Description

Medieval knights are a very familiar image in the popular imagination but what did they wear with and beneath their shining armour? Medieval Military Clothing 1320-1360 brings together documents, art, artefacts, and experience to answer this question. Where most treatments of the subject are superficial or based on artwork and the same few famous texts, Dr Sean Manning draws also on documents and lesser-known texts in a variety of languages. Most of this information has never been translated into English, and much of the rest was previously scattered across long- out-of-print books. The author traces developments across the period, which changed with the continuous evolution of armour and military need but also with the whims of fashion. Not only the noble knights but other men-at-arms and common soldiers are discussed in an accessible and not overly jargonistic manner, with common misconceptions addressed along the way. This thoroughly researched text is beautifully illustrated with numerous line drawings and colour photographs, mainly of primary sources such as medieval manuscripts, paintings and tomb effigies.