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Medieval warlords
The dramatic careers of seven medieval warlords ar revealed in this book. It describes the violent reality of medieval warfare. The intrigue and the battles. The absolute power and absolute destruction.
The seven warlords are: Aetius, conqueror of Attila the Hun; Gaiseric, Barbarian pirate of the Mediterranean; An Lu-shan, rebel warlord of China; Owen of Wales, mysterious mercenary of the Hundred Years War; Bertrand du Guesclin, famed warlord of France; Jan Zizka, blind leader of the Hussites; Vlad Dracula, the true prince of Wallachia and crusader against the Turks.
The stories of several of these warlords have never before been told in the English language. From medieval chronicles, Tim Newark reconstructs their struggle to power, their survival in court politics, and their victories on the battlefield. Angus McBride recreates the authentic appearance of the warlords and their warriors.
The seven warlords are: Aetius, conqueror of Attila the Hun; Gaiseric, Barbarian pirate of the Mediterranean; An Lu-shan, rebel warlord of China; Owen of Wales, mysterious mercenary of the Hundred Years War; Bertrand du Guesclin, famed warlord of France; Jan Zizka, blind leader of the Hussites; Vlad Dracula, the true prince of Wallachia and crusader against the Turks.
The stories of several of these warlords have never before been told in the English language. From medieval chronicles, Tim Newark reconstructs their struggle to power, their survival in court politics, and their victories on the battlefield. Angus McBride recreates the authentic appearance of the warlords and their warriors.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 22, 2026
Nice short bios on these historical figures. good history book. Recommended
January 12, 2013
Begins with Flavius Aetius (c. 390-454) and proceeds through Vlad Dracul (c. 1430-1476). Wonderful color illustrations by Angus McBride
December 27, 2019
With his Barbarians and Celtic Warriors, Tim Newark was tethered to Roman history- telling tales of the opposition to the Empire- and their eventual victory and the successor states. In this book, Medieval Warlords, he's totally unleashed- telling the stories of seven "Guys with Swords" in the era of knights, ladies, -and apparently massacre, rapine and plunder. The seven are Aetius, Gaiseric, An Lu-Shan, Owen of Wales, Bertrand Du Guesclin, Jan Zizka, and of course, Vlad Dracula. The reader gets a smorgasbord of warfare and daring do, from about 400-1450 AD- but the star as with all these books is the Colour plate section by the Late GREAT Angus McBride who makes the stories come alive- all the while making any figure painter au fait with the look of the period.
The story is pretty common- a illegitimate heir/lower level gentry-something to put a chip on the shoulder. A penchant for hunting, warfare , killing and intrigue- a flair for battles- both skirmishing and full blown. Few qualms about massacre, rape, plunder, or religion. A constant need to maintain their status with more warfare. One can not help but notice that it is the peasants , serfs and townspeople of Europe and Asia who seem to get the bad end of the stick- no matter who wins the crown, or ejects the invaders. And then there is the bitter end- since Old Men are not great Warriors- it usually comes pretty quick. On the other hand as one reads one is also learning how Ancient warfare became Medieval as the Armour got better - and the weapons to defeat it more efficient too. And then Jan Zizka brings the War-Wagon with guns to the party- Hussite/Taborite warfare- and we realise the Renaissance has begun. It's compelling and informative all the way through.
If you read the name Vlad Dracula- you know there are at least impalings in the book- and its filled with adult themes and gore, so a Junior Reader should be at least 12 before tackling this . For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, the lack of good maps is the only real complaint I have. There are no battle maps or diagrams- but the Angus McBride pics are so amazing and the text so interesting - I did not let that bother me that much. There is a ton of stuff for Scenario/Diorama development- and I think any one of these guys could spawn a RPG/Campaign at any local club! And the Colour plates give you almost all the Warrior types you need for the whole period! There have been newer sources, but this still seems to hold up.
