Search results for ""Author Paul Hill""

In the time of the great Anglo-Saxon kings like Alfred and Athelstan, (R)thelred and Edmund Ironside, what was warfare really like D how were the armies organized, how and why did they fight, how were the warriors armed and trained, and what was the Anglo-Saxon experience of war? As Paul Hill demonstrates in this compelling new study, documentary records and the growing body of archaeological evidence allows these questions to be answered with more authority than ever before. His broad, detailed and graphic account of the conduct of war in the Anglo-Saxon world in the unstable, violent centuries before the Norman Conquest will be illuminating reading for anyone who wants to learn about this key stage of medieval history. The role of violence and war in Anglo-Saxon society is explored, in particular the parts played by the king and the noblemen, and the means by which, in times of danger, the men of the fyrd were summoned to fight. The controversial subject of the Anglo-Saxon use of cavalry is also explored. Land and naval warfare are central sections of Paul HillOs book, but he also covers the politics and diplomacy of warfare D the conduct of negotiations, the taking of hostages and the use of treachery. The weapons and armour of the Anglo-Saxons are described D the spears, the scramsaxes, axes, bows, swords, helmets, shields and mail that were employed in the close-quarter fighting of the day. Among the most valuable sections of the study are those dealing, in vivid detail, with actual experience of battle and siege D with the brutal reality of combat as it is revealed by campaigns against the Danes, in the battles of Ashdown, Maldon and Stamford Bridge, and sieges at Reading and Rochester.

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In an age of evocative names like Eric Bloodaxe and Egil Skallagrimson, one name has been lost in the mists of time: that of Athelstan, ruler of all Britain. From the first raids of the Vikings on the shores of Britain and Ireland, the book traces the response to threat across the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic worlds.The rise of the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and later, of the English, built from the debris of Viking destruction is analysed in detail and compared to the struggle for independence in Northumbria. Athelstan's achievement in establishing an empire for which he became famous is a key focus of the tale, along with the extraordinary history of the hunt for the lost battle of Brunanburh (AD 937), a clash which defined a people. For hundreds of years, no king would rule as much of Britain as Athelstan. His reputation survived the medieval period in the form of histories, songs and poems only to be lost at a later date, and yet its essence can still be found today all over the country.

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In this compelling military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill explores England's birth amidst the devastation and fury of the Danish invasions of the ninth century. He provides insight into the English response to the new challenges of warfare in these years of turbulence and danger. Alfred the Great, youngest son of King thelwulf, took control of the last surviving Anglo-Saxon kingdom, bringing Wessex and the English' parts of Mercia together into a new Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons'. This is a story of betrayal and of vengeance, of turncoat oath-breakers and loyal commanders, of battles fought and won against the odds. But above all, this is the story of how England came into being. Warfare in Alfred's England changed from attritional set-piece battles to a grander strategic concern. This is explored, demonstrating how defence-in-depth fortification networks were built across the resurgent kingdom in the wake of Alfred's victory at Edington in 878\. The arrival of new Danish armies into England in the 890s would lead to campaigns quite unlike those of the Great Heathen Army of the previous generation. This is a human, as well as a military story: how a king demonstrated his right to rule was important. Alfred sought to secure the succession on his son Edward, who led his own forces as a young man in the 890s. But not everybody was happy in Alfred's England. Despite the ever-present threat from the Danes, the greatest challenge facing Alfred arose from his own kin, centred deep in the heart of ancient Wessex. Alfred knew very well that his was not the only branch of the family who claimed a right to rule.

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There are many books about the Knights Templar, the medieval military order which played a key role in the crusades against the Muslims in the Holy Land, the Iberian peninsula and elsewhere in Europe. What is seldom explored is the military context in which they operated, and that is why Paul Hill's highly illustrated study is so timely, for he focuses on how this military order prosecuted its wars. The order was founded as a response to attacks on pilgrims in the Holy Land, and it was involved in countless battles and sieges, always at the forefront of crusading warfare. This absorbing study examines why they were such an important aspect of medieval warfare on the frontiers of Christendom for nearly two hundred years. Paul Hill shows how they were funded and supplied, how they organized their forces on campaign and on the battlefield and the strategies and tactics they employed in the various theatres of warfare in which they fought. Templar leadership, command and control are examined, and sections cover their battles and campaigns, fortifications and castles.

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In this the second part of his four-volume military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill follows the careers of thelfl d, Alfred the Great's eldest daughter, and Edward the Elder, Alfred's eldest son, as they campaigned to expand their rule after Alfred's death. They faced, as Alfred had done, the full force of Danish hostility during the early years of the tenth century, a period of unrelenting turbulence and open warfare. But through their military strength, in particular their strategy of fortress building, they retained their hold on the kingdom and conquered lands which had been under Danish lords for generations. thelfl d's forces captured Derby and Leicester by both force and diplomacy. Edward's power was always immense. How each of them used forts (burhs) to hold territory, is explored. Fortifications across central England became key. These included Bridgnorth, Tamworth, Stafford, Warwick, Chirbury and Runcorn ( thelfl d) and also Hertford, Witham, Buckingham, Bedford and Maldon (Edward), to name a few. Paul Hill's absorbing narrative incorporates the latest theories and evidence for the military organization and capabilities of the Anglo-Saxons and their Danish adversaries. His book gives the reader a detailed and dramatic insight into a very sophisticated Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

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Robert Guiscard, William the Conqueror, Roger I of Sicily and Bohemond Prince of Antioch are just four of the exceptional Norman commanders who not only led their armies to victory in battle but also, through military force, created their own kingdoms in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Their single-minded and aggressive leadership, and the organization, discipline and fighting qualities of their armies, marked them out from their Viking forebears and from many of the armed forces that stood against them. Their brilliant careers, and those of Robert Curthose, William Rufus, Richard I of Capua and Henry I of England, are the subject of Paul Hills latest study of medieval warfare. In a narrative packed with detail and insight, and with a wide-ranging understanding of the fighting methods and military ethos of the period, he traces the course of their conquests, focusing on them as individual commanders and on their achievements on the battlefield. The military context of their campaigns, and the conditions of warfare in France and England, in southern Italy and Sicily, and in the Near East, are vividly described, as are their decisive operations and sieges among them Hastings, Brmule, Tinchebrai, Civitate, Misilmeri, Dyrrhachium and the Siege of Antioch. There is no doubt that the Normans success in war depended upon the leadership qualities and military capabilities of the commanders as well as the special strengths of the armies they led. Paul Hills accessible and authoritative account offers a fascinating portrait of these masters of warfare.

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This is a discussion of the heated debate raging on the American nation's schools, with proposals ranging from imposing national standards to replacing public education altogether with a voucher system for private schools. This study proposes a solution to the problem by finding a middle ground between these extremes. The book seeks to show how contracting would radically change the way schools are operated, keeping them public and accessible to all, and making them better able to meet standards of achievement and equity. Using public funds, local school boards would select private providers to operate individual schools under formal contracts specifying the type and quality of instruction. The authors also show how contracting would free school boards from operating schools, allowing them to focus on improving educational policy; how it would allow parents to choose the best school for their children; and finally, how it would ensure that schools are held accountable and academic standards are met.

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