The Wars of the Roses: 145 (Men-at-Arms)

I was quite agreeably surprised by this good little introduction to the Wars of the Roses. Of course, this little 40 pages booklet can do no more than scratch the surface but it certainly gives the reader a taste for it and might lead at least some into delving in and looking for more.The main events and the three phases of the Wars are neatly summarized. The author insisting quite correctly that, rather than a full-blown civil war, this is was about different factions of great noble houses and their followers and dependents fighting it out for supremacy. The book may however strike a somewhat optimistic note when stating that the populations suffered relatively little because all sides were anxious to preserve what might become their once they had won. Troops needed to be paid and fed, especially on campaign and through territory that may have been hostile. Their leaders were often short of money to pay the wages. There was little organized logistics at the time so that armed forces tended to "live on the country" and everyone knows what this implies: looting and pillaging...In addition to a mostly neat summary of the main events and battles during this 30 years period, Terence Wise and Gerry Embleton also come up with some nice illustrations and pictures of arms and armour and a relatively good section on it, given the little space that was allocated. On excellent illustration is the picture of a fully armoured knight on horseback taken at the Wallace Collection and which clearly shows how vulnerable the armpit' knight were when he raised his sword. In addition, a couple of good points, which can be found in other, longer books on the Wars of the Roses, are summarized by the author. One is that, contrary to popular belief, men-of-arms were significantly more mobile when fully armoured with plate that what is commonly believed. Another was that by the 15th century, the status of those who were not men-of-arms and who fought as infantry was significantly higher than what is sometimes still stated: they were no rabble and they were relatively well equipped, even if quality of men and equipment did vary quite significantly and depended largely and quite obviously on financial resources, both those of the soldiers themselves and of the lords who they happened to be serving.A great little introduction worth four stars, even if, for wargaming purposes, more plates would have been desirable and if, for someone wanting to learn more about the Wars of the Roses, this is just the bare bones. To be honest, however, the authors have delivered the best that was possible within a short 40 pages...

Poor print quality

Interesting book covers the period, good delivery service

A good introduction to the War. An Osprey book cannot in itself cover enough of this important historical era within its slim cover, of course.My particular angle was wargaming and painting and I found the images were a rather random selection.A small book trying to bite off more than it can chew. A nice book nevertheless.

info v good

This book is ideal for any one who wants a quick in sight to a fascinating period of history. If you want a more in depth account you will need to look further afield.

Useful short guide. There are better books about the history of the topic but as with mist Osprey books the pictures are useful for modellers. Good quality printing and a handy guide.