The story is pretty common- a illegitimate heir/lower level gentry-something to put a chip on the shoulder. A penchant for hunting, warfare , killing and intrigue- a flair for battles- both skirmishing and full blown. Few qualms about massacre, rape, plunder, or religion. A constant need to maintain their status with more warfare. One can not help but notice that it is the peasants , serfs and townspeople of Europe and Asia who seem to get the bad end of the stick- no matter who wins the crown, or ejects the invaders. And then there is the bitter end- since Old Men are not great Warriors- it usually comes pretty quick. On the other hand as one reads one is also learning how Ancient warfare became Medieval as the Armour got better - and the weapons to defeat it more efficient too. And then Jan Zizka brings the War-Wagon with guns to the party- Hussite/Taborite warfare- and we realise the Renaissance has begun. It's compelling and informative all the way through.
If you read the name Vlad Dracula- you know there are at least impalings in the book- and its filled with adult themes and gore, so a Junior Reader should be at least 12 before tackling this . For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, the lack of good maps is the only real complaint I have. There are no battle maps or diagrams- but the Angus McBride pics are so amazing and the text so interesting - I did not let that bother me that much. There is a ton of stuff for Scenario/Diorama development- and I think any one of these guys could spawn a RPG/Campaign at any local club! And the Colour plates give you almost all the Warrior types you need for the whole period! There have been newer sources, but this still seems to hold up.
December 20, 2023
A decent follow-up to the books Celtic Warlords and Barbarian Warlords. Newark covers about 1000 years of conflict spanning Europe and the Middle East. A couple of the characters from the early chapters were new to me, so that was interesting. The research seems well done and he has avoided falling into the often mistold histories of Owen of Wales and Vlad Dracula - for example, he relates Dracula's imprisonment in Hungary as a comfortable confinement to court rather than the usual tale of him being kept in a small cell where he supposedly impaled mice and spiders for amusement.
Somehow, the book wasn't quite as good as Barbarian Warlords, although I was looking forward to the medieval book the most - I think it's because this time around I noticed the author's use of relatively short sentences which, even when connected, are seperated by full stops; after a while this becomes a little jarring to read and I found myself trying to ignore his full stops and mentally inject a : ; or - separating some of his sentences which seemed either too short or too connected for full stops. My only other gripe is the lack of footnotes and the 'select bibliography' which we are told is select 'by necessity' - how so? There are only about three pages in the bibliography and I can't imagine it being much of a hardship to expand on it. I suspect the real reason is that the author has gone through his secondary sources making notes as he went and then just re-written this in his own words from his notes: this would perhaps explain the short sentences we get throughout.
All-in-all, it's a decent and often interesting read covering a broad period. It's ideal for someone who wants a basic overview of individual conflicts or personalities without getting bogged down in 400-page histories, or perhaps a springboard to give an initial overview before going on to read in more detail elsewhere.
Somehow, the book wasn't quite as good as Barbarian Warlords, although I was looking forward to the medieval book the most - I think it's because this time around I noticed the author's use of relatively short sentences which, even when connected, are seperated by full stops; after a while this becomes a little jarring to read and I found myself trying to ignore his full stops and mentally inject a : ; or - separating some of his sentences which seemed either too short or too connected for full stops. My only other gripe is the lack of footnotes and the 'select bibliography' which we are told is select 'by necessity' - how so? There are only about three pages in the bibliography and I can't imagine it being much of a hardship to expand on it. I suspect the real reason is that the author has gone through his secondary sources making notes as he went and then just re-written this in his own words from his notes: this would perhaps explain the short sentences we get throughout.
All-in-all, it's a decent and often interesting read covering a broad period. It's ideal for someone who wants a basic overview of individual conflicts or personalities without getting bogged down in 400-page histories, or perhaps a springboard to give an initial overview before going on to read in more detail elsewhere.
February 8, 2019
Fascinating content, poorly written.
Excellent illustrations by the late Angus McBride.
Excellent illustrations by the late Angus McBride.
December 13, 2023
A decent enough introduction to some Medieval European Warlords. Not really a historical research treatise however. Perhaps enough here, just, to whet one's appetite for further exploration.
June 29, 2013
Solid historical survey, easy to read and often quite engaging. The last section deals with specific warlords (Owain of Wales, Jan Žižka, Vlad Dracula, etc) and may be of more immediate interest to certain readers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews