The English warrior - Stephen Pollington

This text is not a listing of the battles and campaigns from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other sources, but rather it seeks to get below the surface of Anglo-Saxon warriorhood to investigate the rites, social attitudes, mentality and mythology of the warfare of those times. The book is divided into three main sections which deal with warriorhood, weaponry and warfare respectively.;The first covers the warriors role in early English society, his rights and duties, the important rituals of feastin, gift-giving and duelling, and the local and national military organizations. The second part discusses the various weapons and items of military equipment which are known to have been used during the period, often with a concise summary of the generally accepted typology for the many kinds of military hardware. In the final part, the social and legal nature of warfare is presented as well as details of strategy and tactics, military buildings and earthworks, and the use of supply trains. The appendices offer translations of three principal Old English military poems - the battles of Maldon, Finnsburh and Brunanburh.