A book on the Normans and their castles

I was in a Barnes and Nobel bookstore recently and I found and purchased this book. 'The Normans Warrior Knights and their Castles' by Christopher Gravett and David Nicolle.

Besides tactics and politics, there are a number of photos of ruins, drawings that show archeological re-creations, and floor plans. The floor plans are donjons and entire castles, like the castles at Dover and Chateau-Gaillard. I haven't read the chapter on castle defense, but it looks interesting. I found two drawings in the book that show fields of fire for bows.

256 pages, including index and glossary. Lots of color photos and drawings. Cost is $18.95 in the US. ISBN: 978-1-84603-218-9 Printed by Osprey publishing.

I recommend this book.

Comments

  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Sounds nice. I ordered a copy...
  • I highly recommend Osprey books. They are as you say Jim, chock full of color illustrations, but one of the things I love are the maps included in many of the books. You can find an Osprey book on just about every period, region, and military type you can think of. They also cover very specific subjects to the generalized. Just looking on my shelf I see Osprey books on The Battle of Hastings (specific), to The Crusades (general). They are great for hobbyists. I have used them for everything from model making references to writing articles, to making historically correct armors. And now that you mention it Jim they would absolutely be a great inspiration for map making.
Sign In or Register to comment.