Armour & Weapons

Ffoulkes, Charles John, 1868-1947Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 167K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Armour & Weapons by Charles John FfoulkesAuthor: Ffoulkes, Charles John, 1868-1947,Language: English, Class: U: Military science, Release Date: Dec 20, 2012

Editor's review

Armour & Weapons is a popular work by the British arms scholar Charles John Ffoulkes, well suited as an introductory guide to Western cold weapons and armour. Taking historical evolution as its main thread, the book describes the changes in form from mail to plate armour, the construction and use of swords, spears, axes, hammers and other weapons, and the combinations of knightly equipment and protective thinking in different periods. It is illustrated with numerous line drawings that help readers identify components and forms at a glance, which is especially friendly to beginners. As a work written in an earlier era, its narrative style is fairly traditional, and some views may differ from today's archaeological conclusions; readers should treat it as a classic introduction rather than the latest research. It is suitable for readers interested in medieval warfare, European knightly culture, and the collection and reconstruction of cold weapons to keep at their desk, and can also serve as background reading before museum visits or model making.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Introductory readers interested in European medieval warfare and knightly equipment
Enthusiasts of cold-weapon reconstruction, model making and ancient weapon collecting
Creators seeking equipment references for historical novels or game settings
Museum visitors who wish to understand the evolution of Western armour forms

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers expecting the latest archaeological findings and academic-paper-style argumentation
Readers interested only in Chinese or East Asian weapon systems and not in European subjects
Weapons engineers needing systematic technical parameters and experimental data

Reading tips

First read through the illustrations and captions to build an impression of armour and weapon forms, then return to the textual explanations.
Take notes by historical period, matching changes in armour with weapon evolution across eras.
When encountering judgments that differ from contemporary research, mark them as uncertain and consult modern works for comparison.
Read alongside museum collections or reconstruction videos to enhance intuitive understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no prior knowledge?

Yes. The book is mainly introductory in its narration and includes line drawings; the density of terminology is not high, so beginners can use the captions to understand basic forms. If you encounter specialised terms, you can skip them first and grasp the overall trajectory of evolution.

Does the book include the latest research findings?

The book was written in an earlier era and is a classic popular work; some conclusions may differ from contemporary archaeology and experimental archaeology. It is advisable to treat it as an introductory framework and refer to more recent research for specific details.

What supplementary materials should I prepare for reading?

A table of European historical periods would help match armour and weapons to their eras; combining it with museum collection catalogues or reconstruction images will make the components and wearing methods described in the book more intuitive to understand.

Comments

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About the author

Ffoulkes, Charles John, 1868-1947 Author · British · 1868–1947

Charles John Ffoulkes (1868–1947) was a British historian of arms and armour and served as curator of the Armouries at the Tower of London. His research focused on the development and evolution of European armour and weapons. His representative work, Armour & Weapons, introduces the forms of the relevant objects and their historical context in a concise and systematic way, offering a reliable introductory reference for general readers and researchers alike. Public information on his early education, the exact dates of his appointments and his scholarly connections is limited, so a complete biography cannot be outlined. On the evidence available, his writing emphasizes the mutual corroboration of objects and historical sources, and is clear and restrained in style; his works have long been cited in the history of arms and armour and retain a certain reference value.