Best history book on swords, axes, maces etc ?

[Greggy C]

I tried googling and searching Amazon but I know YOU have already figured this out...

One of things I loved about Tunnels and Trolls was reading all the different names of the weapons and seeing the attached attached damage to them (which gives you a sense of how devastating it was). Their list seemed to come from European history, so I am looking for a book that has the history, description, picture of each weapon but hopefully also some kind of commentary on why it was better than (its predecessor).

 

[Greggy C]

While I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I did find this book what is a pretty cool list of all medieval weapons with some basic info.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I haven't gotten to it yet, but a friend of mine recommended this:

A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up: O'Bryan, John, Orkin, Barry: 9781452110547: Amazon.com: Books

A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up [O'Bryan, John, Orkin, Barry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up

www.amazon.com

 

[Greggy C]

I haven't gotten to it yet, but a friend of mine recommended this:

A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up: O'Bryan, John, Orkin, Barry: 9781452110547: Amazon.com: Books

A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up [O'Bryan, John, Orkin, Barry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up

www.amazon.com

Its a little silly, but has useful info laid out nicely, thanks!

 

[Voadam]

I remember as a grade school kid our school library had a book that was called something like Encyclopedia of Weapons that went from stone age hunting tools through the ages describing stuff like the development of chariot warfare and roman pilums and such.

I checked that one out more than once.

 

[J.Quondam]

I remember as a grade school kid our school library had a book that was called something like Encyclopedia of Weapons that went from stone age hunting tools through the ages describing stuff like the development of chariot warfare and roman pilums and such.

I checked that one out more than once.

This one?

Weapons: An International Encyclopedia... book by The Diagram Group

Someone (don't recall who?) recommended that one in a different thread in the last few days.

 

[Fenris-77]

Morningstars for Dummies. Not to be confused with The Idiots Guide to Flails. I also recommend Simple Hacks for More Effective Glaive-Guisarmery.

 

[Greggy C]

Morningstars for Dummies. Not to be confused with The Idiots Guide to Flails. I also recommend Simple Hacks for Mort Effective Glaive-Guisarmery.

you got me, I googled.

 

[SJB]

​

The classic work on swords is Ewart Oakeshott, The Sword in the Age of Chivalry (Boydell, new edition, 1994, orig. 1964).

John Waldman, Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons between 1200 and 1650 is probably the best bet for primary weapons (Brill, 2005).

It is worth checking out the YouTube channel Schola Gladiatoria. The host, Matt Easton, regularly posts videos engaging in the kind of analysis that you seek.

 

[Jd Smith1]

John Clements has several good books on personal combat, with Medieval Swordsmanship and Renaissance Swordsmanship being two of his better works.

For armor and war in general, Bengt Thordeman's Armor from the Battle of Wisby, now back in print (it was written shortly before WW1) cannot be outdone, particularly in is forensic examination of wounds from such weapons, besides being a fascinating read all by itself.

Fiore dei Liberi’s Flos Dellatorum and Fillipo Vadi’s Ars Gladiatoria have been translated and put into a modern written format by a college in Canada, and there is no better work on the spear.

Wojciech Zablocki's work on the saber has been translated and re-formatted lately, and while it is from the 17th century, it covered the use of the curved saber better than anyone.