The Chivalric Ethos and the Development of Military Professionalism
The essays in this volume explore the extent to which the chivalric ethos and military professionalism were incompatible, as well as their relative significance for developments in the art of war, and the rise of the state. Essays explore the armies and societies of late-medieval and early-modern France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany, England and the Netherlands. They examine both the theory and practice of war, using literary, archival and artistic evidence.
During the late Middle Ages, the increasing expansion of administrative, legal, and military systems by a central government, together with the greater involvement of the commons in national life, brought England closer than ever to political nationhood. Examining a diverse array of texts-ranging from Latin and vernacular historiography to Lollard tracts, Ricardian poetry, and chivalric treatises-this volume reveals the variety of forms "England" assumed when it was imagined in the medieval West.
