CASTLE TO FORTRESS

Sub-titled 'Medieval to Post-Modern Fortifications in the Lands of the Former Roman Empire', this substantial book focusses on key examples in the High and Late Middle Ages in Italy, Wales, Iberia, England, France and the Low Countries. It traces the evolution of castles and fortified sites during the later medieval period from the 12th to the 15th centuries, a period in which fixed fortifications shaped military thinking in a turbulent world. The book begins with a brief history of the Iberian peninsula, the Aragonese/Catalan front, Córdoba and Islamic Iberia before going on to Paris fortified, the Hundred Years War (1337-1153), war in Brittany and Vincennes. The Hundred Years War resumes in the 15th century, Henry V is victorious and there is the French resurgence and conquests by cannon. There is a look at castles on the fringe, west of the Rhine, Italian Renaissance architects to military engineers, the Braye and boulevards, Italian wars in the age of Machiavelli, and how fortifications were of direct strategic and tactical importance wherever there was an attempt to take or hold territory. The factors that influenced their location, layout and construction are analysed and the way they were modified to meet the challenges of new tactics and weapons. 248pp, over 100 colour photos, maps and illustrations.