Medieval Longsword: The Role of the State in Educating on Human Rights Standards

The Medieval longsword has become an item of legend, thanks to its role in various myths and stories, and in more modern films and video games. It was once a real and deadly weapon in fairly common use. Author Neil Grant has the hard-edged facts in this Osprey Weapon Series book.The author traces the development of the longsword and grapples with the facts and myths of its usage over time. The details are impressive, as are the supporting illustrations, photographs, and historical examples. Well recommended to the student of weapons and armor.

A great overview of the medieval longsword. Will appeal to western longsword martial artists.

Good book and informative. Well organized and easy to read. Easy to read explanations on longswords and their history, as well as the history of their users. The author is kind of passive-aggressive, though, which is pretty annoying when just want him to be objective and learn something. In the book the author complains about modern media for no reason. For example on page 7, he states (apropos to nothing): "Hollywood has done medieval combat few favors either, with fight choreography emphasizing what looks 'cool' and spectacular at the expense of realism."Seriously? I see this nonsense with a lot of medieval historians. What's the point of saying this other than to validate yourself as a historian?

These Osprey titles can be a little hit or miss but this volume is superb! It is well written and I learned something new on every page!A wonderful (if, understandably, all too brief) examination of the history, manufacture and use of the Longsword and its place in medieval warfare and social history.I wish Neil Grant would write a larger book on medieval warfare, bringing together some of the threads in this book, but as a primer I could not ask for better!

This is a great resource for both those who are getting in to the subject of medieval arms and armour, as well as those who want a deeper look. It covers multiple ideas as to why the longsword developed from arming swords, an aspect of arms and armour which is rarely discussed. It has excellent information on the use of the longsword as well. One area it perhaps could have more on is the different types of longsword and how they developed, but this is not particularly necessary as typologies and descriptions have been covered in other works.