Publisher's description:
A Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour covers the entire period from the fifth to the fifteenth century, a thousand years which saw huge changes in military technology in most of the world's major civilisations. Arms and armour in Europe are the principal focus of the studies, but those of neighbouring civilisations, including the Byzantine Empire, eastern Europe, the steppes and the Islamic world, are also investigated, both for the impact upon them of European technological developments, and for their influence upon developments within western Europe.
Arms and armour in Europe developed dramatically during the thousand years from the fifth to the fifteenth century. During this broad sweep of time civilisations rose and fell and population movements swept from east to west, bringing in their wake advances and modifications absorbed and expanded by indigenous populations. So although the primary focus of this book is on the arms and armour of Europe, it also includes neighbouring cultures where these had a direct influence on developments and changes within Europe, from late Roman cavalry armour, Byzantium and the East to the influence of the Golden Horde. A truly impressive band of specialists cover issues ranging from the migrations to the first firearms, divided into three sections: From the Fall of Rome to the Eleventh Century, Emergence of A European Tradition in the High Middle Ages, and New Influences and New Challenges of the Late Middle Ages; throughout there is particular emphasis on the social and technological aspects of medieval military affairs. Contributors: ANDREA BABUIN, JON COULSTON, TIM DAWSON, CLAUDE GAIER, MICHAEL GORELIK, JOHN HALDON, MARCO MORIN, HELMUT NICKEL, DAVID NICOLLE, EWART OAKESHOTT, ANNE PEDERSON, SHIHAB AL-SARRAF, ALAN WILLIAMS.

From the front flap:
Arms and Armour in Europe developed dramatically during the thousand years from the fifth to the fifteenth century.
During this broad sweep of time civilisations rose and fell and population movements swept from east to west, bringing in their wake advances and modifications absorbed and expanded by indigenous populations.
Although the primary focus of this book is on the arms and armour of Europe, it also includes neighbouring cultures where these had a direct influence on developments and changes within Europe, from late Roman cavalry armour, Byzantium and the East to the influence of the Golden Horde.
A truly impressive band of specialists cover issues ranging from the migrations to the first firearms, divided into three sections:
From the Fall of Rome to the Eleventh Century
Emergence of a European Tradition in the High Middle Ages
New Influences and New Challenges of the Late Middle Ages
Throughout, there is particular emphasis on the social and technological aspects of medieval military affairs.

Contents:
page VII Contributors
IX Introduction
1 PART ONE. FROM LATE ROME TO MEDIEVAL EUROPE
3 I. Arms and Armour of the Late Roman Army, Jon Coulston  
25 II. Scandinavian Weaponry in the Tenth Century: The Example of Denmark, Anne Pedersen  
37 III. The Sword of the Comté de Dreux: Non-Christian Symbolism and the Medieval European Sword, Ewart Oakeshott
45 IV. The Metallurgy of Medieval Arms and Armour, Alan Williams  
55 V. The Earliest European Firearms, Marco Morin  
63 PART TWO. THE BYZANTINE WORLD AND THE WEST
65 VI. Some Aspects of Early Byzantine Arms and Armour, John F. Haldon  
81 VII. Suntagma Hoplon The Equipment of Regular Byzantine Troops, c.950 to c.1204
91 VIII. The Lost Shield of Baldwin of Flanders and Hainault, First Latin Emperor of Constantinople, Claude Gaier  
97 IX. Later Byzantine Arms and Armour, Andrea Babuin  
105 PARTE THREE. EUROPE AND WESTERN ASIA: CONTACT AND INFLUENCE
107 X. The Mutual Influence of Europe and Asia in the Field of Arms and Armour, Helmut Nickel  
127 XI. Arms and Armour in South-Eastern Europe in the Second Half of the First Millennium AD, Michael Gorelik  
149 XII. Close Combat Weapons in the Early Abbasid Period: Maces and Axes, Shihab al-Sarraf  
179 XIII. Jawshan, Cuirie and Coat-of-Plates: An Alternative Line of Development for Hardened Leather Armour, David Nicolle
223 Bibliography
249 Index
269 Illustrations