Vegetius' late Roman text became a well-known and highly respected 'classic' in the Middle Ages, transformed by its readers into the authority on the waging of war. Christopher Allmand analyses the ...medieval afterlife of the De Re Militari, tracing the growing interest in the text from the Carolingian world to the late Middle Ages, suggesting how the written word may have influenced the development of military practice in that period. While emphasising that success depended on a commander's ability to outwit the enemy with a carefully selected, well-trained and disciplined army, the De Re Militari inspired other unexpected developments, such as that of the 'national' army, and helped create a context in which the role of the soldier assumed greater social and political importance. Allmand explores the significance of the text and the changes it brought for those who accepted the implications of its central messages.
In recent years, the De Re Militari of the Roman writer Vegetius, regarded in the Middle Ages as the authority on war, has increasingly drawn the attention of historians. Study of an important ...source, the marginalia on the 220 or so surviving medieval manuscripts reflecting the reactions of readers to particular passages in the text, can tell us much as to how it was read and responded to by readers in the Middle Ages, not least by Petrarch, whose annotated copy has survived to this day. Much interest has been shown in the medieval translations of the work by modern philological and textual scholars, while the historical significance of these translations has not been ignored. Through the writings of persons such as John of Salisbury, Alfonso the Wise, Giles of Rome, and Christine de Pisan, Vegetius’ ideas regarding the place and purpose of the army, the exercise of legitimate force, and the role of the soldier in achieving a peaceful society, were advanced. The practical application of what is termed Vegetian influence upon the waging of war is often debatable, and scholars are divided on issues relating to it. The military life, with the concept of it as a career, was slowly coming to be seen as one of service to society, an idea which underpinned the traditional view of chivalry. If historians do not always agree what constituted a Vegetian ‘legacy’, its part in stimulating interest in things classical, and in the military ideas and practices of the Roman world in particular, can scarcely be doubted.
In recent years, the De Re Militari of the Roman writer Vegetius, regarded in the Middle Ages as the authority on war, has increasingly drawn the attention of historians. Study of an important ...source, the marginalia on the 220 or so surviving medieval manuscripts reflecting the reactions of readers to particular passages in the text, can tell us much as to how it was read and responded to by readers in the Middle Ages, not least by Petrarch, whose annotated copy has survived to this day. Much interest has been shown in the medieval translations of the work by modern philological and textual scholars, while the historical significance of these translations has not been ignored. Through the writings of persons such as John of Salisbury, Alfonso the Wise, Giles of Rome, and Christine de Pisan, Vegetius' ideas regarding the place and purpose of the army, the exercise of legitimate force, and the role of the soldier in achieving a peaceful society, were advanced. The practical application of what is termed Vegetian influence upon the waging of war is often debatable, and scholars are divided on issues relating to it. The military life, with the concept of it as a career, was slowly coming to be seen as one of service to society, an idea which underpinned the traditional view of chivalry. If historians do not always agree what constituted a Vegetian 'legacy', its part in stimulating interest in things classical, and in the military ideas and practices of the Roman world in particular, can scarcely be doubted. (Author abstract)
The essays in this volume portray the public life of late medieval France as that country established its position as a leader of western European society in the early modern world. A central theme ...is the contribution made by contemporary writers, chroniclers and commentators, such as Jean Froissart, William Worcester and Philippe de Commynes, to our understanding of the past. Who were they? What picture of their times did they present? Were their works intended to influence their contemporaries and what success did they enjoy? Other contributions deal with the exercise of political power, the relationship between the court and those in authority in far-flung reaches of the kingdom, and the role and status of the death penalty as deterrent, punishment and means of achieving justice.
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