Medieval Siege and Siegecraft

Medieval Siege and Siegecraft
By Geoffrey Hindley 
Published in May 2009
240 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 4/5

Medieval Siege and Siegecraft is an excellent concise survey history of the capture of cities and castles in the Middle Ages. Cities have always been the centers of economic activity. Their control is a key matter of political survival for most states. Consequently, siege warfare is by far the most important part of medieval warfare.

Despite this importance, siege warfare isn’t frequently depicted in modern popular media. Movies and games don’t depict the toes falling off, the starvation, gangrene etc… due to gore. Nor do they depict the mundane day to day transportation tasks that are vital for success in medieval siege warfare. The complicated logistics of medieval siege warfare would lead to the rise of many modern supply chain practices.

This book is concise, clearly written, and to the point. There are no unnecessary details or irrelevant historical narratives.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about warfare in the middle ages; but not to a general audience.

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