KEYNOTE ? Detailed, illustrated history of the knights of the Middle Ages The Middle Ages, with its crude reality and mystery, often enveloped in an air of religious and occasionally even mythical or fantastic mysticism, has always been one of the preferred themes of historians and history lovers in general. Since the end of the Roman Empire, with its manipulative tactics in which the infantry was the deciding factor in battles, the cavalry became the main player on the battlefields all over Europe, replacing other forms of weaponry and becoming important though not yet decisive factors in battle. It could be said that an army with a good cavalry had the advantage in battle. With the appearance of feudalism, in many cases, the knights became real warlords, with the corresponding legal and military obligations towards the lords they served, carrying out acts of war that would soon open up the doors of history to them, through the bards who narrated their achievements, lifting them up to the status of legendary figures, full of elements fruit of the imagination of narrators of the era, some of which have survived to our times. But these men's reality was far removed from this fantasy and numerous studies have been published on the topic revealing how their way of life and social condition determined their behavior during war and peace, their weaponry, status, etc. This book takes an extensive look at these and many other topics, distinguishing well between the scenes in which the most important battles of the Middle Ages took place and their players, because although they are enveloped in the same epoch, the reality was very different for, say a Teutonic knight than for a Spanish knight and so on. Furthermore, the book deals with all themes related to these historical characters, such as tournaments, equipment and saddle trappings, weaponry, different types of combat, siege machines and a long list of other items, until the first firearms appeared marking the end of the era. ILLUSTRATIONS Colour throughout *
