaches.


The essays in this volume honour the career and achievements of Richard Abels, the distinguished historian of medieval military history; in particular, they aim to reflect how the ‘cultural turn’ in the field has led to exciting new developments in scholarship.

Ranging from the late eighth century to the fifteenth, from northern England to the Levant, the chapters analyze how medieval kings and commanders practiced a genuine military science, how themeanings of victory and defeat were constructed by chroniclers and whole societies, how wars were remembered and propagandized, and how religion and war mixed.


JOHN D. HOSLER is associate professor of military history at the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth; STEVEN ISAAC is the Simpson Professor of Medieval History, Longwood University.


Contributors: Bernard S. Bachrach, David S. Bachrach, David Crouch, Kelly De Vries, John France, John B. Gillingham, Carroll Gillmor, John D. Hosler, Steven Isaac, Richard W. Kaeuper, Ryan Lavelle, Stephen R. Morillo, Jennifer Paxton, Clifford J. Rogers

Table of Content

Introduction and Appreciation – Steven Isaac

Charlemagne’s Invasion of Spain in 778: The Anatomy of a Strategic Failure and its Impact – Bernard S Bachrach

Military Intelligence and Strategic Planning Under the Ottonian Kings of Germany, 919-1024 – David S. Bachrach

Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens: Defeated Warriors, Masculinity, and Mistaken Identity in Western Europe, 679-1141 – Ryan Lavelle

Count Baldwin V of Flanders: Broker of Eleventh-Century Power – Kelly De Vries

Kings and Fortuna: the Meanings of Brémule – Stephen R Morillo

Fighting the Last War: Remembering the Norman Conquest during the Anarchy – Jennifer Paxton

Gilbert of Mons’ Chronicle of Hainaut as a Source for Military History in the 12th Century – John France

At Home with Roger of Howden – David Crouch

Embedded Reporters? Ambroise, Richard de Templo, and Roger of Howden on the Third Crusade – John D. Hosler

The Treatment of Male and Female Prisoners of War during the Third Crusade – John B Gillingham

Exempla, Crusade, and Chivalry – Richard W Kaeuper

Frontier Warfare in the St. Omer Chronicle – Clifford J. Rogers

Some Observations on the Training of Medieval Warhorses – Carroll Gillmor

Richard P. Abels’
Curriculum vitae

About the author

STEVEN ISAAC is the Simpson Professor of Medieval History, Longwood University.