Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, vol.1 Western Europe and the Crusader States; vol.2 Islam, Eastern Europe, and Asia

Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, vol. 1, Western Europe and the Crusader States; vol. 2, Islam, Eastern Europe, and Asia. By David Nicolle. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1999. ISBN 185367-369-2. Maps. Figures. Notes. Dictionary of terms. Bibliographies. Index. Pp. 636, 576. $49.95 each.

The arms and armor, and, to a lesser extent, siege equipment of Eurasia and North Africa, dating from 1050 to 1350, are the subject of these two immense volumes. The work is described as "a reshaped, reorganized and corrected version of [the author's] earlier Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350 [2 vols., (White Plains, N.Y: Kraus International, 1988)]." The first edition placed the text and a narrative listing of military objects in volume 1 and line drawings of military equipment, bibliographies, a dictionary of terms, and an index in volume 2. The reshaping and reorganizing of the material in the second edition amounts to an integration of text and illustrations, coupled with a division of subject matter: Western Europe and the crusader states are considered in volume 1; Islam, Eastern...