The King's Army: Warfare, Soldiers and Society during the Wars of Religion in France, 1562-76

by James B. Wood

Overview

Historians have long ignored the military aspect of the French wars of religion. In contrast, The King's Army—a meticulously researched analysis of the royal army during the early civil wars—brings warfare back to the center of the picture. The King's Army makes an important contribution to the history of military forces, warfare, religion and society in France, and will be of great interest to those engaged in the debate over the "Military Revolution" in early modern Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521550031
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/22/1996
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Rumors of war; 1. The campaigns of the army, 1562–76; 2. The camp and the army of the King; 3. The army in the field; 4. 'The footmen of the King'; 5. The gendarmes; 6. The artillery train; 7. In search of a battle: Dreux, 1562; 8. The defence of Chartres, 1567–68; 9. A host of strangers: the army's presence; 10. The destruction of the army: the siege of La Rochelle, 1573; 11. Paying for war; Conclusion: the limits to action.

Editorial Reviews

"Thanks to its felicitous style and plentiful tables, graphs, and charts, this book will appeal to the general reader interested in military history, as well as to the specialist because of its rich detail and an excellent appendix of sources for each of the first five wars." J.E. Brink, Choice

"...an intelligent, wonderfully nuanced consideration of the profound problems that the early modern French state faced....[a] ground-breaking study that provides both a wealth of data mined from archival material and an important assessment of the development of the French army....likely to become the standard work for years to come." History: Review of New Books

"a major contribution to the debate over the military revolution in early modern Europe." Paul C. Allen, Sixteenth Century Journal

"It is an important contribution to sixteenth century studies." Daniel Hickey, H-Net Reviews

"The book is well organized and well written....Wood has made a first rate contribution to both the social history of warfare and and to our knowledge of military organization and institutions in sixteenth-century France....the book is almost an example of micro-history with its fascinating thematic and socio-economic analyses. It is an important contribution to sixteenth century studies." M.J. Carley, H-Net

"...an importnat contribution to sixteenth century studies." Daniel Hickey, H-Net Reviews

From the Publisher