Medieval Military

AD934. King Athelstan of the English has been successful in uniting the many kingdoms of Britain against one enemy, the Viking raiders. But men who are kings don’t wish to be ruled. Constantin, King of the Scots, rebelled against the Imperium and was forcibly brought to bend the knee to Athelstan and England at Cirencester. His son Ildulb seeks bloody vengeance from Athelstan following the battle at Cait and the death of his son. Olaf Gothfrithson, king of the Dublin Norse, having asserted his power following his father's death has his sights set on reclaiming Jorvik.

Why did the medieval Church bless William of Normandy's invasion of Christian England in 1066 and authorise cultural genocide in Provence? How could a Christian army sack Christian Constantinople in 1204? Why did thousands of ordinary men and women, led by knights and ladies, kings and queens, embark on campaigns of fanatical conquest in the world of Islam? The word 'Crusade' came later, but the concept of a 'war for the faith' is an ancient one.

Lord Drysten, now widely considered to be the savior of Britannia despite his past transgressions, is being tested by a new enemy he never knew he would need to face. Kingship. The mantle of responsibility was never something he thought he would bear the weight of, and his enemies, past and present, see this as well.

On 25 October 1415, a trapped and vastly outnumbered force of exhausted and demoralized English archers and men-at-arms faced a colossal army of French knights on a desolate field in northern France. What took place that day became one of the greatest moments of the Hundred Years War and English history. Based on chronicles of the times, Agincourt 1415: Field of Blood is a dramatic minute-by-minute retelling of the battle as seen through the eyes of the commanders and soldiers on both sides.

Although many have heard of the Crusades and some of the more famous orders like the Templars, few know about the Livonian Crusade or the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. This organization was one of many Catholic military orders that sprung up during the Middle Ages in response to the papacy’s call for holy war, and the Livonian Crusade is the term used to group together dozens of military actions undertaken by German knights in Eastern Europe. The order was also significant for consolidating the power of the Holy Roman Empire in Eastern Europe.

When Commander Charlie Cass, the bastard son of the Duke de Maris, returns from five years in a squalid Syndonese POW camp, he finds that little has changed in the Realm. As always, the King and the nine Dukes are conspiring against each other, but now some of them are plotting with Charlie's old enemy. And as interstellar war looms, they certainly don't need Charlie Cass messing up their delicate plans. Unfortunately for them, that's what he's best at.

As the specter of Norse conquest looms over Saxon England, a young woman becomes a pawn in a ruthless game of ambition and deceit. Her capture thrusts her into a tangled web of lies where allies vanish, truths twist, and loyalty can cost a life. In the heart of this storm, she searches for clarity and clings to the memory of a prince, her enemy, and the only one who made her feel seen. But as the drums of war grow louder, every choice she makes could tip the balance between salvation and ruin.

Si hubo un comienzo en la brecha entre Oriente y Occidente, fue este. En este audio libro, Juan Ignacio Cuesta nos propone una completísima guía para entender el fenómeno de las Cruzadas. La novedad de la obra es que introduce la visión de los musulmanes, invadidos y tratados con crueldad por los cruzados que, amparados en la defensa de la fe, escondían velados intereses económicos.

The Byzantine Empire was the heir to two great cultures that cradled and nurtured European civilization: Greece and Rome. Byzantium was a strong, organized, highly effective, and adaptable civilization for most of its long history. It owed its success in no small part to its military, which, in contrast to the feudal armies of Western Europe and the tribally based forces of the Middle East, operated with a high level of discipline, strategic prowess, efficiency, and organization. The most famous of the foreign units was without question the Varangian Guard.

Si hubo un comienzo en la brecha entre Oriente y Occidente, fue este. En este audio libro, Juan Ignacio Cuesta nos propone una completísima guía para entender el fenómeno de las Cruzadas. La novedad de la obra es que introduce la visión de los musulmanes, invadidos y tratados con crueldad por los cruzados que, amparados en la defensa de la fe, escondían velados intereses económicos.

