The technological relationship between the three main civilizations of the Western world - Byzantium, the Islamic world and the West - most particularly in the area of arms, armour and military technology is a field of research for which Dr Nicolle is noted. This volume deals principally with Western Europe and Byzantium, which for many centuries learnt from the Muslims in these matters; several articles also focus on military interactions in the Crusader states. The work draws upon both written and archaeological sources, but above all makes use of the depictions of war and military equipment in contemporary art to examine the interconnections across the medieval world.
Contents: Introduction; Medieval warfare: the unfriendly interface; Byzantium and Islamic arms and armour: evidence for mutual influence; No way overland? Evidence for Byzantine arms and armour on the 10th-11th century Taurus frontier; The impact of the European couched lance on Muslim military tradition; Armes et armures dans les Épopées des Croisades; Arms and armour illustrated in the art of the Latin east; Wounds, military surgery and the reality of crusading warfare: the evidence of Usamah's memoires; 'Ain al-Habis: the cave de Sueth; The Monreale capitals and the military equipment of later Norman Sicily; The Capella Palatina ceiling and the Muslim military inheritance of Norman Sicily; Arms, armour and horse harnesses in the Parma Baptistery painted ceiling; Index.
