Table Of Contenttitle: The Medieval City Under Siege
author: Corfis, Ivy A.
publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd.
isbn10 | asin: 0851157564
print isbn13: 9780851157566
ebook isbn13: 9780585329383
language: English
Military history, Medieval, Cities and
subject towns, Medieval--Europe, Europe--History,
Military.
publication date: 1999
lcc: D128.M43 1995eb
ddc: 949.12/02
Military history, Medieval, Cities and
subject: towns, Medieval--Europe, Europe--History,
Military.
Page iii
The Medieval City under Siege
Edited by
Ivy A. Corfis and Michael Wolfe
Page iv
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© Contributors 1995
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First published 1995
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
Reprinted in paperback 1999
ISBN 0 85115 561 8 hardback
ISBN 0 85115 756 4 paperback
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604-4126, USA
website: http://www.boydell.co.uk
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-19121
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Page v
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction
New Perspectives on Medieval Siege Warfare: An 3
Introduction
Michael Wolfe
Siege Warfare and Cities
Life on the Cutting Edge: The Besieged Town on the 17
Luso-Hispanic Frontier in the Twelfth Century
James F. Powers
The Medieval German City under Siege 35
Michael Toch
Siege Warfare and the Bonnes Villes of France during the 49
Hundred Years War
Michael Wolfe
Siege Technologies and Urban Fortifications
Town Defences in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem 69
Denys Pringle
Byzantine Siege Warfare in Theory and Practice 123
Eric McGeer
Artillery in Late Antiquity: Prelude to the Middle Ages 131
Paul E. Chevedden
Siege as Metaphor and Literary Event
Siege Warfare in Medieval Hispanic Epic and Romance 177
Michael Harney
The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Love in the Roman 191
de la Rose
Heather Arden
Chivalry under Siege in Ricardian Romance 207
Winthrop Wetherbee
Page vi
Siege Warfare in Transition
The Impact of Gunpowder Weaponry on Siege Warfare in 227
the Hundred Years War
Kelly DeVries
Siegecraft in Late Fifteenth-Century Italy 245
Michael Mallett
The Changing Face of Siege Warfare: Technology and 257
Tactics in Transition
Bert S. Hall
Onomastic Index 277
Page vii
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Luso-Hispanic Frontier in the Twelfth Century
James F. Powers
Map Iberia c. 1250. 18
The Medieval German City under Siege
Michael Toch
Map Holy Roman Empire c. 1300. 36
Siege Warfare and the Bonnes Villes of France
Michael Wolfe
Map France c. 1249. 50
Town Defences in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
Denys Pringle
Fig. 1 Map of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 105
Showing the Location of Urban Settlements and the
Nature of Their Defences.
Fig. 2 Jerusalem: Plan of the Town Walls in the Twelfth 106
and Thirteenth Centuries.
Fig. 3 Acre: Map of the City by Pietro Vesconte c. 107
1320.
Fig. 4 Ascalon: Plan of the Byzantine, Early Islamic 108
and Crusader City Walls.
Fig. 5 Tyre: Plan of the Site of the Crusader City in the 109
1930s.
Fig. 6 Beirut: Plan of the Demolished Turkish Town 110
Walls.
Fig. 7 Sidon: Plan of the Turkish Town Walls (1864), 111
Showing the Position of the Crusader Harbour and
Castles.
Fig. 8 Caesarea: Plan of the Crusader city. 112
Fig. 9 'Atlit: Plan of the Crusader Castle and Town 113
Walls.
Fig. 10 Jaffa: Sketch Plan of the Crusader Town Walls. 114
Fig. 11 Arsuf: Plan of the Crusader Castle and Town 115
Walls.
Pl. 1 Ascalon: Tower C, One of Those Inserted into the 116
Line of the Pre-existing Town Wall by Richard I in
1192.
Pl. 2 Ascalon: Tower H, Built by Richard I in 1192. 116
Pl. 3 Ascalon: Tower B, Built by Richard I in 1192. 117
Pl. 4 Ascalon: The Talus of the N Wall of the Castle 117
Attributed to Richard of Cornwall (124041).
Pl. 5 Caesarea: N Wall of the Town, Showing the N 118
Gate-tower.
Pl. 6 Caesarea: N Gate-tower, Showing the Outer Gate 118
and the Inner Gate.
Pl. 7 Caesarea: N Gate-tower, Detail of the Outer Gate 119
Showing the Slots for Its Portcullis and Draw-bar.
Description:Warfare in Europe in the middle ages underwent a marked change of emphasis as urban life expanded. The concentration of wealth represented by a city was a valuable objective, and the static nature of a siege was infinitely preferable to the uncertainties of campaign. As the incidence of sieges incre