Thomas of Hookton is a seasoned veteran of King Edward's army and a natural leader in what will be remembered as the Hundred Years' War. Accompanied by a small but able band of soldiers, Thomas is sent to Gascony to capture the castle of Astarac. But he has ulterior motives for accepting the charge: Gascony is the home of the black knight, Guy de Vexille, who brutally slaughtered his father. It is also reputed to be the place where the Grail was last seen.

Millions love the hit television show Vikings - but how many fans know that its main character, Ragnar, is based on an actual Viking king whose ambitious and terrifying exploits have been legend since the ninth century? The Legend of Ragnar Lothbrok presents fascinating new translations of ninth, 12th, and 13th-century writings - including sagas, poems, and historical accounts - that describe, in vivid detail, the adventures of Ragnar, his sons, and his formidable wives.

AD 1066. Cerdic is a prisoner of war. Captured after the Battle of Hastings, his fate is in the hands of the victorious Norman count Cynric, who is in no mood to feed and look after worthless Englishmen as the army moves inland. His survival depends on his ability to convince them of his value. Cerdic’s sole bargaining chip is his lordship of Wulfbury, a small stronghold in Northumberia, following the deaths of his father, its earl and elder brother in the invasions. If he can entice them with the lure of this fiefdom, he may yet survive.

AD 1041. After successfully avenging the death of his father, Halfdan and the crew of the Sea Wolf seek adventure in strange new lands, far from their Scandinavian home. They join the fleet of Harald Hardrada, the legendary Viking commander, sailing back to Constantinople from the battlefields of Georgia. There they join the Varangians, the personal bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperors populated almost exclusively by Viking warriors. But Constantinople has changed during Hardrada's long absence.

The Hospitallers started out as caretakers of the Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem, but they soon emerged from their hospices and adopted a new military role that shaped the history of medieval Europe forever. This audiobook seeks to explore the curious rise of the Hospitallers from their humble origins to one of the most powerful institutions in medieval Europe.

Victory is fleeting, and peace is an illusion. As war drums echo across the land, a king who once triumphed over his enemies faces a treacherous new threat. A sea invasion, born of betrayal, erupts into a brutal clash upon frigid tides. Viking forces press in as the ruler rallies what remains of his fractured realm. Amid the chaos, one woman’s desperate quest for peace spirals beyond her grasp, dragging countless souls toward ruin. When vengeance fuels the enemy and the gods demand blood, only the brave will stand when the tide recedes.

In the wake of a hard-won triumph, England’s peace hangs by a thread. A wronged Norseman, denied his rightful place, rallies a legion of forsaken warriors. His eyes burn with the fury of the betrayed, and his ambition threatens to set the kingdom ablaze. From Kent’s windswept shores to Northumbria’s shadowed wilds, one ruler girds for war, his future staked on fragile alliances and fading hope. As the armies gather on the silent plains of Thetford, fate prepares its blade, and history holds its breath.

Badly disfigured Lady Isobel Dalceann has fought fiercely to defend her keep, with little thought for her safety. Why, then, has she let a stranger within her walls? Whilst he threatens danger, his battered body marked by war mirrors her own scars and tempts her to put her faith in him. Marc de Courtenay is a mercenary and a loner, although he is drawn to damaged, beautiful Isobel. But in taking him into her highly defended buttressed walls she has unwittingly given him secrets that will enable him to betray her.

Exploring the successful Norman invasion of England in 1066, this concise and listenable book focuses especially on the often dramatic and enduring changes wrought by William the Conqueror and his followers. Hugh M. Thomas considers the conquest's wide-ranging impact by taking a fresh look at such traditional themes as the influence of battles and great men on history and by assessing how far the shift in ruling dynasty and noble elites affected broader aspects of English history.

The Lion of Mistra is the third in this epic historical series, shaped by the quest for a powerful relic which could save the endangered Byzantine Empire. It's a different world. Bayezid, leader of the Ottomans, is dead; his heirs, Suleyman and Mehmed, are at war with each other; and the dread Tamerlane, who was on the brink of invading China, is also dead. Luke is now pushed into the role of protector of Mistra.