Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics
Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2005. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.
FROM THE CATAPULT TO THE TREBUCHET — THE MACHINERY OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL WARFARE.
An illustrated history of siege weapons and the methods used to attack and defend fortified cities, castles, and strongholds from antiquity through the Middle Ages.
Konstantin Nossov examines the development and operation of battering rams, siege towers, catapults, ballistae, trebuchets, and other military machines, drawing upon historical accounts, archaeological evidence, and surviving illustrations.
The book combines technical explanations with diagrams, historical images, and color reconstructions by Vladimir Golubev. Particular attention is given to the construction and mechanical principles of throwing engines, including the distinction between torsion-powered weapons and counterweight machines.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: ILLUSTRATED MILITARY HISTORY — TECHNICAL DIAGRAMS AND COLOR PLATES.
+++ Publisher's cloth hardcover in pictorial dust jacket.
+++ Quarto, approximately 9.25 inches tall; 306 pages.
+++ Illustrated throughout with black-and-white drawings, historical reproductions, mechanical diagrams, and a section of color plates by Vladimir Golubev.
+++ The illustrations include reconstructions of siege engines, diagrams of their operating mechanisms, comparative classifications of throwing machines, and depictions drawn from historical manuscripts.
+++ Includes appendixes, glossary, endnotes, bibliography, and index.
CONDITION: VERY GOOD IN A VERY GOOD DUST JACKET.
Binding tight and square. Text clean, with light, even age-toning.
Moderate shelf-handling wear, including rubbing to the cloth along the upper edge.
Pictorial dust jacket shows handling and surface wear but remains presentable.
HISTORICAL AND MILITARY-TECHNOLOGY SIGNIFICANCE: THE ENGINEERING OF SIEGE WARFARE.
Siege warfare required increasingly specialized machinery as fortified settlements and defensive architecture developed. Ancient engineers employed torsion-powered artillery, battering rams, and mobile towers, while medieval armies adapted earlier technologies and developed powerful counterweight trebuchets. Nossov approaches these weapons as mechanical systems as well as instruments of warfare, examining their construction, operation, and tactical employment.
RECONSTRUCTING HISTORICAL MILITARY MACHINES.
The technical drawings and color illustrations distinguish the book from general surveys of medieval warfare. Reconstructions based on surviving manuscript images and historical descriptions help explain machines for which few physical examples survive.
GENRES: Military History, Ancient History, Medieval History, Military Technology, Illustrated Reference Books, Historical Engineering, Warfare Studies.
SUBJECTS: Konstantin Nossov, Vladimir Golubev, Siege Warfare, Siege Engines, Catapults, Trebuchets, Ballistae, Battering Rams, Siege Towers, Ancient Artillery, Medieval Fortifications, Military Engineering, Ancient Rome, Medieval Warfare, Historical Weaponry.
Item #22577
ISBN: 1592287107
Price: $24.00