He's not a time traveler, but a dimensional traveler. One person takes his chances on a vacation to Britannia...at the fall of Rome. Can he employ enough modern knowledge to save his life and the lives of his friends? Will he make an indelible mark on the history of this world? Or, will his enemies and his own hubris see him erased and lost to time? Join the Apprentice and his companions on a dark-age adventure across Northern Europe, the North Sea, and up and down the island of Great Britain.

The story of an era shrouded in mystery, and the gradual changing of a nation’s cultural identity. We speak English today, because the Anglo-Saxons took over most of post-Roman Britain. How did that happen? There is little evidence: not much archaeology, and even less written history. There is, however, a huge amount of speculation. King Arthur’s Wars brings an entirely new approach to the subject—the answers are out there, in the British countryside, waiting to be found. Months of field work and map study allow us to understand, for the first time, how the Anglo-Saxons conquered England, county by county and decade by decade. King Arthur’s Wars exposes what the landscape and the place names tell us. As a result, we can now know far more about this “Dark Age.” What is so special about Essex? Why is Buckinghamshire an odd shape? Why is the legend of King Arthur so special to us? Why don’t Cumbrian farmers use English numbers when they count sheep? Why don’t we know where Camelot was? Why did the Romano-British stop eating oysters? This book provides a new level of understanding of the centuries preceding the Norman Conquest.

The Arthurian Age; the Celtic Twilight; the Dark Ages; the Birth of England; these are the powerfully romantic names often given to one of the most confused yet vital periods in British history. It is an era upon which rival Celtic and English nationalisms frequently fought. It was also a period of settlement, and of the sword. This absorbing volume by David Nicolle transports us to an England shrouded in mystery and beset by savage conflict, a land which played host to one of the most enduring figures of our history – Arthur.

Bruno, a cleric who served the archbishop of Magdeburg and subsequently the bishop of Merseburg during the course of the 1060s to the 1080s, composed one of the most important historical works treating the tumultuous period in the history of the German kingdom in the second half of the eleventh century. Bruno’s main focus in his Saxon War is the civil wars that engulfed the German kingdom from the mid 1060s through the end of the 1080s. However, as a historian of contemporary affairs, Bruno also offers crucial insights regarding the so-called Investiture Controversy, which Bruno treats largely as a political conflict between a tyrannical German ruler and the Saxons with some papal intervention, social conflict within the German kingdom, as well as the development of economic and military institutions. Unlike his contemporary Lampert of Hersfeld, Bruno was closely connected to the foremost leaders of the Saxon resistance against King Henry IV, and provides unique insights regarding their plans, hopes, and fears. Bruno also provides nearly two dozen full-text copies of letters that were sent by the main participants in the intra-German conflict as well as ten letters from Pope Gregory VII, four of which do not appear in any other source including the papal register. An additional important feature of Bruno’s history is that he treats military matters in an extraordinarily detailed manner, and is the most important narrative source for understanding the conduct of war during the second half of the eleventh century. Bruno’s detailed treatment of military matters is based upon his very extensive contacts with leading military figures, as well as his own personal observations regarding the numerous battles that punctuated the struggle between the Saxons and their erstwhile ruler. In sum, Bruno offers both unique perspectives and unique information about a crucial period in both German and European history, which make this text valuable not only for scholars, but also for a broader audience interested in the political, religious, and particularly military history of the eleventh century. This will be the first English translation of this work.

Covers all aspects of battlecraft for the period.

All three books in 'The Saxon Shore', a series of historical fiction by John Broughton, now available in one volume. The Saxon Shore: After Valdor's friend kills a centurion, they escape from Roman justice in a fishing boat. It's the third century, and General Carausius has proclaimed himself Emperor of both Britannia and Northern Gaul. Valdor befriends Carausius and, installed as Count of the Saxon Shore, must face the Saxon and Frankish raiders. With barbarian tribes on its frontiers, the Roman army has to enlist former enemies, no matter the cost. Will Britannia ever regain peaceful prosperity? The Great Conspiracy: In the fourth century AD, Britannia is under attack by barbarians and lurches towards inevitable doom. Leo and Valdor, grandson and great-grandson of a famous warrior, are rising in rank against the Picts and Scots. Valdor finally gets his chance for promotion after helping the usurper, Magnus Maximus, in his campaign against the Western Emperor. But as the province is left exposed to barbarian incursions, will Valdor become just another local chieftain amid the anarchy left by the Romans? The Woken Talisman: An officer of sub-Roman Britain, Valdor accepts the kingship of Logres, meets Myrddin, and changes his name to Arthur. He's preparing for the battle of Mons Badonicus which, according to the seer, will usher in a golden age for the Britons. Arthur is ‘the past and future king’, but what does the future hold for him?

Although the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire and faced similar military problems, its solutions were very different. In North Africa, for example, Rome's large army concentrated on securing main roads and urban centres. Byzantium's smaller army built more fortifications and took a defensive stance. The most striking characteristic of later Byzantine military thinking was, however, the theme or provincial army system, which owed nothing to ancient Roman tradition. With eight superb full colour plates by Angus McBride, and many other illustrations, David Nicolle examines the history of Romano-Byzantine armies from 4th-9th centuries.