Table of Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements viii
Chapter 1 Iberia: Crusading for Conquest 1
Brief History of Iberia 1
The León/Castile Front 3
Fortifications of Medieval Iberia 8
Aledo and the Forgotten Fortresses 15
The Aragonese/Catalan Front 18
The Tide Turns 20
Córdoba and Islamic Iberia 28
The Last Islamic Bastion 31
Ávila and other Spanish Classics 41
Chapter 2 The End of the Age of Castles, Part I 48
Fourteenth-Century Evolution 48
Paris Fortified 50
The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) 59
Fortifications and the Hundred Years War 62
War in Brittany: Succession and Sieges 63
Vincennes 75
Phase Two of the War: 1369 to 1396 76
Chapter 3 The End of the Age of Castles, Part II 81
The French Civil War 81
The Hundred Years War Resumes: The Fifteenth Century 85
Population: Big vs. Small 90
Henry V Victorious and the French Resurgence 95
Conquest by Cannon 103
From Medieval to Renaissance Warfare 114
Chapter 4 The Fringes 116
Border Lands 117
Castles of the Fringe West of the Rhine 117
Crossroads 139
Intimidate, Protect, or Impress? 140
Armies and Warfare in the Late Middle Ages and After 152
Chapter 5 The Renaissance 155
End of an Era 155
Italy Transitions into the Renaissance 156
Italian Renaissance Architects and Military Engineers 163
Braye, Fausse-braye and Boulevards 171
Italian Wars in the Age of Machiavelli 173
New Walls for a New Era 179
Chapter 6 Closing an Era 192
War Italian Style 192
The Turning Point 195
Evolving Fortifications 198
Bridges and Religious Structures 203
Conclusion 207
Appendix I Weapons of Siege Warfare 210
Appendix II Vitruvius' Comments on Towers 216
Notes 217
Glossary 231
Bibliography 240
Index 246
