The Tudor Arte of Warre Volume 1 Jonathan Davies

Comprehensive and absorbing guide to the early Tudor military

I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone interested in the military aspects of the early Tudors and their forces. The book starts at Bosworth and ends in the reign of Mary and Philip. Davies has his own thoughts about the military revolution and puts forward some convincing ideas about the English perspective of this era. The book starts off with a history of the various campaigns in categories like Rebellion, Conflict with Scotland and Wars with France. Then the book focusses on the armies and its constituent parts such as cavalry, artillery, bow and gun, pikes, and so forth. All of the various battles are covered including Flodden, the Battle of the Spurs, Pinkie and many more. There is a good section on Fortifying the Realm about the Device forts built by Henry VIII along the South coast. One of my favourite chapters is an analysis of the Cowdray House engravings. These detailed pictures are reprinted and examined. The author likens them to the Bayeux tapestry but for the Tudor era. 

The work itself is substantial with a pleasant colour section of living history enthusiasts recreating the Militia of the 1540s. Other subjects covered are recruitment and discipline, professional soldiers. All in all an inspiring work that will hopefully fill the void of books on the subject.

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