Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Osprey Publishing (1984), Paperback, 48 pages
Description
Most historians agree that the Carolingian Age, from the 8th to the 10th Century AD, represented one of the most important turning points in European history. It can be said with some certainty that early Carolingian military success was built on good leadership, adequate administration, and troops whose morale was almost consistently superb. It is also clear that the Carolingian army managed to adapt itself to face many and differing foes. This absorbing text by David Nicolle exploresthe organization and history of the Carolingian Empire during the age of one of history's most romanticised and heroic figures - Charlemagne.
User reviews
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
This is in many ways a book that has to cover a long stretch of time, and a big area. Unfortunately, there's a lack of detailed sources, except for organization, and that very heavy on legislation, not practice, and a lack of surviving artifacts. A good deal of the artifacts were probably just
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reused in items we see in volumes dealing in later periods on their second or third use. Given the limitations, several points can be made 1) Carolingian cavalry was not equipped with a stirrup, that came in with the Ottonian reaction to the Viking raids. 2) The Carolingian army was equipped for expansion, and the Carolingian organization and equipment was heavily restructured for better use and more effective defence in the period 950 to 1000 CE. there are good plates, mostly describing the foreign foes of Charlemagne, and a very nice drawing of a fortification at Werla, in Germany. Show Less
Language
Physical description
48 p.; 7.52 x 0.16 inches
ISBN
085045042X / 9780850450422